SD Card Deleting Files By Itself? Here's How You Fix It

Are your important files missing from the SD card even though you don't remember deleting anything? Irrespective of any reasons for your missing or lost files, you can use this article to fix the SD card deleting files by itself issue and restore all your disappeared files with the help of Remo Recover. A data recovery software designed to restore 500+ files starting from photos, videos, and many others! And it's free to download on both Windows and Mac.

Written by John Harris, Updated on Septemeber 25, 2023

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It’s quite natural to get panicked when suddenly you see that important files are disappeared or have been lost from the SD card. However, even if you find out that the SD card is blank, it doesn’t mean that you have lost your files permanently.

reddit user asking help to find his missing files oin his SD card

Source: Reddit

Did you know that these missing files can be efficiently recovered?

Before diving into the recovery process, it is crucial to understand the causes of files going missing from an SD card.

Why Do Files Disappear From My SD Card?

Here are a few common reasons behind lost or disappeared files from the SD card:

  • SD card is corrupted or damaged due to bad sectors.
  • File system corruption.
  • Files are hidden.
  • Write-protected SD card.
  • Accidental deletion or formatting of the SD card.
  • Virus Attacks.

If files are deleted from your computer, you can recover them using Recycle Bin. But what if files are lost or deleted on SD card? No worries! All the missing files can be easily recovered from blank SD cards or inaccessible SD cards with the help of the steps mentioned below.

Recover Files Deleted By SD Card Using Remo Recover

Remo Recover application recovers data from SD cards after formatting, virus infection, file system corruption, RAW SD card, and many other complex data loss scenarios. The software will restore deleted or lost files from various types of SD cards such as SDHC, and SDXC, including MMC cards, and Compact Flash cards. It supports more than 500 file types such as audio, video, pictures, or documents.

The software is compatible with all the latest versions of Windows and Mac including Windows 11, 10, and macOS Monterey, Big Sur, High Sierra, Catalina, etc.

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Steps To Recover Files Deleted By SD Card Using Remo Recover

  • Download, and install the Remo Recover on your system.
  • Connect your SD card to the system in which you have installed the software.
  • Launch the application, Choose the connected SD card from where you want to recover missing files, and hit the Scan button to start the drive scanning process.
  • select the sd card from where you want to recover missing files

    Note: If you didn't find the SD card in the list of available list of drives. Click on Can't find the drive? option.

  • Next, the tool start scanning your SD card completely. Make use of Dynamic Recover View option to view the files while the scan is still in progress.
  • click on the dynamic recover view to see the recovered files

  • Once the scan is complete, it displays all recovered files.
  • select the files that you want to retrieve

  • You can view all restored file when recovering process is done. just double-click on any file to Preview it.
  • double click on the recovered files to preview it

  • Select the files that you wish to restore otherwise skip this step to perform all file types recovery.
  • Click on the Recover button and select the location to save the recovered files. Click on the OK button to start the data saving process.
  • select a location to save the recovered files

Note: Check out this article if you are just looking to restore disappeared photos from camera SD card using Remo Recover.

How To Fix SD Card Deleting Files By Itself Issue?

Here are some manual methods to fix SD card deleting files by itself issue. These troubleshootings will also help you in fixing any faulty SD card because these methods are mainly targeted toward SD card corruption.

1. Fix the SD card corruption Using CHKDSK Command

This is one of the easiest ways to fix the problematic SD card that is deleting files by itself. Use the CHKDSK command.

  • Go to the search bar in Windows and then type ‘cmd’. This will open the command prompt interface.
  • Next, type ‘chkdsk x: /r/f’ in the command prompt and then hit Enter. [NOTE: You can replace X with your SD card’s drive letter].

type the chkdsk command

This command will start repairing your SD card and once the process is done, you can check the SD card to see if it’s working fine now.

2. Resolve SD Card Error By Unmounting & Reinserting the SD Card

If you are facing the micro SD card deleting files by itself on your Android phone then this troubleshooting will help you in fixing the SD card.

  • On your phone go to ‘Settings’ and then click on ‘Storage’ option and then select the ‘Unmount SD card’.
  • After this, remove the SD card from the device and then again re-insert it to the device.
  • Lastly, you have to remount the SD card and then use it just to check if the issue is fixed or not.

3. Format SD Card To Fix SD Card Deleting Files By Itself Issue

If the CHKDSK command was not able to resolve the files disappearing from the SD card issue, you need to format the memory card. Formatting the SD card will remove any kind of bad sectors, corrupted partitions, or corrupted files. However, before formatting the SD card, make sure that you have a backup of the files that are still saved on the SD card. This is because formatting your SD card may delete all the data from it.

  • Go to Windows Explorer and then click on the ‘Computer/This PC’ option.
  • Next, select the SD card you want to format. Right-click on it and select ‘Format’.
  • ntfs

  • Then select the file system- NTFS or FAT32 for 32GB cards and exFAT for 64GB sd cards. After selecting the file system click on ‘Start’ to begin the formatting process.

If you are unable to format the SD card, know why and what to do.

4. Uninstall The Faulty Applications

Sometimes, files keep disappearing from the SD card issue takes place because of a new application that you might have been installed on your device. And due to the incompatibility of the program with your device, the SD card is deleting files by itself.

So, in this case, you need to uninstall the application that is affecting your storage device. After uninstalling the application and clearing all its data from the device, check once if the issue is resolved or not.

5. Delete Nomedia Files

Check if the SD card contains Nomedia files with the extension .nomedia, which can prevent other files on the SD card from being 'indexed' or shown in folders.

You can delete these nomedia files from your SD card to prevent files from disappearing. All you have to do is open the file explorer on your device, navigate to the SD card's local folders, locate the nomedia files, and delete them.

6: Avoid Transfer Many Files At The Same Time (Bonus Solution)

Whenever a large number of files are moved to the SD card at the same time the SD card can get corrupted. This can be one of the reasons why the SD card is deleting files by itself. So, it is always recommended to transfer not more than 5 files at a time. This is more of a precaution that you need to take, rather than a solution.

Precautionary steps to avoid file loss

  • Backup essential files in external storage devices
  • Do not connect your SD card to any infected devices
  • Avoid using SD card inappropriately

Conclusion:


It is incredibly frustrating when you are unable to locate your favorite images or videos on your SD card, especially if you haven't intentionally deleted them. They may be either hidden or accidentally deleted.

This article discusses various DIY methods to make all the files visible and provides guidance on using Remo Recover to recover them in case they have been unintentionally deleted.

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