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[GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix acorrupted SD card

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02052014, 10:16 PM Thread Author #1

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UJ95x While Google has removed support for SD cards since the release of ICS,some OEMs (namely Samsung) have gone against that and continue to includean SD slot for expandable storage. This is a good thing for many reasons;users can store pictures, movies, music, contacts and/or documents on hereand not have to worry about their internal storage being taken up.

Unfortunately, this also leaves room for problems with the SD card, mostnotably with corruption of the content stored on the cards. Many apps andprograms claim to be able to retrieve corrupted information but for the mostpart, don't help much and require that you have the program set up before anycorruption happens.While I don't guarantee that this guide will help you retrieve any personalinformation, you might be lucky and at least save some of what was lost, andprevent any more corruption from happening. I have used chkdsk before andwas able to retrieve several pictures and a couple hundred songs

Now before we get started, you'll need a couple of things; the corrupted SDcard, and a computer running Windows. (I'm using Windows 7 for thisdemonstration)

Ok, ready? Let's startFirst off, you'll need to go to the start menu on the bottom left of your computerscreenClick on that and there will be a search bar. Type in the word "cmd" and hit

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7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

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enterYou should see something named "cmd. exe" under a list of programsRight click that and hit "Run as Administrator" as is shown below

This will open a command windows that will allow you to do a plethora of things,but most importantly, fix our SD card The window will look something like this:

Now before you insert the SD card, make sure the card isn't write protected asthis will prevent the program from having access to the card

NOTE:

This is only if you are using an SD card adapter for yourmicro SD. If your desktop/laptop have a microSD slot,you do not need to do this

Look at your SD card, on the side there will be a "switch." Make sure it is as farup as it can go (The letters on the card should be readable, not upside down)Once you have checked for this, you can insert the card into your PC's cardslotDoing this will open a window on your PC, showing the name of the card and

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7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassadorguidestipshows/359981guideusingchkdskfixcorruptedsdcard.html 3/12

asking if you want to open it or transfer any files to and from the card. Close outof the windowNow go back to the start menu and open "My Computer." There will be a listlabeled "Devices with removable storage" under which you will find your SDcard and the drive letter. You'll need the letter for when we use the chkdskcommand.

In my case, the SD card has the driver letter "H:" Your letter may be different, so make sure that you type in your specific one.

Now you will go back to the command window and type in "chkdsk" then yourcard's drive letter, followed by a colon and /fIt should now look something like this:

After this is typed in, hit enter and wait for the program to go to work and findthen fix any corruption on the card. This can take a few minutes, depending onthe amount of corruption and on the storage size of the cardWhen it is done, you should see this in your command window:

In this example I have no corruption, so the wait time was very short and Ididn't get any reports of data being retrieved or fixed.Cards with corrupted data will get any recovered data stored in the directorylost.dir in the SD card's list of foldersNow we're all done Hopefully this helped out some of you with the recovery of any info and/or withpreventing any further corruption.I also recommend reformatting the SD card once you use it again as it will doso in the appropriate format for your specific device.

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

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7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

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02112014, 10:45 AM #2

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srkmagnus Awesome! Going to bookmark this for future reference.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

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02112014, 02:19 PM #3

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Golfdriver97 Outstanding write up! Thanks.

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02182014, 06:24 PM #4

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KevroniCoal Very nice! I may want to try this on a card I have.

Would this technically work if I copy corrupt files from my computer onto thecard? (I had the SD card itself hold the corrupt files after they got ruined on thecard from the phone. I then copied those corrupt files onto my computer so Icould have them just in case I can retrieve them.)

If your want a reference, I have a thread about my issue I've had with SD cardcorruption here:Galaxy S4: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Thank you again!

Sent from my SPHL720 using Tapatalk

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02182014, 11:42 PM Thread Author #5

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UJ95x

You can try that. It's not a sure fix but always worth a try

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY KEVRONICOAL

Very nice! I may want to try this on a card I have.

