How to Fix your SD Card not Storing Data?

How do I fix my micro SD card that won’t save the changes I make?

This question is taken from Quora, where people asked what to do if our SD card is not storing our data. And they were seeking solutions for similar problems like SD cards not storing your data, SD cards not saving your pictures, SD cards not saving any changes, etc. So we came up with this article, giving detailed information on how to fix your SD card and not store your data.

Without further due, let’s get into a discussion about why your SD card is not storing your data and How to fix your SD card not storing data.

Why is your SD Card not Storing Data?

Let us see some of the most common reasons behind SD cards failing to store data: 

• The main reason behind your SD card not storing data is that the SD card storage might be full.
• Physical damage to the SD card can also be one reason behind this issue.
• The mishandling of your SD card can also cause corruption in your SD card.
• Check your connectivity issues while you have inserted your SD card because sometimes there might be issues with the connectivity.
• If there is an issue in the device or if the device is corrupt, the SD card might not access the files or data.

6 Ways to Fix your SD card not Storing Data

1. Check if your SD Card Storage is Full

It is always important to check your SD card storage space available before transferring files. Lack of storage space can be a reason your SD card cannot store anything. 

How to Check if your SD Storage is Full or Not

Here is a guide to check if your Storage is full; follow the steps below to check your SD card storage.

1. Connect your SD card to your Computer

2. Open File Explorer 

3. Click on This PC which is on the left pane

4. Search for your SD card under your devices and drivers section 

5. Under the SD card icon, you can see if your Storage is full.

2. Check Your SD Card Connection 

Sometimes there are connectivity issues where your computer cannot access your SD card properly. Make sure your SD card connection is proper by reconnecting the card to your computer.

3. Try your SD Card on Other Device

Even after trying all these methods, if the SD card is not saving the changes you are making, then try inserting your SD card onto other devices. If the SD card doesn’t work on another device, go to the following method.

4. Check if your SD card or Memory Card is Write Protected

SD card, when written protected, will not allow you to perform any Write actions that will stop you from saving anything to the SD card. When the SD card is locked, you can only view but can’t make any changes to the files stored.

To Unlock your SD card, follow these steps:

Physical Unlock 

SD card readers will have a physical switch using which you can Read or Write and Protect it. Look for a Physical Switch and move the slider to unlock your SD card. 

Unlock your SD card by using Diskpart  

If the first method does not work perfectly, then you can try this method by using diskpart, where you can unlock your SD card through disk part.

Follow these steps to unlock your SD card through diskpart 

1. Go to Start and find Windows Powershell
2. Type Diskpart and press enter 
3. Now can see the window pop-up type diskpart list and press enter 
4. Select the disk you want to unlock instead of # mentioning your SD card number
5. Finally, type attribute disk clear read-only your read-only tag will get removed which was connected to your card.

For more information, refer to this page on How to Unlock an SD card. 

5. Check your SD Card with Error Checking Tool 

Windows provides an inbuilt error-checking tool that can help you check errors on your sd card, which is very useful when your SD card is not working correctly or if it is not showing you any files stored on an SD card.

Here are the Steps to Check your SD Card Errors

1. Open Windows Explorer 
2. Right-click on your SD card
3. Go to properties and then Tools. Click on check now. You will find your SD card errors.

6. Update SD card Driver 

Updating the card reader driver will help the software work perfectly without interruption, and you can easily access your files without any trouble.

To Update your SD card Driver 

1. Go to the search box and search for Taskbar 
2. Select Device manager 
3. Click on a category to see names on devices, then right-click on the SD card
4. Select Search automatically for update driver software
5. Click on update driver. 

Still, trying to save something on your SD card? Formatting the SD card is the only solution.

Note: Before you format the SD card, take a backup of your data. If you cannot take a backup due to any issues with the SD card, then you can use an SD card recovery software like  Remo Recover to recover all your inaccessible data from an SD card.

7. Format your SD card 

If none of the methods worked, the last method to store your data is to format your SD card. Once you format your SD card, all your data will be erased, and it will assign you a new file system that is reusable to store your data.

To format your SD card, follow the below steps:

1. Right-click on the SD
2. Then Click on the format.

Tips to Protect your SD Card

• Protect your SD card from Virus and Malware attacks.
• Eject your SD card before removing your SD card. 
• Handle your SD card carefully without causing physical damage, like scratches on the SD card might cause corruption.
• Turn off your camera before you remove your SD card 
• Don’t run batteries to your edge
• Do not use the same card on multiple devices 
• Use multiple cards instead of using much data on one SD card