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SDCSD Memory Card Recovery 0800 6890668 Price my job

Memory card data recovery · UK-wide, by post · SD, microSD, CF, CFexpress, USB

The card will not read. The pictures are still on it.

A card that the camera claims requires re-formatting; a card that your computer does not display; a card which your telephone calls corrupted; a card snapped in a bag or drowned with a drone; nearly every one of these cards still holds what was written to it. This is because what has failed on a memory card is usually the map, the controller or the package, and rarely the actual flash itself. When pictures are lost, it is usually due to the next step after the failure: either the format presented by your device; or the “chkdsk”; or the “First Aid” provided by your computer; or the repair tool you have used; or the various readers you have attempted in hopes of accessing the card; or powering the wet card to see if you can recover anything. Remove the card, say no, and post it, or hand it in at one of ten drop-off points. Our initial process involves imaging the card on our hardware imagers. We then build a new table of files, or use carving to extract the photographs and video from our original image. When the controller has stopped, we read the flash directly through the test pads on the card and rebuild everything in software. If a reader can still see your memory card, it costs £149 + VAT. However, if no reader can see your memory card, or if it is snapped, locked or lying about its size, it will cost £299 + VAT. CFexpress, XQD, CFast and SD Express cards start at £449 + VAT. Your first look is always free, and the figure is given in writing. On most jobs no data means no bill.

Put it to an engineer and hear what it would take
0800 6890668

The look is free · a reference for this checkCHECK-····

What kind of card is it?

Choose the closest match. You get a likely cause, the band it falls in, and the one thing not to do tonight.

Free, and nothing to payAnswered inside a working day
£149 + VATA card a reader still sees
FreeThe first look
3–5 daysAt the bench, for a card that reads
UK-wideBy tracked post, or ten drop-off points
Imaged first; nothing written to the cardOne fixed figure in writingMost jobs: no data, no billEvery photograph opened before it is listedReturn postage paidICO-registered · ZC173784

Four card jobs closed, and what went home.

Jobs already closed →
UK · SDC-2026-0701JOB LOGGED ✓

A wedding photographer's SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SDXC that showed a card error during the reception, then offered a format on every computer in the house

The SD card wasn't formatted. It was imaged as a whole on the bench; when the camera's battery died mid-burst, parts of the exFAT allocation bitmap and root directory were damaged. The root directory was recreated in the image based on the data available, the last burst of RAW files was carved using signature matching where entries were missing, and each photo was opened before it was added to the list.

1,942 of 1,944 RAW files recovered3 days here, and back by post
Illustrative example — replace with a genuine case
UK · SDC-2026-0702JOB LOGGED ✓

A SanDisk Extreme 256GB microSD from a drone that came down hard on a hillside, not detected in any reader afterwards, carrying a day's survey footage that had not been copied

No reader saw it. The protective layering was removed exposing the test points. These test points were connected to an adapter allowing access to the raw flash memory. The scrambling and error correction were decoded and a virtual SD card was created using the dump of raw data. The exFAT volume was mounted from the virtual card and the video was exported, including rebuilding the final video clip from a known reference.

97% of the footage recovered8 days here, and back by post
Illustrative example — replace with a genuine case
UK · SDC-2026-0713JOB LOGGED ✓

A Sony a7 IV's 128GB SDXC card that Windows asked to format on three different laptops after the camera had switched off mid-burst with a low battery, carrying a christening

Again, nobody ever formatted this card. This SD card was also imaged as a whole and while doing so, the damage to the exFAT allocation bitmap at the point of failure was identified. Both the allocation bitmap and the root directory were rebuilt on the image. The last burst of ARW files was extracted using signature-based extraction and dated using their own metadata, and each frame viewed.

100% of the frames recovered2 days here, and back by post
Illustrative example — replace with a genuine case
UK · SDC-2026-0715JOB LOGGED ✓

A Samsung EVO Plus 64GB from a dashcam that had asked to be formatted after three years in a windscreen, formatted by the owner on a laptop, and refused with Windows was unable to complete the format

The card had locked itself “read-only”, so the format failed on its first write and left the exFAT volume as it was. The card was then imaged using small passes and the power cycle was done after each pass. After imaging, the volume was mounted and every video clip within the loop was copied out. The owner also got their needed video clip from the same loop.

100% of the loop recovered3 days here, and back by post
Illustrative example — replace with a genuine case

Begin with the card,
or with what the device is saying.

Or begin with the brand →

Every card, and where it came from

SD, SDHC and SDXCThe camera card, the lock switch that lies, and two kinds of inside→microSDAlways a monolith: the test pads, the snapped die, the fakes→CompactFlashChips the bench can reach, and the bent pin in the camera→CFexpress Type A and Type BAn NVMe drive in a card; firmware handshakes and heat→Dashcam and security camera cardsLoops, wear, and the one clip that matters→Switch, Switch 2 and Steam DeckWhat on the card is yours, and what downloads again→USB flash drivesThe same flash behind a connector that snaps→

The photographs, first.

