How to Fix SD Card not Detected in PC [6 Methods]

Well, it’s pretty simple. First, try your SD Card on another PC; if it gets detected in that, then the problem is in your SD Card slot of PC. But in case, it doesn’t get detected in any device, then the reason is in SD Card itself.

So fix SD Card not Detected in PC error, we’ll go through the top 6 quick and easy methods

How do find the cause of SD Card not being Detected on PC?

Total Time: 15 minutes

Clean SD Card using Eraser

Most of the time, the SD Card does not get Detected due to the presence of dust particles on the Golden part of the SD Card. To make it detected, just clean it gently using an Eraser. Trust me, this single method has repaired almost 90% of SD Card errors.

Assign Drive letter to Fix SD Card not Detected in PC

In most cases, the SD Card isn’t detected on the PC due to a missing Drive Letter. In windows devices, each drive has a drive letter and it is a must-have thing. So if the drive letter is missing for your SD Card, then windows won’t detect it.
To assign a drive letter to the SD Card and fix the error,
Search for Create and Format Hard Disk Partition from the windows search bar
Then you’ll see all your available storage devices including SD Card. You would notice that each drive has a drive letter like C or D. Same as that you’ve to assign a drive letter to SD Card.
➼So right-click on the SD Card (In my case, it is Disk 1)
➼Click on Change Drive Letter and Path
➼Then click on Add
➼Select any letter from the drop-down and
➼Click on OK
As soon as you click OK, a drive letter will be assigned to your SD Card and detected on your PC.
If the error is still as it is, then you can move on to the next method.

Update Storage Driver to fix SD Card Error

An outdated driver could also lead to this error. So to fix the issue, the only thing you have to do is update the driver. So to update the driver:
➼Search for Device Manager from Windows Search Bar
➼Expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers located at the bottom
➼Then update USB Mass Storage Device or whichever your SD Card driver is
➼To update it, just right-click on the driver and click on Update Driver Software
➼Then select Search automatically Updated Driver Software
And that’s it, the driver will be updated. Make sure a stable internet connection is there while updating the driver.
Note: If the above updating method doesn’t help out, then you can try Browser my computer i.e., a second method to update the driver. You can also try some third-party Driver Updating Software as well.
After updating USB Mass Storage Device from Universal Serial Bus Controllers, do the same updating method for the USB Storage Device USB Device from Disk Drives.
Right after updating the driver, go to the Action tab and click on Scan For Hardware Changes.
After doing all these steps, just restart the PC to see the changes.
In case the error doesn’t get fixed with the updating method, then you can also try the Driver Uninstalling method to fix this error.

Uninstall Storage Driver to fix SD Card Not Detected issue

To uninstall the driver and fix the error:
➼Go to the same Device Manager from Search Bar
➼Right-click on the USB Mass storage device and click on Uninstall
➼After uninstalling, go to the Action tab and click on Scan for Hardware Changes
After doing all these kinds of stuff, just Restart the PC and you’ll see that the error is completely fixed.
In case Windows doesn’t install the storage driver automatically, then you’ve to install it manually. To install the driver, search for USB Mass Storage Device Driver on Google and install it from there. After that restart, the pc and then the SD card will start getting detected.

Use CHKDSK Command Prompt

The bad sector is also a major cause of this not detection error. But the best part of the bad sector is that it gets repaired quite easily. However there are various methods to repair bad sectors, but the one which I use a lot is the CHKDSK Command Prompt. To repair bad sectors:
➼Search for CMD from Search Bar
➼Right-click on it and open it with Administrator Access.
➼Now type the command CHKDSK H(Drive letter): /f /r
➼Then hit Enter
As soon as you hit enter, the command will start scanning and repairing bad sectors of your SD Card.

Delete Partition to Fix Non-Detection Error

Sometimes the error in some partitions also creates this error. Therefore you’ve to delete the partition to fix the error.
Note: Before deleting the partition, don’t forget to take a backup of your SD Card because deleting the partition will wipe the whole data too. so that in mind before going for this method.
Now to delete the partition, we’ll use the command prompt:
➼Search for CMD from the windows search bar
➼Right-click on Command Prompt and open with Administrator Access.
➼Now type the command disk part and hit Enter
➼Then type list disk and hit Enter
➼Select your SD Card by typing the command select disk 1(where 1 is my disk number)
➼Type clean and hit Enter
➼Now clean command will clean the SD Card
➼Then type create partition primary and hit Enter
➼Now type format command format fs=fat32 and hit Enter
After formatting just restart the computer and you’ll see that the error is completely fixed and the SD Card will start getting detected on the PC.

Supply:

Internet

Tools:

Your Windows PC

Materials: Software

Tips to Protect Your SD Card from Data Loss

We could go on and on about how delicate SD cards are or how simple it is to accidentally format them. But rather than reiterating information you already know, we want to provide you with some helpful advice on how to safeguard your SD card against data loss.

