How to Fix SD Card Not Showing Up in Windows 11/10

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 19, 2024

This article covers nine methods to fix the “SD card not detected” or “SD card not showing up in Windows 11/10” issue. Start from the top of the list and work your way down until you find the one that suits you.

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My SD card reader is not working on Windows 11/10. How can I view my SD card on the computer?

While trying to import some pictures from my Nikon camera's SD card to my computer, to my surprise, the PC couldn't read the SD card. After several attempts, the Windows 11/10 is not detecting the SD card. My Windows 10 is unable to read the SD card. How can I access the SD card on Windows 10? Any suggestions?

How to Fix the SD Card Not Showing Up Issue in Windows 11/10

So, how to open an SD card if it's not showing up or not recognized as a removable disk on Windows 11/10/8/7? You can find solutions to this issue here and try everything possible to get the computer to recognize the memory card properly.

Here are some additional methods that have helped other Windows users resolve issues with an SD card reader not working or Windows 11/10 unable to read the SD card. You can try them one by one until you find the solution that suits you. Share this page and these helpful fixes with online users via social media:

# Solution 1: Repair the Damaged SD Card

If none of the above works, you should prepare for the worst: bad sectors on the card might be to blame, and they could be causing corruption.

There is a simple yet powerful corrupted SD card repair tool that can help you fix the damaged SD card. It's called tools Partition Master. Users can take advantage of its Check File System feature to repair the corrupted SD card and make the computer read it again.

Now, download this reliable partition manager and fix the corrupted SD card with just a few clicks to open it on Windows 11/10.

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Aside from checking and fixing the file system on your SD card, Partition Master also provides one-stop disk partitioning features such as resizing and moving partitions to solve low disk space issues, cloning disks, merging partitions, creating/deleting/formating partitions, wiping data, and disk/partition conversions (such as converting FAT32 to NTFS) and more.

Solution 2: Try the SD card on another computer

Sometimes, when the SD card is not showing up on Windows 10, the issue might be with the computer's port and not the SD card. In this case, try connecting the SD card to another PC. Or, use a different SD card to check the slot. This is the first method to fix the undetected SD card problem.

Fix 3: Clean the SD Card and Card Reader

A common reason why Windows 11/10 fails to read an SD card or an SD card reader is quite simple: a dirty SD card or a dusty SD card reader. Both can cause poor contact between the card and the reader, preventing Windows 11/10 from reading the SD card.

So, clean the card and remove any dust from the reader, and try again. Alternatively, you can test the SD card on another computer to see if it's readable. If your SD card still isn't readable in Windows 11/10, try the solutions below.

The former two are common solutions when an SD card is not detected. Share this article to let more people know about them.

Solution 4: Change the Drive Letter in Disk Management

If your SD card doesn't show up in the Windows 11/10 file system, ensure that it has been assigned a drive letter. If not, follow these steps to add a drive letter:

Step 1: Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management.

Step 2: In Disk Management, your SD card should show up as a removable disk. Check if it has a drive letter assigned to it, such as D or E.

If not, right-click the SD card and choose “Change drive letter and paths.”

Step 4. Click on "Assign the following drive letter" and choose a drive, then click "OK". Your SD card will now appear in File Explorer alongside your other drives.

Solution 5: Update the SD Card Driver in Device Manager

Outdated, incorrect, or corrupted reader drivers are one of the main reasons why Windows 10 fails to detect an SD card. So, make sure to check the driver status.

Step 1: Type “Control Panel” in the search box next to the Windows menu in Windows 10, and then open the Control Panel.

Step 2. Locate and open Device Manager.

Step 3: Right-click on your SD card and select “Properties.” Under the “Driver” tab, click “Update Driver.” You can choose to “Search automatically for updated driver software.”

Fix 6: Reinstall the Universal Serial Bus (USB) controller drivers

If the issue persists, follow these steps to uninstall the Universal Serial Bus (USB) controllers drivers.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. Type devmgmt.msc in the Open text box.

Step 2: Expand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" entry.

Step 3: Right-click the driver and select Uninstall. Click OK when prompted to confirm the device uninstall.

Step 4. Restart your computer, and the driver will install automatically on your Windows 11/10.

Fix 7: Diagnose and troubleshoot SD card issues

Step 1: Open Control Panel as described in the first method, and then choose Troubleshooting.

Step 2: Select “Hardware and Sound,” then “Hardware and Devices.”

Step 3: Follow the instructions on the screen and wait for the issue to be resolved.

Fix 8: Disable and Re-enable the SD Card Reader

If your SD card still doesn't show up on your PC, and you're still wondering how to open an SD card on Windows 11/10, try this method.

Step 1: Open Disk Management on your computer.

Step 2: Expand the Memory Card Reader category. Double-click on an entry such as Realtek Card Reader to open it.

Step 3: In the window that pops up, click on “Driver” and then select “Disable device.”

Step 4: When prompted, click Yes to disable the device.

5. Double-click on the reader to open its “Properties” window. Click “Enable device” to re-enable it.

Fix 9: Recover Data and Format the SD Card

When you format the SD card on your phone, it may fail and cause damage to the file system. As a result, your computer won't be able to detect and display the SD card.

