If you're in need of SD and CF card data recovery, trust Desert Data Recovery. As Certified Data Recovery Professionals we can recover data from physically damaged Secure Digital and CompactFlash cards, cards with deleted data, and cards with inaccessible file systems.
Most SD and CF cards are very similar to flash drives in their make up, consisting of a circuit board, controller chip, and one or more NAND memory chips. In many instances — most commonly when the controller chip has failed — the memory chips need to be removed from the circuit board and the raw data downloaded using specialized flash recovery equipment. Once the raw data has been read, we recreate the actions of the controller chip algorithms using special software that enables us to reconstruct, decrypt, and recover the data. When a card won't mount or its controller has failed, we can read the raw NAND at chip level and reconstruct the data with the Rusolut Visual NAND Reconstructor.
Typical problems with SD and CF cards
- Cracked case
- Card not recognized
- Zero or wrong capacity shown
- Accidental deletion
- Asking to be reformatted
- Unresponsive
Micro SD cards
A Micro SD card is made up of the same basic components as a standard memory card, but they are all encased in plastic epoxy. While this makes them smaller and lighter, it presents a far greater challenge to recover data when the device fails.
Data recovery from a Micro SD card is a delicate, difficult, and time-consuming process, as access to the memory chips is not possible until the epoxy coating is painstakingly removed to expose the minute electrical contacts hidden within. Once the contacts are exposed, fine wire traces need to be soldered to the intricate web of circuitry in order to access the data stored on the memory chip.
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Request free evaluation →SD & CF card recovery FAQ
What kinds of SD and CF card problems can you recover?
We recover from physically damaged Secure Digital and CompactFlash cards, cards with deleted data, and cards with inaccessible file systems — including cracked cases, cards not recognized, wrong or zero capacity shown, accidental deletion, unresponsive cards, and cards asking to be reformatted.
My card asks to be reformatted — should I let it?
No. Reformatting can overwrite the data you are trying to save. Stop using the card and let us evaluate it so we can recover your files first.
Why is Micro SD recovery more difficult?
A Micro SD card packs the same components into a plastic epoxy casing. Accessing the memory is not possible until the epoxy is painstakingly removed to expose the minute electrical contacts, then fine wire traces are soldered to reach the data.
How do you recover data when the controller chip has failed?
We remove the memory chips from the circuit board and download the raw data using specialized flash recovery equipment. We then recreate the actions of the controller chip’s algorithms with special software to reconstruct, decrypt, and recover your data.