SanDisk Data Recovery Guide for SD Cards and USB Drives

SanDisk is one of the most popular manufacturers of flash memory products, mainly SD cards and USB drives. But just because SanDisk products can be found in stores around the world doesn’t mean they’re 100% reliable, which is why SanDisk recovery is a topic that’s commonly discussed in forums on the internet.
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Why Do Users Need to Recover Data from SanDisk Devices?

SanDisk is an American brand owned by Western Digital. It specializes in flash memory products, selling millions of SD cards and USB drives each year. Some of its most popular products include:

These and other SanDisk storage devices are used to store images (JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, RAW), music (MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC), videos (MOV, WMV, MP4, AVI, MLV), documents (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, TXT), and other files that users frequently transfer between computers or create using their digital cameras, voice recorders, and other electronic devices.

Because of how SanDisk storage devices are used, their users typically need to perform data recovery for one of the following reasons:

• 🚑 Accidental deletion: Even the most experienced users make mistakes, and it really doesn’t take much to accidentally delete the wrong file.
• ✂️ Data corruption: When transferring memory cards and USB flash drives between devices, data corruption may occur and cause files and even entire folders to become inaccessible.
• 🪓 Physical damage: While SanDisk storage devices are known to be reliable, they are certainly not bullet-proof, and damaging them is not that difficult.

In the first two cases, it’s possible to use readily available SanDisk recovery software to get back the lost files in a matter of minutes. Such software can be downloaded for free from the internet, and it works with all SanDisk storage devices regardless of when they were manufactured.

Unfortunately, even the best SanDisk data recovery software can’t restore files from physically damaged storage devices that are no longer accessible. In that case, it’s necessary to contact a special data recovery service center with professional equipment and plenty of experience.

Top 7 SanDisk Recovery Tools

To perform SanDisk file recovery, you need to do two things: connect your SanDisk storage device to your computer and download a SanDisk recovery tool. The former shouldn’t be a problem as long as you have a memory card reader and an empty USB port, but the latter can be a challenge because there are many options to choose from.

Here are three SanDisk file recovery tools that are guaranteed to provide great results:

1. Disk Drill (Windows & Mac)

Disk Drill is a popular recovery tool for Windows and Mac. It can recover over 400 file formats from all kinds of storage devices, so it has no problem with SanDisk memory card or USB flash drive recovery. Disk Drill is our favorite SanDisk recovery tool because even complete beginners can obtain fantastic results with it in just a few clicks.

2. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac & Linux)

We recommend PhotoRec because it runs on all major operating systems and offers unlimited recovery for free. Despite what its name suggests, PhotoRec can be used to perform more than just photo recovery and image recovery thanks to its support for all commonly used file formats.

3. Data Rescue (Windows & Mac)

Data Rescue is a no-frills recovery tool for Windows and Mac that boasts a straightforward recovery process and a bunch of extra features that greatly increase its value. We just wish it were a bit more modern because it pales in comparison with Disk Drill and other leading recovery tools.

4. RescuePRO and RescuePRO Deluxe (Windows & Mac)

As with various other brands of storage media, SanDisk has its own proprietary data recovery programs called RescuePRO and RescuePRO Deluxe. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but it works on both Windows and Mac machines, it’s great at recovering fragmented video files, and it includes extra backup and wiping features. Keep in mind, however, that the apps don’t work with hard drives or RAID setups, so only pick it up with that in mind.

5. R-Studio (Windows, Mac & Linux)

R-Studio is an incredibly comprehensive data recovery tool that’s geared more towards advanced users than newbies. While the program may be a bit too complex for some, in the right hands, R-Studio provides a level of flexibility that most of its competition doesn’t have and it comes with an overwhelming number of features for an impressive range of storage mediums, file systems, and file types. If you can get past the odd pricing scheme, that is.

6. EaseUS Data Recovery (Windows & Mac)

EaseUS Data Recovery is a pretty popular app in the data rescue space, given how it’s remarkably easy to use, does its job well, and is capable of recovering files from a wide range of data loss scenarios. It’s a bit on the pricey side and it isn’t as feature-rich as some of the competition, but it remains a solid option overall. There’s a trial version in case you want to give the program a go before investing, though it doesn’t allow you to actually recover any files.

7. Recuva (Windows)

If you’re looking for a data recovery solution that won’t hog much of your machine’s resources and comes with an attractive free version, then Recuva is certainly worth a look. The free edition allows you to recover files without limits, which is fantastic, and the paid version is quite affordable in case you’re interested in some of the extra features. It’s not the most effective recovery tool on the market and the user interface could use a much-needed facelift, but Recuva is one of the better free/low-cost solutions out there.

How to Recover Data from a SanDisk Storage Device on Windows and Mac

Here’s how you can recover data from a SanDisk storage device on Windows and Mac using our favorite SanDisk recovery tool, Disk Drill.

Windows

1. 1. Start by downloading the free version of Disk Drill for Windows to your computer. Then, open the downloaded file and install Disk Drill on your computer.
   2. Launch Disk Drill and select the SanDisk SD card, micro SD card, USB flash drive, or any other storage device you want to recover. Click the Search for lost data button to scan it.
   3. Select which files you want to recover and click the Recover button. Disk Drill will ask you to specify the recovery directory, and you need to select a different storage device than the one from which you’re recovering the lost files.
      

Mac

1. Download the free version of Disk Drill for Mac to your computer. Then, open the downloaded file and drag Disk Drill to your Applications folder.
2. Launch Disk Drill and click the Search for lost data button next to your SanDisk storage device. Instantly, Disk Drill will start scanning the selected storage device, looking for recoverable files.
   
3. Finally, select which files you want to recover and click the Recover button. Disk Drill will ask you to specify the recovery directory, and you need to select a different storage device than the one from which you’re recovering the lost files.

Tip: Back Up Your SanDisk Storage Devices

SanDisk is known for offering a comprehensive warranty on its products, but there are certain limitations that you should know about:

“SanDisk warranty does NOT provide reimbursement for data recovery services. This is specifically stated in our warranty,” states SanDisk on its website. “The SanDisk warranty covers the product itself, but does NOT cover any damages due to data loss. It is recommended to make regular backups of all your data and pictures.”

That’s right, SanDisk won’t pay for data recovery services in case you lose important files to physical damage and are forced to seek the assistance of professionals. That’s why you should regularly back up your data, and you can do so using SanDisk’s own backup software, called simply SanDisk Backup.

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