If the card still cannot be read or shows up after trying the above solutions, we recommend that you first use a data recovery software to recover files from the SD card and then format the SD card for reuse.

1. Recover Data from SD Card

Step 1: Select the SD card to scan

• Download and install the Data Recovery Wizard tool on your Windows computer.
• Connect your SanDisk/Lexar/Transcend SD card to the computer using the appropriate method.
• Launch the SD card recovery software. On the left side, select "SD Card Recovery." This will display all connected drives. Choose your SD card and click "Scan."

Step 2: Review the scan results

Wait for the scan to finish. Select one or more file types to display, like pictures or videos. Click "Preview" to check if they're the files you're looking for.

Step 3: Recover Data from SD Card

• Preview the recovered files and click "Recover".
• Choose a location different from the original SD card to save the recovered files.

2. Format the SD card

You can continue using the disk management tool to format your SD card with just a few clicks.

Step 1: Right-click on the SD card's partition that you wish to format and select “Format…”

Step 2: Specify a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size for the selected disk partition, then click “OK”.

Step 3: Click “Yes” in the dialog box to continue.

Click the “Perform 1 Task” button on the toolbar, then click “Apply” to begin formatting the SD card.

Alternatively, you can format the SD card through Disk Management.

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click on the partition for your SD card and select "Format."

Step 3. In the Format window that appears, check the box for Quick format. You'll also need to choose a file system and allocation unit size.

Step 4: Click “OK.”

Why Can't Windows 11/10 Detect My SD Card?

Why can't Windows 11/10 read the SD card? Normally, you can insert the micro SD card into a reader to connect the SD card to the computer and open the SD card on your PC. However, many users report that the SD card is not showing up in Windows 11/10. Why can't Windows 10 read the SD card? There could be several reasons behind this issue. For instance:

• SD card reader not working on Windows 11/10
• SD card is damaged, corrupted, or broken
• Hard drive issues, such as bad sectors
• Missing SD card driver
• Virus infection

You may be interested in the following related topics: 3TB hard drive only shows 2TB, how to format?

Ultimate Dispute Resolution

As mentioned earlier, if your computer or SD card is infected with a virus, you might not be able to find or access the SD card on Windows 11/10. Therefore, run an antivirus program to get rid of viruses or malware and keep your antivirus up-to-date.

Hopefully, these solutions will assist you in resolving the issue of undetected SD cards in Windows 11/10. If you have any further queries, feel free to reach out to our support team via email or live chat.

Common Issues with Undetected SD Card in Windows 11/10

Here, we have three issues related to the SD card not detected in Windows 11/10. If you are also struggling with any of these issues, you can find the fixes here.

**1. Why isn't my SD card showing up on my computer?**

• Connection issues. The SD card isn't properly connected to the computer due to damaged USB ports, adapters, card readers, etc.
• The SD card is locked and has the write protection feature enabled.
• Improper operations, like removing the SD card while the device is running.
• Missing SD card drive letter.
• The SD card is corrupted or malfunctioning.

2. How can I make Windows 10 recognize my SD card?

How to Open an SD Card on Windows 10 by Updating the SD Card Driver:

Step 1. Right-click on "This PC" and select "Manage," then open "Device Manager."

Step 2: Right-click on the SD card and select “Properties.” From there, click on the “Driver” tab and then click “Update Driver.”

Step 3: Click on "Search automatically for updated driver software" and follow the instructions to complete the process.

How do I fix the issue of my micro SD card not being detected?

To resolve the issue of an SD card not being detected or not showing up, try the following techniques:

Try the SD card on another device Check the SD card status in Disk Management Remove write protection from the SD card Reinstall/Update the SD card driver Enable the SD card reader Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter Repair a corrupted SD card

< strong > 4. How to fix SD card reader not working on Windows 10?

There could be various reasons behind an SD card reader not working, but the most likely causes are a loose connection between the SD card and the reader, outdated SD card drivers, or a virus-infected SD card.

Check for hardware issues: Inspect the SD card reader, USB cable, SD card, and USB port. Run the Windows Hardware Device Troubleshooter. Change the drive letter of the SD card. Update the driver for the SD card reader. Remove viruses or malware.

5. How do I install the SD card driver?

How to Install an SD Card Driver on Windows 10:

If it does, download the driver for your CD/DVD drive or SD card reader. Open the file, and repeatedly click "Next" to finish the installation wizard. Click "Finish" to complete it. Restart your computer, and the SD card should be recognized. If this doesn't work, proceed with the steps below.

Step 1: Click “Start” > “Control Panel” > “Add Hardware Wizard” > “Next” to launch the Wizard. Windows will automatically scan your computer for new or improperly installed hardware. If it finds your SD card reader, select it and click “Next” through the installation.

If your SD card reader did not auto-detect, select “Yes, I have connected the hardware.” Click “Next.”

Step 3: In the list of installed hardware, select Add new hardware. Then choose Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced), and click Next.

Step 4: Depending on the type of SD card reader you have, choose either “PCMCIA and Flash Devices” or “USB Mass Storage Device.”

Step 5: Select the correct SD card reader driver, or choose Browse to start the installation wizard for the SD card driver. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.