How can I get my virus infected SD card to work so I can get my old photos off?

Bethanator

Prominent
Jun 19, 2017
4
0
510
I have an old SD card from a few years back that has alot of memories and valuable pictures on it but when I plug it in nothing shows up because a friend used it in their virus infected computer and now it's infected. I want to get my pictures off of it so I can keep them on my computer, which is a mac.
 
Solution
If you let your friend use the SD card that was formatted for use in a camera in their computer, then likely it messed up the file system for the card. Or if the friend used it in a camera that used a different file system, it would also have messed up the card. I am not saying the photos are un-recoverable, but most likely you would need some specialized software, or if you really want to recover the photos, take it to someone who specializes in data recovery. Maybe someone else here has some ideas, but if the directory of the SD card gets messed up, it needs to be restored. That doesn't mean the data (photos) aren't still there, but that the device can't find them.

mjslakeridge

Distinguished
So you inserted a SD card known to be infected with a virus into your mac, hoping to recover photos? You may have infected your computer also. Was your friend using a PC or a mac? It may not be a virus, but the file system has been changed if the friend has a PC. Can you see the photos with the SD card in your friend's computer? If so, copy them onto his/her hdd to see if they are viewable. Using a SD card for storage is not a good idea, as they can fail at any time, just as any USB flash drive HDD, SSD, etc. can. Valuable data should be backed up to one or more devices.
 

Bethanator

Prominent
Jun 19, 2017
4
0
510
I have not yet inserted it in my computer but I tried on an old one some time ago and the computer didn't read it. And I my friend used it years ago. I just found it recently and I really want the photos I had on it.
 

mjslakeridge

Distinguished
Were the photos that are on the SD card taken when the SD card was in a camera? If so, they generally won't be viewable/readable on a computer by just inserting the SD card into a computer. They use different file systems. If you still have the camera, insert the SD card into the camera and connect the camera to your computer via USB (I don't know much about macs, but that is how I copy pictures from a camera to my PC). You could also try a program such as WinDirStat to see if it can see the contents of the SD card, just to verify that something is still on it. I don't know if WinDirStat works on a mac.
 

mjslakeridge

Distinguished
If you let your friend use the SD card that was formatted for use in a camera in their computer, then likely it messed up the file system for the card. Or if the friend used it in a camera that used a different file system, it would also have messed up the card. I am not saying the photos are un-recoverable, but most likely you would need some specialized software, or if you really want to recover the photos, take it to someone who specializes in data recovery. Maybe someone else here has some ideas, but if the directory of the SD card gets messed up, it needs to be restored. That doesn't mean the data (photos) aren't still there, but that the device can't find them.
 
Solution

USAFRet

Illustrious
Moderator


Non-functional or non-readable in the camera does not automagically indicate "virus".

That simply means that your friend has probably changed the formatting of the SD card, to something your camera can't read.

Due to your friends virused up system, I hesitate to suggest plugging it into a PC.
But if there were your pics on it, and your friend had it for 'years', and now you want the original pics off it....that's probably not gonna happen, virus or no virus.
 

dharampatla

Prominent
Sep 20, 2017
1
0
510
Yes I had a similar problem with my SD card too. When I restart or power on the phone, then it shows an error message to Fix the SD card with Yes or No as the options. By mistake I turn the option YES instead of skipping it. This resulted in memory loss and I have lost my most recent photos. I have no idea what was the problem with my memory card.