How to recover a sd card memory after telling Android to forget it

[Android Central Question]

Hi. I had a memory and it was set to be my internal storage (android 9), then I lost the memory with no hope of getting it back, so I told android to forget about the memory (the storage settings kept prompting me to either insert the memory or forget it). But I miraculously found it and insert it. It no longer worked, Android and windows all alike said the memory card needs formatting to be used. So I ran a chkdsk :/f command and it returned: "raw file system, cannot access it." Then I tried to recover my files with a couple of recovery softwares, like EaseUs and iCareRecovery. But all those recovery tools recovered were some totally useless files that I don't need at all. I've got some important records and pictures in that device that I need to get back.

 

[Deborah Fatuyi]

I quite understand that all. Info is permanently lost. But what the problem now is, the memory card is not discovered by my phone even when I used a card reader it was not discovered as well.

 

[smvim]

I quite understand that all. Info is permanently lost. But what the problem now is, the memory card is not discovered by my phone even when I used a card reader it was not discovered as well.

For more clarity on your situation, what phone do you have and which version of Android is it running?
This info can help determine just what suggestions may or may not apply.

-- Was this microSD card set up as Portable or Internal?
This is really pertinent. If the card was still Portable (its default), than the card also retained its original file structure (either FAT32 or exFAT). If however the card was reformatted as Internal, this results in a very significant change to the card's file structure. The file system is ext4, the same file system that your Android phone's internal storage is using, and just like the internal storage media it gets encrypted. That's an important aspect, both the phone's internal storage media and the microSD card media are in parity because at that point both are now set up to use the same file system and encrypted directly to the phone itself.
Assuming the card was set up as Internal, than also assuming by 'card reader' you're indeed referring putting the card into a card reader that you then put into a computer, because the card is now using a different file system and is encrypted, that card will not be detectable and will not automatically mount. Keep in mind that neither Windows nor OS X will be able to mount that card at this point, it's set up to use a file system neither one supports as is and on top of that the encryption prevents any access to the card's existing content (the encryption key only allows that particular phone unrestricted access).


Try this -- remove the microSD card from your phone and then turn off the phone. Start it back up again normally, leaving the card removed, and then try inserting the card back in place. Hopefully it will mount up automatically again and will be back to normal.

If that doesn't work out though, something could be wrong with the card itself. When it was originally left as Portable, it was still usable as a transfer media between different devices, when Internal however if you ignore all the warning messages and just randomly removed the card, that could increase the chance the card was corrupted. (When Internal, a microSD card is essentially changed into being another internal component to the phone itself. The phone's internal file storage media is virtually merged with the card's storage media.)
If the card no longer mounts itself automatically, you might try going into your phone's Settings menu and go to the Storage menu to see if the card is at least detected there. If so, use the indicated options to reformat the card (using the appropriate Portable or Internal options) This of course wipes it clean but it might also return it back to usable condition (if the file system was corrupted in some way).
Not knowing whether you have a Windows or a Mac, even though the card doesn't mount itself automatically at this point, that does not necessarily mean it's not actually detected by your computer. Use the Windows Disk Management utility or the OS X Disk Utility and see if the card media is at least showing as a detected volume and reformat from there (opt for FAT32 or exFAT, don't use Window's NTFS nor OS X's APFS)

 

[tismydroid]

For more clarity on your situation, what phone do you have and which version of Android is it running?
This info can help determine just what suggestions may or may not apply.

-- Was this microSD card set up as Portable or Internal?
This is really pertinent. If the card was still Portable (its default), than the card also retained its original file structure (either FAT32 or exFAT). If however the card was reformatted as Internal, this results in a very significant change to the card's file structure. The file system is ext4, the same file system that your Android phone's internal storage is using, and just like the internal storage media it gets encrypted. That's an important aspect, both the phone's internal storage media and the microSD card media are in parity because at that point both are now set up to use the same file system and encrypted directly to the phone itself.
Assuming the card was set up as Internal, than also assuming by 'card reader' you're indeed referring putting the card into a card reader that you then put into a computer, because the card is now using a different file system and is encrypted, that card will not be detectable and will not automatically mount. Keep in mind that neither Windows nor OS X will be able to mount that card at this point, it's set up to use a file system neither one supports as is and on top of that the encryption prevents any access to the card's existing content (the encryption key only allows that particular phone unrestricted access).


Try this -- remove the microSD card from your phone and then turn off the phone. Start it back up again normally, leaving the card removed, and then try inserting the card back in place. Hopefully it will mount up automatically again and will be back to normal.

If that doesn't work out though, something could be wrong with the card itself. When it was originally left as Portable, it was still usable as a transfer media between different devices, when Internal however if you ignore all the warning messages and just randomly removed the card, that could increase the chance the card was corrupted. (When Internal, a microSD card is essentially changed into being another internal component to the phone itself. The phone's internal file storage media is virtually merged with the card's storage media.)
If the card no longer mounts itself automatically, you might try going into your phone's Settings menu and go to the Storage menu to see if the card is at least detected there. If so, use the indicated options to reformat the card (using the appropriate Portable or Internal options) This of course wipes it clean but it might also return it back to usable condition (if the file system was corrupted in some way).
Not knowing whether you have a Windows or a Mac, even though the card doesn't mount itself automatically at this point, that does not necessarily mean it's not actually detected by your computer. Use the Windows Disk Management utility or the OS X Disk Utility and see if the card media is at least showing as a detected volume and reformat from there (opt for FAT32 or exFAT, don't use Window's NTFS nor OS X's APFS)

I believe her SD card was encrypted and she made the choice to "forget it" which essentially means that all the data on that SD card is forever lost never to be retrieved. Her only option, if she wanted to use her card again, would be to reformat it. Retrieving the files on the card is no longer possible IF THE CARD WAS ENCRYPTED.

 

[B. Diddy]

It also sounds like Deborah can't even reformat the card, since it doesn't seem to be detected at all. I'm not sure if that's something that happens to a card when it's formatted and encrypted as Internal Storage as well.

 

[smvim]

If she did set the microSD card as Internal, than it was definitely encrypted. That's a part of the process.
From the sound of things in its current state, whatever data that does exist in that card isn't going to be readily restorable. If she wants to use the card again, she has to reformat it. Reformatting will remove the previous encryption status and allow her to reuse the card. Well unless it's been corrupted seriously enough that it's too messed up to be usable again. If she reformats the card using her phone again, she'll have two options again -- Portable or Internal. Given the problems she's encountering I'd recommend she use Portable and return the card back to it's original status. When Internal, it's very much a conditional state and by ignoring any resulting messages on what not to do, that creates problems. If she reformats the card using a PC, she needs to use FAT32 or exFAT, and just go back to using the card as a transfer media between different devices.