Corrupted SD card good practice 2023

July 6, 2023 5:52 PM

SD card shows up but says it’s corrupted. I need the data off it. Is Disk Drill Pro, which SEO of google searches suggests is the best method, the best method? Or should I go straight to a pro recovery expert? I have macOS, ios and android systems to hand
posted by The Last Sockpuppet to Technology (3 answers total)

I would ask a recovery expert for a quote first - have the specs of the SD card ready and they will probably tell you it'll be $X - you should have that information before you take any steps yourself if you're not sure. For all we know it could be a 15-minute operation that costs you $20, or maybe it's 10x that for some reason. Once you have that info you can make an informed choice.

As for Disk Drill, it looks reasonably legit - there are alternatives here if you want to poke around a little.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 6:36 PM on July 6, 2023

GNU ddrescue to create a disk image of the card, then PhotoRec on that?
posted by genpfault at 8:18 PM on July 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Seconding PhotoRec (recovers more than just photos). I've used it on a bunch of bad SD cards and hard drives over the years.

If you have issues getting PhotoRec going memail me. Also, flip the little switch on the side of the SD card to make it not writeable.
posted by gregr at 7:08 AM on July 7, 2023 [1 favorite]