A memory card is, like a USB drive, a small NAND + controller package. But its use makes it special: it mostly stores photos and videos, large files in often proprietary formats (Canon, Nikon, Sony RAW) or heavily fragmented (4K video). This nature changes the recovery strategy: when the file system is lost, it's file-signature recognition that saves the images.
This chapter is for photographers, videographers and drone pilots. For terms, see the USB & memory card service; the USB chapter covers the shared hardware side.
1 · Recognize the situation
Deletion or formatting
The most common case — and the most favorable. As long as the card hasn't been reused, the files remain physically present: only the file-system entry is gone. Recoverable at ~85%.
Card not recognized / asks to be formatted
The file system (FAT32, exFAT) is corrupt, often after a hot removal or a power cut mid-write. The data is there; the allocation table must be rebuilt or bypassed.
Interrupted video / corrupt file
A 4K video cut off by a dead battery leaves an incomplete, fragmented file. We rebuild the container (MP4, MOV) from the recovered fragments.
Mute card / Monolith
microSD with oxidized contacts or cracked resin, not detected: the NAND and controller are embedded in a single block. Read by Spider Web technique.
2 · The laboratory process
Step 1 — Imaging the card
We first clone the card sector by sector, read-only. All analysis then happens on the image — the original card is no longer used.
Step 2 — File-system reconstruction
When the allocation table is recoverable, we repair FAT/exFAT to recover files and folder tree intact, with their names and dates.
Step 3 — Signature-based data carving
When the metadata is gone (format, deep corruption), we recover files by their binary signatures: RAW headers (CR3, NEF, ARW), JPEG, MP4 and MOV containers. The original names are lost, but the images are saved — including 4K video rebuilt from its fragments.
Step 4 — Hardware route (Monolith, chip-off)
If the card is physically mute, we go through the memory: chip-off on cards with an accessible chip, or the Spider Web technique on monolithic microSD — exposing the internal contacts by abrasion then micro-soldering to read the NAND.
Step 5 — Verification & VeriFiles
Each recovered image and video is verified (opening, integrity). The VeriFiles list is approved before payment, then the files are returned on a new device.
3 · Success rates by scenario
- Deletion / formatting (card not reused) — 85%
- FAT / exFAT corruption — 80%
- Connector / reader down — 78%
- Monolith card (Spider Web) — 65%
- NAND cells destroyed — around 10%
4 · The mistakes that destroy data
What you must never do to a failing card
- Take more photos on the card — every image overwrites recoverable files.
- Accept the format prompt from the camera or OS — badly complicates recovery.
- Run repair software that writes to the card — always prefer read-only.
- Put the card back in the device "to retry" — the device may rewrite the allocation table.
- Rub an oxidized microSD — uncontrolled abrasion destroys the contacts.
Logical case only. After a simple deletion, an experienced user can try carving software read-only, writing the results to another device — never to the original card.