How to Check SD Card Health [SanDisk Activation]

Jaden updated on Oct 09, 2024 to Storage Media Recovery | How-to Articles

Do you want to learn how to check the health of your SanDisk SD card? Follow this guide for step-by-step instructions on monitoring and maintaining your SD card's health.

SD cards are crucial for storing data on devices. They may experience errors and damage over time. To avoid losing data and ensure performance, it's vital to assess the condition of your SD cards. This guide will walk you through methods to check the status of your SanDisk SD card.

Monitoring the health of an SD card isn't a task. You may have encountered data loss or file corruption because you did not check the SD card's health.

SanDisk Check SD Card Health on Windows

You might encounter error notifications regarding the SD card, like "USB device not recognized "or "The volume does not have a recognized file system." You must format the disk before using it. By assessing memory card health, you can identify issues and signs of deterioration before they result in data loss or complete malfunction down the line.

Fix 1. Use Windows Built-in Error-Checking Tool

Step 1. Connect the SanDisk SD card to your PC.

Step 2. Press "Windows key" + "E", then select "This PC" from the sidebar.

Step 3. Locate the SD card in the panel right, click on it, and choose "Properties" from the menu.

Step 4. Go to the "Tools" tab and click the "Check" button.

Step 5. In the prompt that appears, select "Scan and repair drive". This feature will automatically rectify any detected errors.

Fix 2. Run CHKDSK to Check SD Card for Errors

Step 1. Click on the search icon on the taskbar and search for cmd. Right-click Command Prompt from the search results. Choose "Run" as administrator.

Step 2. Enter chkdsk /f /x to start the troubleshooting process, for your SD card, on a Mac you can open the Command Prompt. Enter the "letter of the SD card" and press "Enter".

This tool is designed to identify and repair the damaged SD card, primarily focusing on resolving file system issues.

Many Windows 10/11 users have proven the tool's efficacy. If you are interested in resolving file recovery, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms!

 

SanDisk Check SD Card Health on Mac

MAC users can use the disk utility and terminal features to check the health of their SD cards. Here are the details:

Fix 1. Using the Terminal for Detailed Error Checking

When using macOS Terminal, you can perform both advanced checks to assess the health of your SD card. By inputting commands, you can accurately measure its condition.

Step 1. Connect your SD card to your Mac.

Step 2. Open Spotlight Search (Command + Space). Search for "Terminal" to launch the Terminal application.

Step 3. Enter the diskutil list in the window. Hit Enter. This command will show a list of all connected drives on your Mac.

Step 4. Locate your SD card in the drive list. Note its identifier for reference.It will appear as something like /dev/disk2 or /dev/disk3, and so on.

Step 5. Enter diskutil verifyVolume in the command line without using brackets. Then hit Enter.

Step 6. MacOS will conduct a read examination of the drive. Show the findings.

Fix 2. Using Disk Utility

Disk Utility in MacOS is a built-in tool used to manage connected drives. Besides handling formatting partitioning and creating disk images for your drive, you can utilize the Disk Utility First Aid feature to repair connected drives, including your SD card.

Here's how to utilize Disk Utility to assess the health of your SD card on your Mac;

Step 1. Connect your SD card to the Mac.

Step 2. Initiate a search using Spotlight (Command + Space) for "Disk Utility."

Step 3. Open up the Disk Utility application.

Step 4. Choose your SD card from the navigation panel.

Step 5. Click on the "First Aid" option located at the top.

Step 6. Proceed by clicking "Run", in the First Aid prompt.

Step 7. Allow Disk Utility to inspect and rectify any issues with your SD card.

After the First Aid scan is done, you'll receive a report showing the issues that were fixed and those that couldn't be resolved.

Check SanDisk SD Card Health and Recover Lost Data

Sometimes you may еncountеr issues with your SanDisk SD card, such as corruption, formatting glitchеs, accidеntal dеlеtions, virus intrusions, or physical damagе. Thеsе problеms can rеsult in data loss, making it difficult to rеtriеvе data storеd on your SanDisk SD card - a situation that can bе quitе frustrating and concеrning.

You can use the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard tool to recover deleted or corrupted files from your SanDisk SD card.

This software is created to support all sizes and types of SanDisk SD cards, such as SDHC, SDXC, microSD, and miniSD. There is a feature that allows you to see files before starting the recovery process.

Step 1. Select the SD card to scan

  • Download and install EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your Windows PC.
  • Use the proper way to connect your SanDisk/Lexar/Transcend SD card to the computer. 
  • Open EaseUS SD card recovery software and choose SD Card Recovery on the left panel. All connected drives will display here. Select your SD card and click "Scan for lost data".

Step 2. Check for scan results

  • Wait for the scanning process to complete.
  • Specify one or several file types to show up, like Pictures or Videos.
  • Click "Preview" to check if they are the wanted files.

Step 3. Recover SD card data

  • Preview the recovered files and click "Recover".
  • Choose a different location to save the recovered files instead of the original SD card.

Moreover, it boasts a success rate and fast scanning speed, which can significantly reduce the time and effort required for data recovery.

Summary

I hope you've learned ways to check your SanDisk card health. You can try the above methods to see which works for you. If you lose data on your card, you can download the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to help you restore it easily. 

LEARN MORE

Still curious? Click here to learn about Samsung SD Card Health Check? Top 4 Solutions

SanDisk SD Check Card Health FAQs

Here are four questions on how to check the health of your SD card. Find the answers below.

1. How do I check the health of my SD card?

If you are a Windows user, you can use the built-in error-checking tool or run chkdsk. MAC users can use the disk utility and Terminal features. These tools examine storage integrity, capacity, and performance. 

2. How can I check the quality of my SD card?

You can use the Windows built-in error-checking tool; here is how to go about it.

Step 1. Insert the SD card into the computer and open File Explorer.

Step 2. Select "Properties" after clicking on your SD card.

Step 3. Navigate to the Tools tab. Choose "Check" under Error checking.

Step 4. Click "Scan and repair drive," then follow the instructions.

If you find this information helpful, please share it with others on social media to assist them in overcoming this common challenge.

 

3. How do I run a diagnostic on my SD card?

If you're using a Windows PC, open File Explorer, right-click on the SD card, and choose "Properties." Then, go to the "Tools" tab. Click on "Check" under Error Checking. For Mac users, open Disk Utility, select the SD card, and click on "Aid."

4. How do I check the lifespan of my SD card?

You can use Windows error checking to scan and give you the lifespan status of the SD card. In addition, you can employ third-party programs such as CrystalDiskInfo or H2testw.