USB Stick and SD Card Data Recovery in Brisbane

Geeks Brisbane recovers deleted, formatted and corrupted files from USB sticks, SD, microSD and camera cards that a computer can still detect. We work onsite across Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and the Redlands, or remotely, at $205/hour onsite or $125/hour remote (one-hour minimum, no call-out fee). Physically damaged sticks need a specialist lab.

Maybe you plugged in a USB stick or took the SD card out of your camera and the files are gone. Maybe Windows now says the drive needs formatting, or the card shows up empty. If it's the only copy of the kids' photos or a work file, here's the good news: in many of these cases the data is still on the card. What you do next decides whether it stays recoverable.

This guide covers deleted and corrupted files on USB flash drives (sticks), SD and microSD cards and camera cards. It explains what can usually be recovered, what to stop doing straight away, what you can safely check yourself, and when a stick is too physically damaged for us to help. For hard drives, laptops and phones, see our main hard drive, laptop and phone data recovery page. For USB external hard drives that won't show up, see external hard drive not showing up.

What can usually be recovered from a USB stick or SD card?

When you delete a file or quick-format a card, the data itself isn't wiped. The card just marks that space as free to use again. Until something new is written over it, recovery software can often find the files.

• Accidentally deleted files and photos. These are often recoverable if the card hasn't been used since.
• Quick-formatted cards. Formatting in a camera, or a quick format in Windows or macOS, often leaves the old data in place.
• Corrupted cards. The card shows as RAW, asks to be formatted or opens as empty. Usually the file system is damaged but the photos are still on the card.
• Cards pulled out mid-copy. Removing a stick without ejecting it, or a camera battery dying while it writes, can corrupt the file system.

Some things can't be recovered. If new photos or files have been saved over the old ones, the overwritten data is gone. In Windows, a full format (with the Quick Format box unticked) writes over the whole drive. After that there's nothing to bring back.

What should I do first if files disappear from a USB stick or SD card?

Stop using the card immediately, take it out of the camera, phone or dashcam, and click Cancel on any prompt to format or initialise it. Don't run CHKDSK or Disk Utility First Aid. Every new write can overwrite the files you want back, so leave the card untouched until you recover from it.

This matters more than anything else. Every new photo, copied file or repair attempt can overwrite the data you're trying to save.

1. Stop using the card. Take it out of the camera, drone, dashcam or phone, because these devices can keep writing to it.
2. If you have a full-size SD card, leave the small lock switch on its side in the lock position while you check it or run recovery software. A locked card can still be read, and most card readers will refuse to write to it.
3. Don't format it, even if Windows says You need to format the disk in drive E: before you can use it (the drive letter varies). Click Cancel.
4. On a Mac, if you see The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer, click Ignore, not Initialise.
5. Don't run CHKDSK, Disk Utility First Aid or any other repair tool on it. These tools rewrite the file system, which can make recovery harder.
6. Don't install recovery software onto the stick itself, and never save recovered files back to the same card.

What you can safely check yourself

These checks only read from the card, as long as you click Cancel on any prompt to format or initialise it.

Windows 11

Files you delete from a USB stick or SD card normally skip the Recycle Bin.

To check whether Windows can see the card at all, right-click Start and choose Disk Management. If Windows asks you to initialise the disk, click Cancel. If the card appears with the right size, the hardware is probably fine and it's a software recovery job. If it doesn't appear, try a different USB port, card reader or adapter; if it still doesn't appear in any reader, or shows as No Media, the problem is probably physical (see below).

If the card shows in Disk Management with the right size but has no drive letter, the files may simply not be visible yet. Call us before changing anything.

macOS

Files deleted from an external drive on a Mac go to the Trash and stay there until you empty it. Plug the card back in, open the Trash in Finder and look for your files. If the card doesn't mount, open Disk Utility, choose View > Show All Devices, and check whether it's listed. For recovering files from the Mac's own drive, see Mac data recovery in Brisbane; for help with the Mac itself, see our Apple Mac support and repairs page.

