If Windows asks to format the card or USB drive, select Cancel. Formatting writes new file-system data and can reduce the chance of recovering the original folder structure.

Official Tools#

PhotoRec, TestDisk, and QPhotoRec are distributed together by CGSecurity. The stable package is portable and does not require an installer.

Stop for Physical or Electrical Problems#

Do not continue a software scan when:

  • the device connects and disconnects repeatedly;
  • its capacity changes or appears as 0 bytes;
  • the connector is bent, cracked, or hot;
  • a full-size SD card has visible physical damage;
  • the files are irreplaceable and the device is unstable.

For a microSD card, test one known-good reader. If it remains unstable, stop changing readers and seek professional evaluation when the files matter.

Confirm the Device in Disk Management#

  1. Connect the card or USB drive.
  2. Press Windows + X.
  3. Open Disk Management.
  4. Identify the device by capacity.
  5. Do not initialize, format, or create a new volume.

If the correct capacity appears, a read-only recovery scan may be possible. If the capacity is wrong or the device disappears, stop and address hardware first.

Run QPhotoRec#

QPhotoRec is the graphical version included with PhotoRec.

  1. Download the stable TestDisk and PhotoRec package.
  2. Extract the archive to the computer’s internal drive or another USB drive.
  3. Open qphotorec_win.exe on Windows.
  4. Select the affected physical device by capacity.
  5. Select the expected partition when it is listed. If no valid partition appears, select the whole physical device only after confirming its capacity.
  6. For FAT, exFAT, NTFS, HFS+, APFS, and most non-Linux sources, select Other as the file-system family. Choose the ext2/ext3/ext4 option only for those Linux file systems.
  7. Open File Formats and keep only the types you need.
  8. Choose Free for files deleted from an otherwise healthy file system. Choose Whole when the file system is corrupted or the device was reformatted.
  9. Choose a destination on a different physical drive.
  10. Start the search.

Do not choose a destination folder on the affected card or USB drive.

Choose the Scan Area#

QPhotoRec offers a free-space scan or a whole-partition scan before the search starts.

  • Use free space for files deleted from an otherwise healthy file system.
  • Use the whole partition when the file system is corrupted or the device was reformatted.

A whole scan takes longer and can produce many unrelated or duplicate files.

Expect Lost Filenames#

PhotoRec recovers files by their internal signatures. It may restore content without the original filename, folder, or date. Results are grouped into recovery folders.

Sort recovered files by type, size, and embedded metadata. Do not rename or delete the only recovered copy until it has been backed up.

If the Partition Is Missing#

TestDisk can search for a lost partition and list files. Start by using its analysis and file-listing functions. Copy important files to another drive before writing any partition-table change.

If the disk layout is unclear, stop before selecting Write. A wrong partition-table write can make later recovery harder.

Inspect the Recovered Set#

  1. Open a sample of each recovered file type.
  2. Check full-size photos, not only thumbnails.
  3. Play videos through the ending.
  4. Test archives with their integrity function.
  5. Copy verified files to a second backup.

Replace the card or USB drive when errors repeat, its capacity becomes unstable, verification fails, or a hardware test confirms a media fault. Keep a separate backup even when the device appears normal again.