How to Check for SD Card Errors | How to Check the Health of an SD Card

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Tracy King 

Last updated on April 19, 2024

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How to check for errors on an SD card? To check for errors on an SD card, follow these steps: 1. **Connect the SD Card**: Insert the SD card into your computer's card reader or place it in a phone or tablet, then connect the device to your computer via USB. 2. **Open "My Computer" or "File Explorer"**: In Windows, click the "Start" button and select "My Computer" or "This PC." On a Mac, open Finder and go to the "Go" menu, then choose "Disk Utility." 3. **Locate the SD Card**: In the opened window, find and identify your SD card, which is typically displayed as a removable drive icon. 4. **Run Error Check**: - **Windows**: Right-click the SD card icon, and select "Properties." In the Properties window, go to the "Tools" tab and click the "Check" button. The system will scan and fix any errors. - **Mac**: In "Disk Utility," select your SD card, then click "Verify Disk" or "Verify Disk Permissions." If issues are found, choose "Repair Disk" or "Repair Disk Permissions." 5. **Wait for the Process to Finish**: This may take some time depending on the size of the SD card and the number of errors present. 6. **Review Results**: After the check is complete, the system will indicate whether any errors were detected and corrected. 7. **Format Option**: If errors can't be fixed, formatting the SD card might be necessary. However, note that this will erase all data, so back up important files beforehand. Keep in mind that these steps might vary slightly depending on your operating system version. If you encounter issues, consult your system's user manual or online help for more specific guidance.

"I have a microSD card in my Samsung phone which got corrupted out of the blue. The phone is prompting me to scan SD card to check its health status and fix errors, but I don't know how. Can anyone help?"

Check the SD Card Health Overview

The longer you use an SD card, the higher the chances of errors, bad sectors, or damage occurring on the device. This can eventually lead to issues like "Memory card needs to be formatted," "SD card not recognized," "SD card read/write error," "SD card corrupted, please format," "SD card is empty," " unable to format SD card," "SD card data not showing or turning into shortcuts," "SD card shows 0 bytes," "memory card locked," or "SD card inaccessible, the volume does not contain a recognizable file system."

When you encounter such issues, you need to scan and check the SD card to fix it so that it works normally. You can check SD card health on Windows and Android phones. Here we mainly focus on how to check the SD card for health because your computer does a better job of repairing a corrupted SD card.

### Check and Fix SD Card Errors on Windows 1. **Insert the SD card into your computer.** Put the SD card in a card reader, then plug the reader into a USB port on your computer. If your computer has a built-in card reader, just insert the SD card directly. - If the SD card is having issues, it might not be recognized by your computer. In that case, you may need specialized tools to fix it. 2. **Open File Explorer.** It's a blue E icon located on the taskbar. Click it to open the File Explorer window. 3. **Locate the SD card.** On the left side of the File Explorer window, click "This PC." Then, scroll down to "Devices and Drives" and find the name of your SD card, then click it. - The SD card usually shows up as "Removable Disk." 4. **Right-click the SD card.** Click the right mouse button on the SD card's name. 5. **Click "Properties."** This option can be found in the drop-down menu, and it opens a new window. 6. **Click the "Tools" tab.** It's at the top of the Properties window. 7. **Click "Check."** You'll find this button under the "Error Checking" section. A confirmation window will appear. 8. **Click "Scan Drive."** Located within the confirmation window, clicking this initiates a scan for errors on the SD card. 9. **Wait for the scan to finish.** Depending on the size of the SD card, this could take a few minutes. Once done, the results of the scan will be displayed. 10. **Click "Automatically fix file system errors."** If errors are detected during the scan, the system will ask if you want to fix them. Click this button, then wait for the system to correct the errors on the SD card. - If no errors are found, skip this step. 11. **Click "Attempt recovery of bad sectors."** If bad sectors are detected, the system will inquire about trying to recover them. Click this button, then wait for the system to repair any bad sectors on the SD card. - If no bad sectors are found, skip this step. 12. **Recheck the SD card.** After the repairs, browse the SD card to see if the issue has been resolved. If not, you might need to try other methods to fix the SD card. ### Tips - If the data on your SD card is very important, back it up first. Before attempting any repairs, make sure to copy all crucial files from the SD card to another device.

