Nowadays, instances like losing data from Smartphones or Windows/Mac devices are common. Your photos, videos, documents, or other files get deleted automatically without any prior information. SD cards are easy to use, especially for data storage, but sometimes they get formatted. It may become challenging to recover files from a formatted SD card.
Formatting the SD card is very different from deleting the file using the Delete key on your keyboard. When you press the Delete button, the deleted photos will be moved to your computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash. On the other hand, when you format an SD card, the space occupied with that photos or files will be marked as empty. Here, this article mentions how to recover photos from formatted SD card on Mac and Windows devices.
What Does Formatting an SD Card Means?
When you format a Memory Card or micro SD Card, it replaces the previous file management system with another one. This makes your SD Card more compatible with the Windows and Mac devices you are using. Although when you format an SD Card, the stored content will not be removed or deleted. In reality, it removes access to the files by implementing a new file system. Moreover, sometimes you will be asked to format the SD Card even while inserting it into a new device.
In a nutshell, we can say that formatting overwrites the current file structure with a new one. After that, all the files and folders previously visible on the SD Card will no longer be accessible.
How do I Recover Deleted Photos from Formatted SD Cards?
Whenever the SD Card is accidentally formatted, there are certain delete photo recovery methods that you can apply. These methods will help you to recover deleted photos and other files from your SD Card on Windows and Mac devices:
Methods to Recover Photos from a Formatted SD Card on Windows
Method 01: Use CMD to Recover Photos from Formatted SD Card
Go through the below-mentioned steps in order to recover data from an SD card using the CMD command:
- Firstly, type “cmd” in the Windows search box at the bottom-left corner to open the Command Prompt window.
- Right-click on “Command Prompt” from the navigation menu and choose the “Run as administrator” option.
- Now, enter the command: chkdsk G: /f/x/r. Here, in place of “G,” you need to put the drive letter of the formatted SD Card.
- At last, press the “Enter” key and wait till the process gets completed.
Once you are done, check whether you are able to access the files on your formatted SD Card!
Method 02: Restore Photo from Windows Backup
If you create a backup of your data file regularly, it will help you recover all deleted photos easily. The backup solutions allow Windows users to work only for local storage devices. That means no need to use removable devices like USB flash drives or SD cards.
So, backups on Google Drive, external or internal hard drives, pen drives, or any other storage device can help you. All these options will help you to get data back from a formatted SD card.
Method to Recover Deleted Photos from Formatted SD Card on Mac
Method 01: Using the Terminal App
Mac users can recover photos or any media files from formatted SD cards using the terminal app. For this, you have to start the Terminal app on your Mac and then execute the following steps one by one:
- First, launch the “Terminal” app from your Mac device’s “Utilities” folder.
- Next, type the “cd” command to go to the SD Card in the “Terminal” app.
- After that, you need to enter the command mv filename ../. Here, in place of “filename,” you need to provide the name of the file you want to recover.
- After entering the command, press the “Return” button.
- At last, type “quit” to close the Terminal app.
After completing the above-mentioned steps, check your SD card and see if the photos are restored on your device.
How to Recover Data Using Photo Recovery Software?
There are various professional photo recovery tools available that you can use to recover photos and media files from formatted SD cards. Stellar Photo Recover Software is one of the best among them. This photo recovery tool is compatible with both Windows and Mac devices.
You can easily recover deleted or lost photos from a PC, Mac, memory card, or SD card using this software without any hassle. Irrespective of the reasons for data loss, the software can help you to recover photos from an SD card that gets formatted or corrupted automatically.
If you have lost photos due to accidental deletion, malware infection, or crashed system, Stellar photo recovery will help you easily recover the deleted photos. Given below are some top features of this amazing software:
- This software can recover photos in multiple formats, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, RAW, etc.
- Restore data from internal and external hard drives, SD cards, USB Flash drives, etc., on both Windows and macOS devices.
- Recover files lost because of accidental deletion, lost partition, formatting, and other reasons in just simple steps.
- Not many technical skills are required to use this delete photo recovery software.
Now, check the step-by-step instructions on how to recover deleted photos from a formatted SD card with Stellar Photo Recovery software.
- Step 1: Download and install Stellar Photo Recovery software on your Windows PC or Mac. Launch the software, and connect your SD Card to the PC.
- Step 2: From the app’s main screen, select the SD card from which you need to recover photos. Click the “Scan” button.
- Step 3: Once the scanning process gets completed, preview the recoverable files.
- Step 4: Select the photos, videos, and other files you want to recover. Tap the “Recover” button to save them at the desired location.
That’s all! The above steps will help you to recover all the deleted or lost photos on your SD card using this deleted photo recovery software. After completing the recovery process, your photos will get automatically saved on your device.
Wrapping Up
This was all about how to recover photos from formatted SD cards on Mac and Windows devices. Recovering media files from a formatted SD Card can be quite an easy and simple task, but in reality, it is quite tough if the above-mentioned DIY methods are unable to recover your media files, then you can go with easy-to-use Stellar Photo Recovery software to recover photos, within a few simple clicks.
