Recently, more and more often, users are having problems with the operation of SD cards on various devices. The card is inserted into the appropriate port, but the computer is not able to see it, and it is also not shown in the settings. We are talking about an extremely common and quite serious problem, which, as practice shows, is almost always easily solved. In this case, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the causes of the malfunction and how to solve them.

Most users often do not distinguish between types of memory cards. It is worth knowing that they come in the following varieties:

Important nuances in using a memory card

Before purchasing and starting to use these cards, you should familiarize yourself with the important nuances of their use.

• In addition to memory capacity, they indicate speed. You need to know which speed class of card is suitable for a particular device;
• Using special adapters, microSD can turn into regular SD cards. True, it is not recommended to do this often, since the speed of information exchange drops;
• Older generation laptops have built-in card readers that are unable to interface with newer models such as SDHC, but there is a simple solution to this problem - buy a card reader that connects to standard USB ports - it looks more like a standard flash drive and is quite cheap.

Why doesn't the computer see the memory card?

Since the drives described above have an extremely fragile structure, they often become unusable due to defects or improper completion of the work.

Reference! Sometimes it happens that after a short use of the card, it simply cannot be read or is not detected by devices, so it is not recommended to count on long-term operation of such drives.

There are a number of common reasons why a laptop or PC cannot display an SD card. We are talking about:

If the media is no longer detected by a phone, camera or other device, it must be disinfected and installed in the PC in order to diagnose, identify and eliminate the problem.

What actions should I take if the device refuses to recognize the memory card?

Eliminating the problem requires searching for the cause, which, in turn, can be very different. You should read the step-by-step instructions that will tell you what actions to take when your computer is unable to detect an SD or microSD card.

How to properly check for a faulty memory card and card reader

First, identification of media problems is required. To do this, you will need to connect it to any other working device. Also, if you have a second card of an identical model, you can determine whether it can be recognized by a computer. If everything is fine, then there are no problems with the card reader and most likely the reason lies in the card. They often become faulty after they are improperly removed during working hours or wear out on their own.

In such a situation, the only solution is to try to restore the functionality of the product. A specialized utility called HDD Low Level Format Tool helps with this very well. To use it correctly you will need:

Step 1. Download and install the software on your computer from an official source.

Step 2. After launch, select the memory card and proceed to the next step.

Step 3. A new menu will appear, in it you need to click on “LOW-LEVEL FORMAT”.

Step 4. A warning menu will appear indicating that all information will be formatted. We agree to click on the format button.

No less popular and effective is the SDFormatter utility, which is also capable of coping with the formatting task. To use it you will need:

Step 1. Install and run the SDFormatter software.

Step 2. During startup, the utility will automatically detect connected flash cards displayed in the main window. Click on "Option" to set formatting options.

Step 3. In this case, “Qick” implies formatting in quick mode, “Full” will erase all data, and “Full (Overwrite)” will additionally overwrite.

Step 4. After returning to the main menu, you need to click “Format”, after which the utility will format the memory card. The file settings will be automatically set to FAT32.

Reference! Sometimes the card reader itself refuses to display the memory card. The way out of this situation is to contact a specialized company, whose specialists will carry out the repairs. Do you need to use your card urgently? There is a temporary solution: we are talking about a portable card reader that can be connected to a laptop via a USB port.

How to check for failures in Windows OS

In more rare cases, the PC refuses to detect and recognize the memory card due to operating system malfunctions; for example, Windows OS may incorrectly assign the letter of the attached media. To resolve this conflict, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open Control Panel through the Start menu.

Step 2. Select the “System and Security” section.

Step 3. Then go to “Administration”.

Step 5. By clicking on the last item, the “Disk Management” tab will appear on the left.

Step 6 You need to select the desired card in the list of installed disks and right-click to open a new menu. Next, click “Change drive letter...”.

Step 7 A letter is selected that has not yet been used in the system, after which the settings are saved.