Would this technically work if I copy corrupt files from mycomputer onto the card? (I had the SD card itself hold the corruptfiles after they got ruined on the card from the phone. I then copiedthose corrupt files onto my computer so I could have them just incase I can retrieve them.)

If your want a reference, I have a thread about my issue I've hadwith SD card corruption here:Galaxy S4: Micro SD Card Corruption Issues

Thank you again!

Sent from my SPHL720 using Tapatalk

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

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Thanked by:KevroniCoal

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04052014, 10:10 PM #6

1 Posts

jayjay sevilla i did what you asked... but there's a difference what is in the screenshots thatyou have.. mine asked some yes or no question about turning my folder intofiles something like that... then it finished but when i insterted it to my phone itdidnt read it it only says blank sd card.. when i tried it again the y/n questionswere gone it was just like your but still my phone doesnt read it but mycomputer does...

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04072014, 09:36 PM Thread Author #7

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UJ95x

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY JAYJAY SEVILLA

i did what you asked... but there's a difference what is in thescreenshots that you have.. mine asked some yes or no questionabout turning my folder into files something like that... then itfinished but when i insterted it to my phone it didnt read it it onlysays blank sd card.. when i tried it again the y/n questions weregone it was just like your but still my phone doesnt read it but mycomputer does...

7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassadorguidestipshows/359981guideusingchkdskfixcorruptedsdcard.html 6/12

Sorry for the late reply. Do you remember what the question was asking,exactly?If your card is now blank, you might want to format it inside of the phone. YourPC might have reset it into a nonsupported format for your phone.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

Current Devices:

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04252014, 01:17 PM #8

1 Posts

hjoyful I have a 32 gb sandisk drive that suddenly said it was damaged/corrupted. Ifollowed your steps and it says "Cannot open volume for direct access." Isthere anything else I can try to recover my photos? Unfortunately I have notbacked up in a while and I'm going to be devastated at losing all of mynewborns photos. =( Thank you for your help.

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04282014, 03:52 AM #9

1 Posts

Tak Chiv cannot open volume for direct access...please help

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04292014, 06:39 PM Thread Author #10

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UJ95x

Welcome to Android Central Before running chkdsk did you make sure you didn't have write protection onthe SD card? There's a small "switch" on the side that prevents access to thecard. Make sure it's in the off position before trying it again.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HJOYFUL

I have a 32 gb sandisk drive that suddenly said it wasdamaged/corrupted. I followed your steps and it says "Cannotopen volume for direct access." Is there anything else I can try torecover my photos? Unfortunately I have not backed up in a whileand I'm going to be devastated at losing all of my newbornsphotos. =( Thank you for your help.

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassadorguidestipshows/359981guideusingchkdskfixcorruptedsdcard.html 7/12

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04292014, 06:39 PM Thread Author #11

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UJ95x

Check my reply directly above this one.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY TAK CHIV

cannot open volume for direct access...please help

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

Current Devices:

Galaxy Note 4

rMBP 13"

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05022014, 01:42 AM #12

1 Posts

rtoozy I too have the dreaded "cannot open volume for direct access" I have used 4 SD card adapter and a micro SD reader. Same thing. And yes the lock is up. I super glue a couple up.

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05022014, 10:00 AM #13

1 Posts

Rosakn I think I may love you!!! I am running Windows 8 but followed your steps and I can now access thecard! You are a life saver!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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05022014, 08:47 PM Thread Author #14

UJ95x

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY RTOOZY

I too have the dreaded "cannot open volume for direct access" I have used 4 SD card adapter and a micro SD reader. Samething. And yes the lock is up. I super glue a couple up.

7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassadorguidestipshows/359981guideusingchkdskfixcorruptedsdcard.html 8/12

9,642 Posts

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Are you trying to recover data from the card or just get it working again?

Sent from my Galaxy S4

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

Current Devices:

Galaxy Note 4

rMBP 13"

iPad 2

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05022014, 08:48 PM Thread Author #15

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UJ95x

Awesome. Glad it was of help to you

Sent from my Galaxy S4

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ROSAKN

I think I may love you!!! I am running Windows 8 but followed your steps and I can nowaccess the card! You are a life saver!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH!