1. Open File Explorer, right-click on your SD card, and select "Properties" → "Tools" → "Check." 2. Check both "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors." 3. Click "Start" to run the "Disk Check" utility and scan your SD card for any errors it can fix.

The built-in SD card checker in Windows can quickly scan for errors on your SD card, and it works most of the time. If that doesn't fix the problem, don't worry – you can use a free third-party disk manager to check your SD card's health and fix a corrupted SD card.

Check SD Card Health in Windows 10 with a Free Partition Manager

Disk Partition Manager EPM Free is an excellent tool that offers the most comprehensive solution for disk and partition management.

Notable features of the Partition Manager:

• Check bad sectors on the SD card with the SD card checker tool • Resize and move partitions, create, format, delete, and merge partitions • Copy and clone an entire disk to another disk, even if the target partition is smaller than the source • Convert a logical partition to primary or primary to logical, FAT to NTFS partition, and convert MBR disk to GPT, or GPT disk to MBR • Wipe all data on a hard drive completely to prevent information leakage or recovery

Now, download this free SD card health checker. Then, follow the steps below to check the health of your SD card and fix a corrupted SD card file system. You can also use this method to repair a corrupted HDD/SSD without losing data.

Step 1. Launch Partition Master on your computer. Then, right-click the partition that you wish to check and select “Advanced” > “Check File System.”

Select “Check Partition”.

(2) In the Check Disk Utility dialog box, select the Automatically fix file system errors check box, and then click Start.

Check the message that pops up

Step 3: The program will now check the partition's file system on the disk. When it's done, click "Finish".

Finish the check

How to Format an SD Card Without Losing Data for Bad Sector Checking and Repair

Checking the file system can fix an SD card that's damaged due to a corrupted file system. If this doesn't work, you can format the SD card to fix the errors and use it again.

Step 1: Right-click on the partition of the SD card you want to format and select “Format.”

Step 2: Set a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size for the selected 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 your SD card.

Practical Tips for SD Card Health Checks: 1. **Regular Inspection**: Make it a habit to regularly check your SD card for any potential issues. 2. **Error Detection**: Utilize built-in error-checking tools like CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) to detect and repair bad blocks. 3. **Keep Up-to-Date**: Ensure your device's operating system and card reader software are updated to support the latest SD card technology and optimize performance. 4. **Safe Ejection**: Always choose the "Safely Remove" option before removing the SD card from your device to prevent data loss or damage. 5. **Backup Data**: Regularly back up important data on your SD card to another storage device as a precaution. 6. **Avoid Overuse**: Refrain from frequently inserting and removing the SD card, which can lead to physical wear and tear. 7. **Antivirus Scans**: Conduct regular virus scans on your SD card to protect against malware that could harm your card. 8. **Temperature Control**: Keep your SD card within appropriate temperature ranges; extreme temperatures can affect its performance and lifespan. 9. **Cleaning and Maintenance**: Gently clean the contact points of the SD card to ensure no dust or debris, which might impact read speeds. 10. **Health Monitoring Software**: Use professional SD card health monitoring software that provides detailed health reports and performance tests.

1. Formatting will erase all data, so make sure you have everything backed up. If you can't access the card, you may want to try a disk data recovery tool to see if your files can be salvaged.
2. If you've reformatted your SD card and the error still won't go away, you may need to buy a new one.
3. Regularly back up your files in case of future SD card errors or failures that could result in a catastrophic loss of data.

In short

"Partition Master Free" provides the most comprehensive method to check SD card health status and file system. In addition, you can use the Disk Surface Test feature to check bad sectors on the SD card. All bad sectors will be marked in red. You can know the health condition of the SD card based on the number of bad sectors.

Common Issues in Checking the Health of an SD Card

Here are a few more questions about SD card health checks, in case you're interested.

How do I check the status of my SD card?

You can use an SD card surface tester to check for errors on the SD card. Disk management software with disk surface test feature can help you check for physical bad sectors on the SD card with one click.

How do I find out the actual capacity of my SD card?

You can find the actual capacity of your SD card in the following ways:

Connect your SD card to your computer. Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management. Here, you'll see all the drives listed, including HDD, external hard drives, SD cards, or other storage devices. You can view how much space your SD card has and how much is being used.

How do I check the lifespan of my SD card?

With appropriate engineering, the current technology can be made to last for ten years or more, allowing consumers to use the same device for many years and thus reducing electronic waste.