Android phones and cameras

If photos went missing from a phone's microSD card, first check the Bin in Google Photos or your gallery app's Recently deleted folder. Most cameras have no undo after deleting, so take the card out and keep it aside. iPhones don't take SD cards, so for those, start with Recently Deleted in the Photos app. If the microSD card was set up as internal storage on an Android phone, it is encrypted to that phone, and recovery software on a computer can't read it. Keep the phone and the card together.

Is there free software I can try?

Yes. Read-only recovery tools such as PhotoRec (free; Windows, macOS and Linux) or Recuva (Windows; free version available) can often get files back from a deleted or formatted card. Install the tool on your computer, never on the card, and save anything it finds to a different drive. If the tool wants to repair or fix the card, stop there and call us. If the card isn't detected at all, see the next section.

What if a USB stick or card is beyond what we do?

We do software recovery: deleted files, formatted cards and corrupted file systems. Book us when the card is still detected by a computer but the files are missing, formatted or corrupted.

Don't book us if the stick or card has physical damage, such as:

• a USB connector that has snapped or come loose from the stick
• a cracked or bent SD or microSD card
• water or fire damage, including a stick or camera card that's been through storm or flood water
• a card no computer detects at all, in any reader
• a card that reports a capacity far smaller or larger than its label, which usually means a failing controller or a counterfeit card

Repairing the circuitry or memory chips inside a stick is specialist lab work, and we don't do it, so take it straight to a specialist data recovery lab. Keep it dry and unpowered and take it to the lab as it is, without plugging it in to test it or trying to solder or glue it.

How we handle a USB or SD card recovery

First, we check whether the card is detected and whether the problem is logical (deleted, formatted or corrupted) or physical. Where the card allows, we copy it before we try any recovery, so the original isn't stressed further. Then we pull back what we can and put the recovered files onto separate storage you choose. We never save them back to the same card.

For example, if a camera or dashcam card was formatted by mistake and still shows in Disk Management, we image the whole card first and recover from the copy.

Each job is either an onsite visit to your home or business across Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Redlands and Moreton Bay up to Caboolture, or a remote session if the card is plugged into a computer that still works. Before we start, have a separate external drive or enough free cloud storage ready for the recovered files.

Keeping it from happening again

USB sticks and SD cards are made for moving files around, not for storing the only copy. On your phone, turn on Google Photos backup or iCloud Photos so new pictures are copied off automatically. For cameras, drones and dashcams, copy the card to your computer and a cloud service after each trip, and always before you reformat it. Always eject a stick before you pull it out. If you'd like help setting up backups, see our data backup and transfer services.

USB and SD card recovery FAQs

Can you recover photos deleted from an SD card?

Often, yes, as long as nothing new has been saved to the card since. Stop using it and take it out of the camera or phone.

Windows says I need to format the drive. Should I?

No. Click Cancel. Formatting writes a new file system over the card and can make deleted or corrupted files harder or impossible to recover. Unplug the card and leave it unused until you either run a read-only recovery tool from your computer or book a recovery.

Do files deleted from a USB stick go to the Recycle Bin?

Not on Windows. Files deleted from a USB stick or SD card are removed straight away and skip the Recycle Bin. On a Mac they go to the Trash and stay there until you empty it, as long as the card is plugged in.

What software can recover files from a USB stick or SD card?

PhotoRec is free and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Recuva is Windows-only and has a free version. Install either on your computer, never on the card, and save recovered files to a different drive. Stop if the tool offers to repair the card.

Can you fix a snapped or water-damaged USB stick?

No, so please don't book us for it. If a stick or card is snapped, cracked, bent, or has been in water or fire, take it straight to a specialist data recovery lab. We can help when the card is still detected but the files are missing, formatted or corrupted.

How much does USB data recovery cost?

We charge our standard hourly rates: $205/hour onsite or $125/hour remote, with a one-hour minimum and no call-out fee. For what affects the total time, see our guide to data recovery costs in Brisbane.

Book USB or SD card recovery

If you've lost files from a USB stick or memory card, stop using it and get in touch. Call 1300 600 004 or book online.