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

Current Devices:

Galaxy Note 4

rMBP 13"

iPad 2

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05222014, 10:03 PM #16

3 Posts

grayceworks I have a 32gb brand new Samsung SD card. I had just finished transferring filesand documents for client projects onto it, from an older 32gb SD card that wasfailing. Everything looked fine. I use this in my android tablet, and then also on aWin7 machine, depending where I am.

So after transferring all my files, I used it a total of 3 times, and the next time Iwent to insert it on the Win7 machine, it says "The disc in drive E is notformatted, would you like to format it now?" and I tried running chkdsk, and itgives the error that the disc is in RAW format and that chkdsk cannot be usedon drives with RAW format.

Help!

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05222014, 10:47 PM

3 Posts

grayceworks Ok, so I was able to partially recover it so far. I used TestDisk, and it found thatthe MBR was corrupted, and restored the backup copy. Now I can see HALFof my files. The other half are stuck in this single file named with a jumble ofletters with an almost 4GB file size. Any ideas how to straighten THAT messout?

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05222014, 10:53 PM #18

3 Posts

grayceworks Eh, I spoke too soon. Many of the folders in the half I could see had"unrecoverable errors" and could not actually be opened, even though theywere visible. And running chkdsk kept asking me if I wanted to convert all thefolders to files. Ummm..... Any other ideas? I'm guessing the SD card is kaput?

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05232014, 04:39 PM Thread Author #19

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UJ95x

Yeah, running CHKDSK should fix any corruption errors, but I've seen a fewsituations where it doesn't help. There may be other data recovery programs that can work. I've heard Recuvais pretty good.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY GRAYCEWORKS

Eh, I spoke too soon. Many of the folders in the half I could seehad "unrecoverable errors" and could not actually be opened, eventhough they were visible. And running chkdsk kept asking me if Iwanted to convert all the folders to files. Ummm..... Any otherideas? I'm guessing the SD card is kaput?

"We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly

anyone knows anything about science and technology." - Carl Sagan

Current Devices:

Galaxy Note 4

rMBP 13"

iPad 2

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06122014, 08:35 PM #20

2 Posts

oldschoola so i have a galaxy s5, with a 128gb sandisk micro sd card. out of the blue today it says "blank sd card"i cant mount it, it only asks to format it(the phone does that is).

would this help me recover this card so i can read it again and not lose anydata?

also does anyone know of any good "auto backup of pictures and music"software? ive heard of kies but not too sure about it. i just want something i canplug into my mac and let it download all the photos and music automatically,over wifi woudl be nice as well. hey like itunes and iphoto! lol.thank you in advance!!

7/27/2015 [GUIDE] Using chkdsk to fix a corrupted SD card Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassadorguidestipshows/359981guideusingchkdskfixcorruptedsdcard.html 10/12

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06132014, 01:01 AM #21

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B. Diddy Welcome to Android Central! Don't format it, because that will definitely wipethe card. Follow these steps:

1. Remove it from the phone, then insert it into your computer (usinga fullsize SD adapter).

2. If the computer can read it, backup all of the card's data onto yourcomputer.

3. Put the card back into your phone and reformat it.4. Unmount the card (in the Settings>Storagemenu), remove it again,

and insert it back into the computer.5. Transfer your backed up data back onto the card.6. Put the card back into your phone and see if it works.

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06132014, 07:20 AM #22

2 Posts

oldschoola yes if the computer can read it that would be great. ill let you know.but what if the computer CANT read it either?will this chkdsk article work? or any other ideas?

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06132014, 09:58 AM #23

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B. Diddy Samsung devices are a little notorious for causing SD card corruption, so if thecomputer can't read it, it might be difficult to recover.

Posted via Android Central Appplease excuse the brevity and any typos!

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or anything like that.

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06202014, 01:39 AM #24

zaibelle

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Stock

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Those are two different cards?

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