Video - Why doesn’t the computer read Micro SD and how to fix it?

Driver Update

If after some kind of reboot of the adapter nothing happened, there is another way to fix the problem - update or reinstall the card reader drivers. In this case, you need to visit the manufacturer's resource and see if a new version of the driver has appeared. If it really exists, you can download and install it. Before doing this, it is better to remove outdated drivers in .

Specifics of virus checking

Even the most modern device is recommended to be supplemented with anti-virus protection. To fix the problem, you will need to scan the memory card and clean out malicious files.

Step 1. You need to go to “This PC” through the desktop shortcut or through the “Start” menu.

Step 2. Right-click on the memory card icon to open a new menu, then select the “Scan…” option.

Right-click on the memory card icon and select the “Scan…” option.

On a note! In the menu, the item will correspond to the installed antivirus program on your device.

Step 2. In the Control Panel, set the View mode to Large Icons. Select "Folder Options".

Step 3. Open the “View” section.

Thus, there are a sufficient number of reasons why a PC may not see an SD card. To accurately solve the problem and use the media again, it is recommended to follow all the steps described above.

Video - The card reader does not see the SD card, what should I do?

Most information today is stored on flash cards. Photos or movies, documents or other information on the microSD card can be easily read through the adapter in the laptop. If problems arise with the reading device, information exchange becomes impossible, which creates many problems for the user.

Today, of all types of portable memory cards, the most convenient and widely used are microSD flash cards. They are used in phones, smartphones, players, tablets, cameras and other portable and computer equipment.

To figure out why the laptop does not see the micro SD flash drive through the adapter, you can try to find the reason and eliminate it yourself, or use the help of Orion Service specialists.

Features of reading from a microSD card

To read data from microSD, you need an adapter, which is usually included with the flash card you purchase. To turn it on, the flash drive is placed in the adapter, and the adapter itself is connected to the connector on the laptop (SD connector on the side or front of the laptop panel). If the flash drive has a new format, for example, SDHC, some outdated laptop models may not recognize or read this type of flash card. The solution to this problem is to purchase an external card reader, which is connected via a USB port.

Probable causes of the malfunction and their solutions

A laptop may not see a microSD flash card for many reasons.

Software error

You can determine the state of the OS and software by testing the laptop with utilities that allow you to see all the errors that have arisen in operation. For diagnostic accuracy, it is recommended

hand over the laptop to the Service Orion service center.

Lack of required driver

If there is no driver on a newly purchased laptop, you can install it from the disk that comes with the product. If the laptop is an old model, purchased second-hand or the disks have been formatted, finding the necessary driver for it will not be difficult. To do this, you can use driver update programs.

Infecting a laptop with viruses

There are a number of virus software that block the device’s ability to freely access disks. The solution to the problem is to run an antivirus program, recognize the malware and remove it.

Flash drive failure

To make sure that the microSD flash card is broken, you need to install it in another laptop or device. If the problem occurs again, the reason lies in the flash drive itself; If the laptop sees it, you need to look for the reasons in the device itself.

In order to restore the functionality of the external storage medium, you can try to format the disk. The procedure involves clearing all information recorded on the media. Formatting can be requested by the laptop system itself or forced using a command in the context menu (if the flash drive is identified by the laptop and is displayed in Explorer).

Card reader does not support microSD reading function

To fix the problem, you can buy an external card reader or order a replacement of the old card reader through hardware repair.

The drives have the same letters

One of the problems that you can fix yourself is if the letters of the hard drive and flash drive match (for example, the letter F). In such a situation, “My Computer” reflects only one drive, usually the built-in drive and not the external drive. To correct this situation, you need to change the drive letter through the Disk Management dialog box (Win and X keyboard shortcut command).

If you need to urgently copy or use information from a microSD card, you don’t need to use a flash drive and adapter at all. For example, it is possible to read data from a card on a phone without removing it. To do this, just connect your phone using a USB cable to your laptop. In Windows 7 and 8 there is no need to install special software for this, since the system automatically selects the driver, recognizes the flash drive and reads videos, photos, text files and files of other formats.

