It is no secret that quite often many users of mobile devices are faced with the problem of failures when the memory card in the device is not detected or the data on it is either damaged or destroyed for some reason. This is where the search for a solution begins, how to restore the memory of a memory card. At the same time, of course, everyone wants not only the card to work, but also the files on it. To do this is not so difficult as it might seem at first glance.
Why does a memory card malfunction?
Alas, there can be a lot of reasons for malfunctions in the operation of removable memory cards of any type. Not to mention some incorrect actions of the user himself, such as accidental deletion of data, physical damage to the card, usual wear and tear at the end of its service life, and even problems in the operation of the control microcontroller can be observed.
And how to recover memory from a memory card? For any variant of the problem, you can find universal solutions associated with the use of either hardware or software method.
Can I recover a memory card?
In general, you should clearly distinguish between situations when you need to restore only files or when you need to restore the card. These are two different things. Accordingly, the solution to the question of how to restore the memory card on the phone will be different in each case.
The software method, which involves the use of special programs, is simpler than the hardware method when microcontroller malfunctions occur. Nevertheless, we begin the consideration of the problem precisely with the second method, since without the definition of a card on a computer or laptop, we can’t talk about any data recovery.
The memory card is damaged: how to restore its working capacity?
So, we assume that the microcontroller “flew”. In this case, you can forget about data recovery, since the card will have to be formatted.
Note that special firmware of the card manufacturer must be used for this. Another way to do this will fail. When a card is connected to a computer or laptop via an adapter (card reader), at best, the system writes that there is no space on the removable disk, or the disk space is defined as zero. In the worst case, the memory card is not recognized at all.
The easiest option when solving the question “how to restore memory card memory” is to use the registry editor called by regedit command through the “Run” menu, where in the HKLM section go to the SYSTEM subkey, and then search the StorageDevicePolicies directory in the key tree. On the right in the window you need to set the zero parameter (usually it is 0x00000000 (0)). But this does not give a one hundred percent guarantee of the card’s performance.
And how to restore the memory of a memory card? You need to use the values of the equipment identifier (PID) and the value of the manufacturer's identifier (VID), and also take into account the value of Chip Vendor (although in most cases you can do without it).
These values can be found on the chip itself, but the card will have to be opened. In principle, if a card is detected by the system, you can also use utilities like CheckUDisk or USBIDCheck.
Now, on the Internet, according to this information, you should find the personal controller firmware and download it. If the search is difficult, you can use the services of online services like iFlash, where according to the entered data you should find the program we are interested in. Next, using the downloaded software, we simply format the card. Note that each such memory card recovery program is universal and is intended exclusively for one model or one device manufacturer.
The simplest data recovery program Recuva
Now suppose that a card is detected by a computer and works without problems, but the data it searches for is damaged or missing. You can recover data from a memory card in the easiest way using the well-known utility Recuva.
After starting the application, select recovery either by file type, or check the “Other” option (to search for all contents), and then specify the source (memory card). Next, we use the in-depth analysis parameter and begin the scanning process.
At the end of the process, a result will be issued. Red color indicates data that cannot be restored, yellow - data that can be tried to be restored, green - data that can be restored without problems. Probably, it is already clear that you can only restore files on a memory card that are indicated by yellow and green colors. True, for dubious data a positive result is not guaranteed.
R-Studio Package
The R-Studio package is a more powerful utility. It allows you to recover data from a memory card even with sufficiently severe damage to the files themselves, the file system, or even sectors of the device’s memory.
After starting the program, select the desired medium and press the scan start button. In the pop-up window that appears, you can set the data type, size of the scan area, etc. The results will show all physical and virtual sections of this device with the files and boot records present on it. If the partition has been formatted, it will be highlighted in yellow. Now it remains only to select the necessary directories or files, and then save them in any other place on the computer. As already clear, in the future information can be transferred to removable media without any problems.
Auslogic File Recovery App
Another quite interesting program for recovering a memory card (meaning the information part) is the Auslogic File Recovery utility.
Its main difference from R-Studio is that it has, so to speak, a simpler and friendlier interface, however, it is paid. Nevertheless, the application has a convenient system for searching and previewing scan results. And this, in turn, helps to restore only what is really necessary.
Hetman Uneraser Program
A fairly simple, but no less interesting utility is the Hetman UnEraser package, which few people know about.
The application interface is very similar to the appearance of the standard Windows Explorer. Deep scanning even with a damaged file system or partition is performed automatically. At the same time, removable cards of any type are supported, up to those used in photo or video cameras.
SoftPerfect File Recovery Utility
A small program SoftPerfect File Recovery is most suitable for inexperienced users in cases with minor non-critical failures. If formatting was done, alas, the utility is useless.
On the other hand, and it is not without a number of advantages. First of all, this is the ability to work with compressed volumes and partitions. In addition, it is distributed completely free of charge and has no restrictions on the duration of use. But this, as they say, as a last resort - to quickly eliminate minor troubles.
Magic Uneraser Program
But the Magic Uneraser application, unfortunately, also little known to users, has quite interesting features. Search and recovery algorithms are almost the same as the above programs, but the advantages are obvious.
First of all, it is worth noting that the program can even find files that other utilities skip, it allows you to restore files and folders with names and metadata saved, but most importantly, the application can immediately pack recoverable information into ISO images, which can then be applied when recording to any removable media.
Conclusion
Here, in brief, we examined the problem of how to restore the memory of a memory card. Naturally, it is simply impossible to describe all the programs designed for these purposes, so the main attention was paid to the most powerful and popular utilities.
But here it is worth paying attention to the fact that they need to be applied only in case of the cards themselves working. If the problem with removable media is that it is not detected or has zero volume, you will first have to restore its memory. But then it is already possible to apply some of the above utilities (in particular, R-Studio), which allow you to restore any type of data even after formatting, because the information you are looking for doesn’t go anywhere, it’s just overwritten in the memory sectors, and the name of the initial file is changed with the assignment him at the beginning of the name of specific unreadable characters.