Recovering a lost file on a memory card is not always impossible.
Nothing can be more frustrating than a file just disappearing from your memory card. Fortunately, not all hope is lost; deleted files can be recovered. Stop using your memory card as soon as you discover that a certain file is missing because it might be impossible to recover the file the moment the data is overwritten. If the memory card is formatted, damaged or corrupted, the chances of recovering your files also are very slim.
Free data recovery software programs such as PC Inspector Smart Recovery, File Recovery and Recuva are available for download online.
Instructions
1. Download and install data recovery software.
2. Connect a card reader to your computer via a universal serial bus (USB) cable.
3. Insert the memory card gently. Do not force the memory card to fit. If it does not fit in any of the slots, use a memory card adapter.
4. Click on "Cancel" on the Microsoft Windows autorun menu that displays. The menu asks whether or not you want to access the memory card.
5. Open data recovery software to specify which type of file you wish to recover (music, images, documents or video).
6. Specify where the file is located. In this case, it is the "removable drives."
7. Specify where you want the recovered file saved. It is preferable to save it somewhere on the hard drive (C:\), such as in a "Recovered" folder in "My Documents." Do not save the file back to your memory card because the card may be damaged and could corrupt the data again. Some software automatically assigns a folder and opens it after data recovery is complete.
8. Select a scan type. The program might give you the option to do a "normal scan" or "deep scan." Click on "Normal Scan" because a deep scan can be very time consuming. If the normal scan does not achieve the desired results, follow the steps again and conduct a deep scan.
9. Click on "Scan." The program will search through all sectors on the memory card and try to recover your file.
Tags: memory card, memory card, data recovery, your memory card, data recovery software, deep scan, recovery software