Sometimes the problem can arise due to a simple loss of contact. This usually happens when you frequently remove and insert a microSD flash drive into the adapter. Trying to remove and reinsert the memory card may help resolve the problem.

If all attempts to correct the situation on your own do not give the desired result, you can repair the breakdown at the Devay Service company. Here, specialists conduct a full diagnostic, determine the exact reason why the laptop does not see the microSD flash drive through the adapter, and quickly restore this function of the laptop at affordable prices with a guarantee for the work performed. In this case, the repair time is a matter of hours.

If you use an Android phone Samsung, bq, sony, lg, xiaomi, zte, lenovo, fly, nokia, asus, alcatel, xiaomi and so on, you will find that the system storage is completely full.

This slows down the work speed, and to free up space, you usually insert an external microSD memory card.

At the same time, some users complain that their Android 7 (7.0), Android 6 (6.0), Android 4.4.2 and others, including the latest version of Android 8, do not see the SD memory card, including even the new one.

It happens that the device does not see files on the card - music, applications, photos, or does not see the formatted one.

How can I make my phone see the memory card? Are there programs for Android to see it? There are no such programs, and there is more than one reason.

If your smartphone suddenly stops seeing data on the memory card, then first of all you need to check it yourself, but let’s look at the solutions in order

The first reason why an Android phone does not see the SD memory card is dirt

Most of the users do not pay much attention to the behavior of their external drive and as a result they suffer from dust, dirt, etc. Dirt on the card can make it difficult to detect.

What to do: check the area around the metal part (contacts) and, if necessary, clean it with water or alcohol. Then dry it before putting it back into your phone.

The second reason why an Android smartphone does not see a microSD memory card is a compressed slot

The smartphone is becoming thinner and thinner, and the design is becoming more inventive. This is where a paradox arises - the phone is thin, therefore, a thick battery cannot be inserted there and the result is sad.

A thin battery does not hold a charge for a long time, so some people use non-original batteries, which are cheaper, last longer and, accordingly, are slightly larger than the original ones.

If these batteries are used, they may compress the card slot and make it unreadable.

What to do: remove the battery from the phone and install the original working battery (at least to make sure that it is not the cause).

The third reason why the Android phone does not see the microsd memory card

Many smartphones support slots that allow you to insert or remove external storage while it's running.

Only if you frequently insert and remove it, this can lead to various types of damage to the metal contacts.

What to do: you can adjust the contacts a little and, if necessary, clean them.

In extreme cases (I hope it doesn’t come to that), you will have to replace the slot - to do this you will need to go to a repair point.

The fourth reason why an Android smartphone does not see the micro SD memory card is viruses

Android users can download and install applications on the SD memory card.

Some applications contain virus files that can disrupt the operation of the external drive.

What to do: place it in the reader and connect it to your computer or laptop.

Then remove the malware using antivirus software or format it (Android viruses are not scary for your computer).

The fifth reason why an Android phone does not see the micro sd memory card is damage

To check if the drive is damaged, install it in a memory card reader and connect it to your computer.

If you can open it on your computer, then it's fine. Otherwise it may be physically damaged.

Reason six why Android does not see the microSD memory card - the phone is damaged

If you have already checked the SD card according to the above situation and found it to be in good condition, you may need to send your phone for maintenance.

There may be something wrong with the device that the external drive can't read.

In order for the flash drive to be readable on Android devices, you must save it carefully.

What was described above is for those who are in a hurry, but for those who have time, it may remain - let’s look at the problem deeper.

Other ways when Android does not see the memory card

Today we store a lot of data on a removable memory card - photos, videos, documents and applications.

If the Android phone does not see the microsd, then there are many reasons. Don’t panic - this does not mean that your data files will be lost - the problem is usually easily solved by the smartphone owner himself.