Photo recovery →

Lost photographs

Photo recoveryDeleted, formatted, card not recognised, or damaged: when software is enough, when it harms, and when the card needs the lab→

The two things that decide a job

Whether a reader still sees the card, and what was done before the envelope.

The brand, the capacity and the device matter less than two factors. One factor is whether, when the card is placed into a reader, it still presents itself as the correct size; this is the difference between doing table rebuilds on an image and reading the flash around a dead controller. The second factor is what happens in the hour after the failure: the format accepted, the chkdsk, the First Aid, the repair tool, the twelve readers, and/or the wet card powered. Each of these options writes to a card that would have given up all of your files without incident. In addition, the pages on this site quote, in each maker's own words, the offer to decline.

image · tables · carving · pads · needles · descramble

The image comes first, and the pads come last

In order to obtain an image of the card prior to testing, each card that can be tested will be fully captured using a hardware based imager which controls how long each read may take and reads the weakest areas last. Nothing is written to the card afterwards, and on the image the FAT or exFAT tables are rebuilt where they are damaged. In addition, photographs and videos will be extracted using the signature that was embedded in the photograph/video itself where the tables are gone. Dates are restored directly from the files themselves and video clips that were truncated due to a dead battery are reconstructed using a reference clip. Cards that do not appear to any readers are treated like a monolith; the coating is removed, the locations of the test pads are identified, a needle adapter is placed over the location of the test pads, and then raw flash is read out past the dead controller and reconstructed into usable data in software.

  • Imaged before anything else
  • Tables rebuilt, or files carved
  • Monoliths read through their pads
  • Every photograph opened before it is listed
How a card is recovered, step by step →
format · initialise · repair · reformat · erase

The offer to refuse, in the makers' own words

The note on Canon's error codes says that if you reformat the card then all of the images or data will be removed. GoPro has a website with instructions on how to resolve SD ERR errors which tells users to back up their pictures and videos before proceeding. On Nintendo's website for 2016-0247, it states that the information on the card cannot be recovered once it is formatted. SanDisk also provides technical information about the behaviour of cards with low number of available good blocks. According to SanDisk's support note, once a card has fewer than a specified number of available “good” blocks, it will automatically protect against writing. The SD Association's formatter manual says data remaining on the card following a quick format may be retrieved using a data recovery tool, and Microsoft's says a full format writes zeros to the whole disk. Each manufacturer's statement is presented on a separate webpage and each of those pages also says what to do tonight instead.

  • Twelve messages, each with the button to leave alone
  • The warranties quoted on what they will not do
  • A page on when software works and when it does not
  • A card a reader sees from £149 + VAT
Before you format →

What happens after it arrives.

All seven stages in order →

  1. Send the form

    Provide details regarding the card, the device it came from, the messages appearing on the screen and any previous attempts to fix the problem. We will send via email: the posting address, the nearest drop-off location, information on how to properly package the card and a booking sheet to print so that we can match your request when opening the envelope containing your card. We do not publish the address; rather, it is sent to you via email in response to your completed submission form.

  2. Post it, or hand it in

    You put the card, and every piece of a snapped card, into a small bag, which then was taped onto a piece of cardboard to prevent it from falling around while being posted. You seal this bagged package in a padded envelope, include the booking sheet inside and write your name on the outside. You send it via tracked post from any postbox or hand it in at one of ten drop-off points around the UK. Say where you are on the form and the nearest point comes by email with the posting details. Once we receive your cards we will post the results directly to you, and pay for their return shipping however the test comes out.

  3. The free look

    Once we get your card(s), they go through a special device called an imaging device. This device uses the reader required for the card(s). It is never a laptop slot. We determine if we can read anything from the card(s) presented to us. We measure how much storage space really exists on each card, and settle whether it is a card a reader can see with a fault in the data or a card whose controller has stopped. This initial process is free and you may stop at it owing nothing.

  4. One price, written down

    When we finish testing and determining what is wrong with your card(s), we provide you with the findings and one price in writing. The cost is determined as soon as we have finished testing your card(s); therefore, nothing chargeable begins until you have agreed to the figure.

  5. You get the files back

    We image the card, rebuild the tables or carve out the files, read the flash through the pads if necessary and open every photo; you approve the file list and we send the data home on new media. If the card can read, 3–5 days of lab time; if it needs monolith work, 5–10 days of lab time. Your case remains open until you've personally opened your files.

It will not read, and the format button is not the answer tonight.

A format replaces the directory map that all photos rely upon. A repair places incorrect material in place. A twelfth reader gives another opportunity for a marginal card to drop a block. Take the card out, say no, send the form, and then back comes an honest assessment of what can be read from the card, along with the cost to get it back to you. There is no charge for this assessment and there is also no cost for the envelope to send it back to you either; regardless of whether the card came by post or through one of our drop-off points.

0800 6890668

Price my jobPacking and posting