SD card formatting

[a.rutley]

I am trying to download photos / video footage from a SD card, but "card needs formatting "
appears on the screen. If I format the card will all the images be lost, and if so, how can I download the images?
Hope someone can help.
Thanks, Andy R.

[deggers316]

what was the card from a camera ?
looks to me like it should have been formatted before use, if it was inserted in a camera,i doubt there is anything on it anyway

[fo3nix]

Don't use it in your camera anymore.

Download this program:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

Then connect your SD card to your computer (presumably you have a card reader), and point PhotoRec to it. It should be able to recover the files (if you can't see them in Windows Explorer either).

[ACtheTROLL]

can you view the card when it's in the camera?
normally if the camera can't see the card it will warn you

it could be as simple as using the transfer cable to connect cam to PC

if you can't see the card in the cam - it's bust
goto fo3's option

[a.rutley]

Many thanks for all your assistance guys. Managed to locate a cable which transferred the pics. Shared knowledge is a wonderful thing!

Regards, Andy R.