The smartphone may not see the memory card due to incompatibility - the card is not suitable for your smartphone.

Therefore, you should make sure that the card model is compatible with your phone. In the device characteristics you can see whether it supports this model.

Also look at what size it supports - maybe the most popular one with 32 GB is not suitable.

If you have done this, and your smartphone continues to not see the external drive, proceed to the methods described below.

The smartphone does not see the microsd - restart and reinstall the card

If the drive responds to the device, but the smartphone still does not detect it, the first thing to do is restart the phone.

If the problem was caused by a software bug, the system will quickly detect the removable drive after restarting.

The memory card should be inserted into the slot without pressure until it clicks. If the problems continue, try the following method to return the device to its original state (reset).

After the reset, the system files will be restored and the smartphone will automatically return to its factory state.

Be careful - this procedure will delete personal user data and do not forget to charge the phone to at least 50%.

Android does not see the SD memory card - check the SD memory card for errors

To do this method, follow a few simple steps:

• connect the drive to your computer or laptop;
• in the “My Computer” section, find it and right-click it;
• select "Properties" and go to "Tools";
• select “Check disk for errors” and click “Run check”;
• On the “Options” tab, check the box next to “Automatically fix ...” and “Check and repair ...”, then run the test.
• After scanning, insert the drive into the phone.

If checking for errors does not help, you will have to apply more advanced measures. Try formatting it.

It happens that there are mistakes, but nothing can be done. There are times when the SD card does not want to be formatted. In this case, use the next step.

If, after formatting, the phone sees the memory card, but cannot open it, then format it again, but on the smartphone.

Of course, it happens that even the computer does not see the memory card. What to do? Then most likely there is only one way out - to identify the manufacturer and try to find a program on their website that corrects their product.

If all the methods described above do not solve the problem, go to the nearest repair point, where they will reinstall the Android system or restore the memory card.

Why did Android stop seeing the microSD memory card after formatting?

This is the last section in our story. If you formatted an external drive on a computer or laptop, your Android phone may not see it.

Why? Because he “doesn’t understand” all the formats that computers and laptops work with.

The computer or laptop could be formatted in ntfs format, but the android needs exFAT or FAT32.

What to do? The solution suggests itself, of course. Paste it back into the PC and below the “File system” line, select the correct format and format again. Good luck.

Memory cards based on flash technology are now used everywhere. This method of storing information is much more convenient than other alternative options, which explains its popularity. No moving parts, high speed, long service life - this is a long list of advantages of flash drives. Moreover, if the card reader doesn’t see it, it’s hard to believe it at first. The main thing is not to panic and calmly try to restore functionality. There are several reasons why the card reader does not see the memory card. In this work we will provide their description and recommendations for elimination.

A card reader is a device through which you can work with flash memory cards. It performs two functions: writing (including formatting) and reading information. Inside there is a controller and groups of sliding contacts. Card readers can be either internal built-in or external. By the way, mobile phones that use memory cards also have their own card reader. Therefore, if such a built-in card reader does not see the memory card, then you need to look for the reason in it, and not in the phone.

Currently, the market offers a wide selection of different types of flash memory cards: SD, miniSD, MMC, xD, etc. They differ from each other in the number of contacts involved and their location, shape, operating speed and level of energy consumption. In some cases, the differences are more trivial - dimensions. So, often with the help of a simple adapter you can use SD cards in devices for MMC. It is not surprising that users sometimes have to figure out why the card reader does not see the card. After all, cards have their own characteristics.

