“SD card is blank or has unsupported file system” – When you suddenly realize that your SD card is blank, it does not mean that your data is lost. If you are an SD card user, you might have come across this error message at some point, while trying to access your photos, videos, and other media files through your Smart Phone, Digital Camera, or tablet. Generally speaking, when Smart Phone, Camera, or Tablet fails to read the SD card it may display an SD card is blank error or your data is completely missing. It can also prompt us to format the card to fix the issue. This generally happens due to corruption on SD cards.
Note: If data is your first priority over fixing your SD card, it is recommended that you recover files from blank SD card with Remo Recover, a reliable data recovery software.
SD cards get corrupt due to severe virus attacks, abrupt removal of the card from the device during its usage, and improper usage of the SD card. All these factors basically affect the file system of your SD card, and as a result, it may turn into a RAW drive. Since a Raw drive cannot be recognized by your Android Phone, Camera, Computer, and other devices, the data on the SD card will not be displayed.
NOTE: If you are using an SD card on an Android Phone, and the phone is not recognizing the SD card or displaying a blank SD card error, then check the file system of the SD card. Android devices are familiar with only exFAT, FAT32, EXT3, and EXT4 file systems. If the SD card is formatted with NTFS or other file systems, then your Android device doesn’t recognize the SD card, and you will be stuck with a blank SD card problem.
SD card becomes useless until you fix the blank and display a blank SD card or unsupported file system error message. Although formatting the SD card can be a good solution, it wipes out the data on the SD card. Now the question is how to fix the “SD card is blank or has unsupported file system” issue and recover files from a blank SD card.
Phone suddenly says "SD card is blank or has unsupported file system." Was working okay up until today. What now?
"It has pictures and video on it and everything...
What can I do about this?"
Source: Reddit
Fortunately, we came out with four safe solutions to fix the “SD card is blank or has unsupported file system” issue. Try these fixes for the blank SD card problem.
Solutions to fix the “SD card is blank or has unsupported file system” error:
Solution 1: Run CHKDSK to Fix Blank & Unsupported SD Card
Step 1: Connect your SD card to your system via a Card reader.
Step 2: Open Windows Command Prompt.
Step 3: Type chkdsk g: /f (f represents the drive letter assigned to your SD card), and hit Enter.
The chkdsk /f command checks and repairs issues with the disk drive to make it readable again.
Now, remove your SD card from the computer, and insert it back into your Smartphone, or tablet to check whether it is working fine. If the problem still persists, then go ahead with the next solution to fix your blank SD card problem.
Solution 2: Show Hidden Files
The second solution is testing your blank SD card to check whether any hidden files exist in it. The reason behind this test is to verify if any harmful hidden files are causing a problem with SD card functionality. To do this, follow the steps given below:
NOTE: The procedure below applies to Windows 10 OS, and it slightly varies for the other versions of Windows Operating Systems.
Step 1: Connect your SD card to a computer via a card reader, and check whether it is detected by your computer. If detected, then go to Step 2.
Step 2: Now, Open the Control Panel, and click on Programs.
Step 3: Under Programs, click on Appearance and Personalization in the left pane.
Step 4: Now, click on the File Explorer Options from the right pane and select the View Tab.
Step 5: Next, select the radio button associated with Show Hidden Files, folders, and drives.
Step 6: Now, click on Apply, and hit the OK button to save the changes.
Now, disconnect the SD card from your computer, and insert it back into your digital device. If your SD card is showing all the files stored in it, then the problem is solved, and you can access your SD card files. If you are facing a blank SD card situation, try the next solution.
NOTE: In the meanwhile, troubleshooting the faulty or corrupted SD card can lead to data loss problems. So, it’s better to recover data from a blank SD card with Remo Recover Software for free. The software is available for free download. Get it and recover your files for free.
Solution 3: Re-install the disk drivers to fix “SD card is blank or has unsupported file system”
Updating the disk drivers is one of the most frequently used troubleshooting methods for a removable drive like SD card or any other USB device. Follow these steps to fix blank SD card by updating the disk drivers.
Step 1: Type cmd in the Search Box and right-click on the “Command Prompt”, and then choose “Open as Administrator”
Step 2: Now, type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 at the command prompt interface. Then, input “start devmgmt.msc”, and hit Enter
Step 3: This will open the “Device Manager”. Here click on the “View” Tab, and choose “Select hidden devices”
Step 4: Now, expand the “Universal serial bus controller” section
Step 5: If you find any grayed entries > Right-click on them> Select “Uninstall”
Now, reboot your computer that automatically reinstalls the drivers. Now, connect the SD card to your Smart Phone, or a Tablet, and it should be working fine. In any other case formatting the SD card is the last solution to sort out the issue. But, formatting wipes out all the data stored in the SD card. So, before formatting the SD card, recover files from blank SD cards with reliable and trusted data recovery software.
Solution 4: Recover Data from Blank SD Card with Remo Recover
Even after trying out the above three solutions, if you are facing the “SD Card is blank or has unsupported file system” error message, then what to do? Don’t worry! Still, you can recover files from blank SD cards safely with Remo Recover software, and then format the SD card to permanently fix the issues with your SD card.
Download the Professional Remo SD Card Recovery Software, and install it on your computer for free. After successful installation of the software, follow a few simple instructions given below to recover data from a blank SD card:
Step 1: Download and install Remo Recover on your computer and follow the steps below to recover data from blank SD cards.
Step 2: From the main screen select the drive from where you want to recover the files.
Step 3: Click on the Scan option to initiate the scanning process.
Note: Once the Quick Scan is completed, the tool automatically starts Deep Scan. you can click on the Dynamic Recovery View to see the recovery result.
Step 4: Go to the Lost and Found Files in the Tree structure and find your lost files on the SD card.
Step 6: Double-click to preview the recovered files from the SD card.
Step 5: Finally, select the lost files which you want to restore and click on the Recover option
After successfully recovering files from blank SD card, go ahead with formatting the faulty SD card to make it usable again. Now, you have successfully recovered files from blank SD card, and fixed blank SD card problem.
Conclusion:
This article discusses solutions and potential causes of a blank SD card error. If you are wondering what to do when an SD card is unsupported on any device, following the steps outlined in this article will help you recover your valuable data easily, even with basic computer knowledge. If you’d like to rescue the data first then you can use Remo Recover to recover data from an unsupported SD card.
