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14 May 2019  Jennifer Thatcher  Technology Manager of Test Dept.
 

Summary
SD card is the welcomed storage media of mobile device. But some accidents may occur when you are using it. As a result, data will be lost in the SD card. In this article, we will introduce 5 free SD card recovery applications. Hope you bring your lost or deleted data back!



free sd card recovery software

1. Renee Undeleter

Renee Undeleter, a simple, effective, quick, free data recovery application, is absolutely the best choice for newbies and computer professionals. It can recover sorts of files from the SD card, such as pictures, videos, music, Microsoft Office documents, Outlook mails and setup packages. Importantly, it can perfectly run in Windows and MacOS.
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

Only 5 clicks:
①  First, download and install Renee Undeleter.

② Launch the application and select one scan mode (Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan, Whole Disk Scan). Here we select [Fast Partition Scan] as an example.

Three Scan modes
③ Select the target SD card, and then click [Next].
select a drive to scan
④ Select the scan mode, [fast scan] or [deep scan].
Select fast scan mode in renee undeleter
⑤  Then go to Advanced Settings. Select [Default Settings] and click [Next]. Wait for scanning for minutes and select the target files. Finally, click [Recover] to retrieve them!
undelter scan result to recover

2. Recuva

Recuva, a free SD card recovery application, can directly recover files in hard disks, flash drives and storage cards (i.e. SD card and MMC). Any files are supported. If the data hasn’t ever be written repeatedly, it can be recovered.
free sd card recovery application recuva
Merits:

● The light version consumes little space, which can be installed on the USB flash drive.

● Two scan modes, simple and deep modes.

● You can preview the scanned images.

Demerits:

● Some junk files will be retrieved while some files cannot be. It is not easy to recover your target files.

● There aren’t multiple scan modes. What’s worse, few files can be recovered in the free version.

Click to learn how to recover SD card with Recuva.

3. PhotoRec

PhotoRec, created by Christophe Grenier, is a free, open-source data recovery application. It can run in each kind of operating systems. PhotoRec doesn’t merely recover photos. It can recover over 500 types of files from the SD card and portable devices.
PhotoRec free sd card recovery application
Merits:

● It is applicable to many operating systems– Windows, MacOS and Linux.

● It will be updated regularly by developers.

● Powerful recovery functions for many file types.

Demerits:

● It works with command lines, not easy for newbies.

4. Tokiwa Data Recovery

Tokiwa Data Recovery is simple data recovery tool. It can work for some file systems, namely FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS. The interface is simple and clear. You can even use the Shift and Ctrl keys to recover several files. It can directly run in the USB or disk without installation.
free tokia data recovery for sd card
Merits:

● Run without installation, but with little space consumption.

● Scan quickly.

● Select deep mode after simple scan.

● Erase files permanently.

Demerits:

● It cannot recover many files, unable to recover all target files.

● Images or files cannot be previewed.

● It only supports Windows. Linux and Mac are excluded.

5. SoftPerfect File Recovery

SoftPerfect File Recovery, a free, effective data recovery application, can recover SD cards, hard disks, soft disks and USB flash drives. It supports common file systems: FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS and NTF55.
free softperfect for sd card recovery
Merits:

● Portable, installation-free.

● 33 language versions.

● Clear, simple interface.

Demerit:

● You cannot preview files, and the files are shown one by one, not categorized by folders.

To understand these 5 free SD card recovery applications directly, here is a function comparison among them:

Renee Undeleter

Recuva

PhotoRec

Data Recovery

SoftPerfect

Support SD card recovery√ √ √ √ √
Multiple scan modes √××××
Deep scan √ (Fast) √ (Slow) × √ (Slow) ×
Preview files√√ × × ×
Multiple languages √ × × × √
Support Windows √ √ √ √ √
Support MacOS √ × √ × ×
OperationSimpleModerateDifficultModerateSimple
Tips

If you have clear targets on data recovery, you can learn about how to recover photos in the SD card and how to recover the formatted SD card.