One of the most common reasons why a card reader does not see a memory card is incompatible standards. The specification for any card reader (even built-in) always indicates the supported types of flash memory cards. Unfortunately, the reality is that instructions are almost never read. Many people believe that if the card fits into the connector of the reader, then there will be no problems. This is wrong. For example, there are currently two types of SD (Secure Digital) cards: standard SD with a maximum capacity of 2 GB and its improved modification SDHC (Secure Digital High Density). The capacity of the latter can be 32 GB. They are identical in size and location of contacts! The difference lies in the mechanism for addressing memory pages: in SD it is byte-by-byte, and in SDHC it is sector-by-sector. If you insert it into the device, it will be impossible to work with it. Either it will not be determined at all, or there will be constant failures. Hence, if the card reader does not see the memory card, then you need to check that the device and card are compatible.

When using an adapter (SD - MMC), you need to use a flashlight to check the condition of the contacts. Sometimes, even with careful use, the internal spring-loaded contacts in the adapter are “broken” by the inserted card. In this case, you need to change the adapter.

If there are problems with the performance of your computer, you should check the status of the BIOS settings. USB ports must be Enabled, and if the function is provided, then in USB 2.0 mode. Also, if “Legacy USB” is present, then it needs to be enabled. In any case, when you connect the card reader to the computer, a safe removal icon (for Windows) should appear in the system tray next to the clock. If it is missing, then you need to temporarily disconnect unnecessary USB devices and check the card reader. And finally, make sure it works on another computer. The device may need to be replaced with a newer version.

I received a request on the topic “MicroSD memory card is not detected.” The full text of the request is below in the screenshot.

As you already understood, the client was interested in the possibility of repairing a damaged memory card. After carefully reviewing the sent pictures with damaged memory cards, I came to the conclusion that there are chances to recover data from a damaged microSD, and they are quite good.

As for the possibility of repair, it’s the other way around. In the case where there is physical damage, then there can be no talk of repairs. And it’s not even about this particular case, but about the situation as a whole. The microSD card production technology does not provide options for repair, although there are exceptions, but this is the exception to the rule. You can find out about repairing flash drives in my blog blog..

Memo:All -micro and -mini SD are monolithic flash drives, with all that it implies. You can read more about data recovery from monoliths in this publication.

Important:If there is important data on the card, but the microSD (microSD) does not work, then you should think about the need for repair. Repair can destroy all data, without the possibility of further recovery of information.

What to do if MicroSD is not detected

The fact is that almost all memory cards, for the most part, cannot be repaired, but there are some nuances. So, for example, I have had cases when clients brought me such memory cards with, well, “childish” problems. Below I will give a couple of examples.

Case No. 1

A client calls, saying that I had an SD card in the camera, but one day it was no longer detected in the device, and there were “mega-important photos” lying there. The first thing I thought was that there was a problem with the card controller, but everything turned out to be banal and simple.

Solution. It turned out that the client did not have an SD card at all, but a microSD inserted into an SD adapter (photo example below). After removing the microSD from the adapter and connecting via a card reader, I was able to access the contents of the disk in normal mode (without any “unknown” manipulations) and copied the data to the client’s flash drive. I was even embarrassed to take money for this. Such cases happen.

The thing is that SD adapters are a very unreliable “device” and should not be trusted. The strangest thing for me is that even some professional photographers use such a crutch technique, which I still cannot understand.

Case No. 2

The contacts have oxidized. There are also cases when oxides appear “commonly” on the card connector. In such cases, the microSD is not detected by the phone or any other device it is connected to.

Solution. The solution here is, well, very simple, and for this we need an ordinary stationery eraser and a cotton swab with technical alcohol. In general, you can do without alcohol, but how can we do without such a “device”. To eliminate oxidative processes, you need to take an eraser and carefully (without using brute physical force, but also without gentle rubbing) rub an eraser over the contacts until they become shiny as in the photo below. After you are sure that the connector contacts are well cleaned, you need to apply a little alcohol to the ear stick and clean the contacts and wait until the alcohol dries.

At this point, perhaps, the article about what to do if MicroSD memory cards are not detected can be considered closed. I wish everyone a good mood and life without breakdowns that could not be fixed.

If you have any questions about this topic, write in the comments under the article.

More information about data recovery from memory cards can be found in the "Data Recovery" section.

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