Micro SD card not being read by computer..

[ahb]

Hi,

I have a micro SD card that when slid into the SD port in my laptop doesn't get recognised by the computer. I have tried a different micro SD card and this works fine so it is not the computer or port.

This leads me to believe it is the card its self. Before this, the card was used in a Nokia 6500 which stopped working.

How can i recover the files on the memory card when the laptop does not recognise it?!

Is there a software i can use or can i take it somewhere?

Thanks for any help.

Adam

[Mimsy]

How many gigabytes is the card, and how many gigabytes is the card that works? Do you have another card reader, USB or other, that you can use to connect the card and have the computer see it?

If you can get your computer to recognize the card, there's lots of free data recovery software that you can try, that might get your files back for you.

[ahb]

The size of the card that does not work is 8GB, the size of the card that does work is 1GB.

I have a different laptop with a card reader and i have tried both cards in that too, both with the same result - the 1 GB card working and the 8GB card not being detected.

I understand that there is lots of free software out there to recovery files off these cards but if the card is not detected i can't do this.

Do you know any reason why the card is undectable?!

Thanks

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by ahb

Do you know any reason why the card is undectable?!

Yeah, I do, actually...

SD cards of 4GB or higher capacity are a format called SDHC (= SD High Capacity). If your card reader was made for SD, it will never, ever, be able to recognize and read 4GB or larger cards. It doesn't matter what you do, who you pray to, and what you sacrifice under a full moon, it just isn't possible.

The fact your card worked in your Nokia and then stopped working there is cause for concern, but the first thing we need to clarify is if your card reader is even supposed to be able to read your 8GB microSDHC. If it is, then we'll move on to actual troubleshooting stuff.

[cabbiinc]

I was thinking along the same lines as Mimsy except the MicroSD to SD adapter may be the limiting factor. If it's just a microSD to SD and not a microSD to SDHC adapter then you'll never get it working. Now many pins do you see on the SD adapter where it inserts to the computer?

[ahb]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

Yeah, I do, actually...

SD cards of 4GB or higher capacity are a format called SDHC (= SD High Capacity). If your card reader was made for SD, it will never, ever, be able to recognize and read 4GB or larger cards. It doesn't matter what you do, who you pray to, and what you sacrifice under a full moon, it just isn't possible.

The fact your card worked in your Nokia and then stopped working there is cause for concern, but the first thing we need to clarify is if your card reader is even supposed to be able to read your 8GB microSDHC. If it is, then we'll move on to actual troubleshooting stuff.

Firstly, sorry for the delay in response. I've been waiting for the usb stick card reader to come through the post to try it.

Secondly, thank you for the help and info your giving me so far.

As i've said i ordered a USB stick that reads Micro SDHC cards up to 64GB so my 8GB card i'm having a problem with should work in it. I tried it with a 1GB one and thats fine then i tried it with the 8GB problem card and still the computer doesnt recognise there is a card there. All i get is 'please insert a card'.

So back to mimsy's reply, i think we have ruled out the possibility that it may have been my computer or adapter not being able to read the card. Like i have also said, the card suddenly stopped working in my nokia, but surely this does not mean the files can never be access ever again!?

Originally Posted by cabbiinc

I was thinking along the same lines as Mimsy except the MicroSD to SD adapter may be the limiting factor. If it's just a microSD to SD and not a microSD to SDHC adapter then you'll never get it working. Now many pins do you see on the SD adapter where it inserts to the computer?

The USB stick i have bought should now of eradicated the problem of the adapter and whether it works or not. Does this mean the card is a lost hope?

Thanks again.

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by ahb

So back to mimsy's reply, i think we have ruled out the possibility that it may have been my computer or adapter not being able to read the card. Like i have also said, the card suddenly stopped working in my nokia, but surely this does not mean the files can never be access ever again!?

That depends on what happened. Recuva is a good data recovery program that you can try running on the card, but like all recovery software it only works it the computer and the program itself can actually see the card you want to recover files from. If it can't do that, it can't recover anything.