You tin can connect your SD bill of fare reader to your computer using a born card reader or an external adapter. Still, at times, your computer may fail to detect the portable devices. As a upshot, your SD carte won't show in File Explorer.

Poor contact, commuter issues, information corruption, and virus infection are all common reasons for an SD carte not appearing in the File Explorer. Here are a few troubleshooting tips to help yous fix this issue on your Windows computer.

Reasons Why Your SD Card Reader Is Not Working on Windows 10

Devices may not show upward in your File Explorer due to temporary glitches. Even so, if reconnecting the SD carte reader doesn't fix the issue, here are a few common reasons why it may happen.

  • Your SD menu reader is not firmly continued to your figurer.
  • The SD card file organisation is corrupted.
  • You lot're using an outdated device commuter.
  • The SD carte is infected with a virus.
  • The SD card is missing a drive letter.

Fortunately, if your SD card reader is not showing up, you can fix it by post-obit these troubleshooting steps.

1. Clean the SD Carte and Adapter

If you haven't used your SD card for a long time, the contacts on the carte du jour and the adapter may have accumulated dust and droppings. Your figurer may neglect to recognize or detect the SD carte because information technology can't establish a proper connexion to read the device.

Clean any dust you lot see on your SD card and the adapter. So, connect the cleaned SD card reader firmly and await for the computer to detect the retention. For USB-based adapters, switch USB ports to see if that helps.

2. Assign a Drive Letter to Your SD Bill of fare

Each memory device connected to your organization is assigned a drive letter by default. If these identifiers are missing, you will not be able to access files stored in the bulldoze directly.

You can bank check whether your SD card reader has a drive letter assigned to it or not from the Disk Management utility. If it is missing, you can assign a new one in a few clicks.

To check if your SD card is missing a bulldoze letter:

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open Run.
  2. Type diskmgmt.msc and click OK. You tin can too search "Disk Management" in the Windows search bar to open the utility.
  3. In Disk Management, check if your SD carte reader is detected under volume and if it has a drive letter assigned such as I, East, F, etc.
  4. If information technology's missing, right-click on the SD card reader and choose Alter Drive Letter and Path.
  5. In the Add Commuter or Path window, click on Add. This will assign a new drive letter to your SD card reader.
assign missing drive letter SD card

Close the Disk Management tool. Disconnect and reconnect your SD card reader and check if it shows up in File Explorer.

Is the drive letter available, but the SD menu is however not showing up in File Explorer? In that case, information technology's fourth dimension to run the Check Deejay utility to cheque and gear up any retentivity card errors.

three. Cheque SD Carte du jour Errors With CHKDSK

Check Disk (CHKDSK) is a Windows utility that scans your drivers for errors. It can browse drives for file system errors and bad sectors and fix them automatically. Hither'due south how to apply CHKDSK to scan for and ready any SD card errors.

Repair SD card chkdsk utility
  1. Open up the Disk Management utility.
  2. Right-click on your SD card under Volume and choose Properties.
  3. Open the Tools tab in the Properties window.
  4. Click the Check push button under the Error Checking section.
  5. Select Scan and repair bulldoze.
  6. Windows will scan the bulldoze for errors and fix them automatically.
  7. ClickClose and restart your computer. Afterwards the restart, cheque for any improvements.

If CHKDSK doesn't find or fix any errors, you tin utilize the Device Manager to find the errors affecting your SD carte du jour reader.

4. Check Your SD Carte for Errors in Device Manager

Your SD card reader may not show up in File Explorer because information technology'south throwing up an mistake message, merely the computer isn't showing you lot what that error message is. In such a situation, you can use the Device Manager to discover the error. Here'due south how to do it.

  1. Press the Windows central + R to open Run.
  2. Type devmgmt.msc and click OK to open Device Manager.
  3. In Device Manager, expand the Portable Devices category.
  4. Cheque if your SD card is listed with a yellow exclamation marker.If it is, right-click on the device and cull Properties.
  5. In the Backdrop window, open the Full general tab and check the Device status.
View SD card error status

The device condition shows if your device is enabled or disabled, followed by an error code or message. If there is an fault bulletin, perform a quick search on the internet for information technology to detect solutions.

5. Update Your SD Card Drivers

Your reckoner may neglect to recognize or detect the external storage device due to outdated or missing device drivers. Fortunately, y'all can easily update device drivers from Device Manager. Hither'due south how to exercise it.

  1. Press the Windows Fundamental + 10 to open the WinX menu.
  2. Choose Device Manager from the options.
  3. In Device Manager, aggrandize the Disk Drives department and locate your SD card.
  4. If information technology has a yellow exclamation marking, right-click and choose Update drivers.
  5. Select Search automatically for drivers. Windows will browse for compatible drivers. If found, it will automatically download and install the required drivers.
update sd card driver

Afterwards the drivers are installed, restart your PC. Connect your SD menu reader again and check if it shows up in File Explorer. If the problem persists, perform a driver reinstall.

Reinstall the SD Card Commuter

If updating the device driver did not help, try reinstalling the SD card commuter. You can perform driver updates and reinstallation from the Device Manager. Here's how to practise it.

  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Expand the Deejay Drivers category.
  3. Right-click on your SD card device driver.
  4. Cull Uninstall Device. Click Uninstall to confirm the action if a prompt appears.
  5. In one case uninstalled, restart your PC and connect the SD carte reader. It will automatically detect and reinstall the required drivers.

six. Check Your SD Card for Data Abuse

A corrupted SD carte du jour may not testify upward in File Explorer. To make sure your SD card is not corrupted, insert information technology into some other calculator or SD carte du jour uniform device.

If information technology doesn't work on other devices, you may accept a file organisation corruption result. A quick file system format tin can fix problems that may accept occurred due to corruption. Here'southward how to do it.

  1. Printing the Windows key + R.
  2. Type diskmgmt.msc and click OK to open up Disk Direction utility.
  3. Locate your SD carte du jour in the Book section.
  4. To format the storage drive, correct-click and choose Format.
  5. Cull the Volume label/name, file system and leave the allocation unit size to default.
  6. Click OK to format your SD card with a compatible file organisation.
format corrupted sd card drive

Formatting your SD card will erase all the data. However, if it is merely the option left, y'all still be able to recover data from a reformatted driver.

What if the SD Card Doesn't Show Up in Disk Management or Device Manager?

If your SD carte du jour is non showing up in Disk Management and Device Manager, check the SD card reader for hardware issues. A faulty bill of fare adapter is a common cause for SD cards not showing upwardly in Windows File Explorer.

Connecting your card reader to another PC should help y'all confirm any existing hardware issues. Opt for a USB adapter if the built-in menu reader stops working.

Now Your SD Menu Will Show in File Explorer

Windows automatically detects portable storage devices such equally SD cards and shows them in File Explorer. If your SD menu is missing from the File Explorer, check for drive corruption, missing drive letter, or hardware failure.

SD cards are a handy way to extend your phone'southward retention, just did yous know that in that location are a few reasons why you may want to skip putting one into an Android phone?

vi Reasons Why Y'all May Non Desire to Use SD Cards With Android Phones

Read Next

Well-nigh The Author

Tashreef Shareef (142 Articles Published)

Tashreef is a developer and works as a technical writer at MakeUseOf. With a bachelor's degree in Estimator Applications, he has over v years of experience and covers Microsoft Windows and everything around it. When not looking for a missing semicolon or churning out text, you tin can notice him trying FPS titles or looking for new animated shows and movies.

More From Tashreef Shareef