Memory Card Recovery
Recovery for SD, microSD and CF/CFexpress cards used in cameras, phones, drones and dashcams — corrupted, deleted, formatted or no longer recognized.
Memory cards used in cameras, phones, drones and dashcams rely on managed flash storage and a controller, similar in principle to USB drives and SSDs, and can fail or become inaccessible in several different ways. DiskAnalyst assesses the specific cause before attempting recovery, and is careful about what can realistically be recovered rather than assuming every card is fully recoverable.
Common Causes of Failure
Corruption
File system corruption from an interrupted write, a card pulled while in use, or a software fault can make a card unreadable without physical damage.
Controller Failure
Like USB drives and SSDs, memory cards use managed flash with an onboard controller — a controller fault can make the card unreadable or undetected.
Accidental Deletion
Files deleted from the card, whether through the device or a computer, are often still recoverable if the card is stopped from further use.
Formatting
A card formatted in-camera or on a computer, sometimes to clear an error message rather than intentionally.
Physical / Contact Damage
Damaged or dirty card contacts, or physical stress to a microSD card, can prevent a reader from detecting the card at all.
What We Handle
- SD, microSD and CF/CFexpress cards
- Camera, phone, drone and dashcam memory cards
- Cards showing as unreadable, unformatted or blank
- Accidentally deleted photos and videos
- Formatted or reformatted memory cards
- Controller and NAND-level failures
Common Signs & Failure Scenarios
Our Recovery Approach
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1
Card & Controller Assessment
We determine whether the card is being detected at all, and whether the fault is logical, controller-related, or physical.
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2
Controlled Imaging
Where possible, we image the card rather than working from the original directly, to avoid further wear on the flash storage.
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3
File System & File Recovery
Recoverable files are reconstructed from the image, accounting for how the specific device — camera, phone, drone or dashcam — originally wrote to the card.
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4
Verification & Handover
Recovered photos, video and files are verified before being returned on your destination media.
Important: What Not To Do
- Stop using the card immediately after realizing files are missing or deleted.
- Do not format the card again, even if prompted to.
- Do not continue recording new photos or video to the same card.
- Do not run destructive repair or "fix" tools on the card before it has been assessed.
Devices & Configurations We Cover
Frequently Asked Questions
Often, yes, particularly if the card is stopped from further use as soon as the deletion is noticed. Continuing to shoot new photos or video reduces the chances of recovery.
In many cases, especially if the card hasn't been reused since the format. We recommend not recording anything further to the card.
This is usually a sign of file system corruption rather than the data being erased — the underlying photos and videos are often still present and recoverable.
Not always. Some cards manage flash storage in ways that can limit recovery of deleted data, similar in effect to TRIM on SSDs — recovery depends on the specific card and how it has been used since deletion.
Yes. These cards are handled the same way as camera memory cards, accounting for how the specific device writes its video files.
Ready to Start Your Recovery Case?
Tell us what happened to your device and we'll advise on the right next step.
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