Before removing the SD card from your computer, always do it safely.
Avoid exposing your SD card to excessive temperatures, and keep water and dust away from it.
If there’s a chance of a sudden loss of power (such as when using a camera that hasn’t been charged in a while to record video), avoid writing data to the SD card.
Files on the SD card should be regularly transferred to your computer or cloud storage.
Use numerous SD cards and refrain from using all of their available space.

These straightforward suggestions will help you extend the life of your SD card and safeguard it against data loss.

FAQ

Why is my SD card not showing up?

SD cards may not display correctly for a variety of reasons, including SD card reader issues, mechanical damage, logical corruption, and other factors.
⦿ Poor Connection – A broken card reader, adapter, or USB port may prevent the SD card from being properly linked to the PC.
⦿ Driver Issues – If the SD card is present in Device Manager but not in the system, the card driver may be corrupted or out-of-date.
⦿ Locked SD Card – A PC cannot read an SD card that is written secured, thus it won’t be visible.
⦿ Loss of Drive Letter: An SD Card won’t be recognized if its drive letter is lost.
⦿ Partition Loss – The SD card’s partition was likely destroyed, leaving a large amount of space on the device.
⦿ The SD card becomes infected with a virus, which is why it is not showing up.

Why is my computer not recognizing my SD card?

The SD card won’t read errors on a phone, PC, or Mac is frequently fixed by restarting the computer or device. First, unplug your computer’s or phone’s SD card reader. Restart, and then use a card reader to reattach the SD card. Verify that your computer or phone can read the SD card.
It’s conceivable that your SD card’s file system isn’t supported if it isn’t correctly detected when you insert it into a Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP or Mac computer.

How do I get my laptop to read my SD card?

Plug the card reader into the correct port on your laptop while inserting the SD card. Next, navigate to This PC in File Explorer (Windows key + E). Your SD card should be listed in the right pane. To browse or access the files on your SD card, double-click on it.
You can purchase an external SD card reader and attach it to your laptop using a USB cable if your laptop doesn’t come equipped with one.

Why is my SD card reader not working?

There are several potential causes for this problem, but the most likely ones include a faulty connection between the SD card and the SD card reader, a missing SD card driver, and an infected SD card. You can restart your computer to see if the problem has been resolved for the majority of computer problems.
If your SD card reader is not mechanically broken, missing or corrupt drivers are the most likely culprits for its malfunction.

Why is my phone not reading my SD card?

Android devices may not identify SD cards if their SD card drivers are out-of-date. To restore SD card detection, adhere to the directions listed below. Now, patiently wait for the driver to be installed. Check to see whether the phone can recognize the SD card after restarting your computer.
The SD card may not be recognized by your phone if it has been formatted on a computer with an unsuitable file system. Try it once more after formatting it to FAT32.

How can I recover photos from a corrupted SD card?

A portable SD drive might work. You might be able to use your Android device’s USB port to attach an external SD disk. This should enable you to access the data on your SD card if the SD connector on your Android device is broken. Check the position of the USB drive.
Recovering pictures from a corrupted SD card requires:
➡Connect your PC to the SD card.
➡Install and download Disk Drill.
➡Start Disk Drill, pick the SD card, and then click the Find lost data button.
➡Choose the pictures you want to get back.
➡At the bottom, click the Recover button.
➡To start recovering your photos, enter the recovery destination and press OK.

How do I uncorrupt an SD card?

Use the formatting steps below to fix the Micro SD card on an Android device.
➡Click Disk Management from the context menu of Start.
➡Format the volume by selecting it from the context menu of your infected SD card.
➡Give the SD card a name and select FAT32 as the file system.
➡Press OK after making sure Perform a quick format is selected.
Try executing CHKDKS if you need to fix a corrupted SD card without formatting it. This should eliminate corrupt sectors and correct physical issues.
Here’s how to use Command Prompt to repair an SD card:
➡Connect your computer to your SD card.
➡In the Windows search box, type cmd, and then select Command Prompt. Click Run as Administrator if prompted.
➡Hit Enter on your keyboard after typing chkdsk F: /f /r /x (replace F with the drive letter of the SD card).
➡Type exit when the procedure is finished.

What does it mean when an SD card is corrupted?

When the SD card in your phone becomes corrupted, it often implies that there has been logical damage that makes the memory card inaccessible.
Data loss frequently results from corruption.
There is a possibility that your SD card is corrupted if it is experiencing one of the following problems:
➡The image or video files kept there won’t play;
➡It appears empty or you have observed that certain files are missing;
➡Your PC or camera is not picking it up;
➡The SD card turns into RAW;
➡A popup box stating that there are a read/write issue displays when attempting to transfer data;
➡Photo and video file transfers are incredibly slow;
➡When you attach the SD card to your computer, a format error shows up;

Conclusion

There are numerous causes for corrupted or damaged SD cards. Fortunately, there are just as many practical fixes available for them. In this post, we’ve covered 11 tried-and-true methods for fixing faulty SD cards, including Disk Drill, a flexible data recovery software program.

So that’s it in this troubleshooting guide for SD Card Not Detected in PC, I hope it would have helped you in fixing your error. If you have any other errors then you can comment down below and I’ll try to resolve the error

Also, Read

How to Fix Microphone not working in Windows 10