8 Best Fixes for SD Card Not Showing Up on Windows 11

Whoever has a PC or laptop, most of them have at least an SD Card or other external drive to be frank. SD card is widely appreciated for their capability to store data, and backup, images, files, and videos. Another great deal is its portability. Being small in size, you can go with it anywhere and see whatever you want at any time.

But when our system is unable to read the SD card, we start to panic. Just like that, Windows 11 users face issues with not showing SD cards. If you are one of them, you have reached the perfect place. Here’s the guide on how to fix SD card not showing up on Window 11 you have to follow.

Common Reason Why SD Card is Not Showing Up on Windows 11

SD card probably uses on mobile phones. But the laptop and PC have dedicated slots to use. You can use it using a card reader or use it on a dedicated slot if the system has any – many ways are available.

Until your system detects the card, it won’t appear on the screen. There are many reasons why Windows 11 is unable to detect the SD card. However, let’s look at the common reason of why SD card is not detected in Windows 10/11.

• SD card is corrupted or damaged.
• Virus and malware infection.
• Faulty SD card driver.
• Outdated device driver.
• System Bugs.

How to Fix SD Card Not Showing Up on Windows 11

Well, we discussed the reason for not showing up the SD card. Now we will focus on the possibilities of fixing this issue. After numbers research, we have devised these methods to fix this issue on Windows 10 and 11.

1. Few Simple & Basic Test

Before jumping into advanced troubleshooting, we will run some basic and simple test to know if the SD is faulty or the system is.

• Unlocked SD card: Did you know the small sliding switch on the SD card? Well, having this on the SD determines whether the card is locked. It prevents data manipulations. You can check out the card by unlocking it.
• Faulty Reader: Most users face this problem using a faulty reader. If you are using a reader to access an SD card, then ensure that the reader is working perfectly fine.
• Check the Card on Another System: You can check the card with a working reader with another system. If it works fine on another system, then the problem lies under the system. Let’s fix them all, one by one.

2. Clean SD Card and Port

Do you think your dirty card and port will make the sweet connection? It is impossible thing for the system to understand the SD card in a dusty port.

To make a clean connection between these two-component supply the cleanest reader and SD card. And don’t forget the clean the port as well.

3. Restart the System

Restarting or rebooting helps the system in various things. It makes the availability of RAM, CPU, and other necessary elements. Even restarting the system removes the glitches of the system.

So when your SD card is not showing on the system or your system fails to detect the SD card. Therefore, you can try to restart the system once and check the SD card again.

4. Update SD Card Driver

An outdated driver could be a possible reason for this issue. Sometimes the driver got corrupted as well. Here’s what you need to follow to fix it to make your SD card readable by updating its drivers.

1. Press Windows > search for Device Manager > Open it.
2. Find the Disk Driver, and click on the small arrow to expand its options.
3. Now select the SD card driver and right-click on it. Here click on the update.
4. On the next dialog box click on the Search automatically for drivers.
5. Your SD card driver will be up to date.

5. Perform Hardware Troubleshooter

Normally, a basic troubleshooter feature is available in the Settings for various other things. Here we will perform advanced hardware troubleshooting to correct SD not showing up in Windows 11.

1. Open Run, search for msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and hit the enter button.
2. A window will open in front of you, names as Hardware and devices. Now click on the Next button simply.
3. It will troubleshoot the hardware, and now check whether the SD card is showing or not on File Manager.

6. Perform CHKDSK to Repair Corrupted Files

If you think the issue is getting because of corrupted files, then you can perform this method. Moreover, it also helps to spot the issue on the drive and fix it automatically.

1. Press Windows > search CMD/ Command Prompt > click on Run as administrator.
2. Now type this mentioned command, and hit enter. Don’t forget to add the drive name of your SD card.

   chkdsk /f (drive name):

3. After a while, the scanning and correcting process will complete, and now you can check the SD card.

7. Change the Drive Letter of the SD Card

Here is another considerable method that you should perform to prevent SD cards not detecting in Windows 11. However, in Windows, you can see all drive has a letter name. Your SD also has a letter name. We change the letter name or add a letter name if it has no.

1. Open Run > diskmgmt.msc > OK or Enter.
2. Disk Management tool will open. Now select the SD drive from the list.
3. Next, right-click on the drive, and click on Change Drive Letter and Paths.
4. Then click on the change button.
5. Select a letter from the drop-down menu.
6. Now click on Ok to save these changes.

8. Update Windows

Updating not only brings new features but also provides security to the device. It clears existing bugs to strengthen the performance. Moreover, when we update Windows, it directly involves updating other drivers inside the system.

1. Press Windows > Settings > Windows update.
2. Now click on Check for updates.
3. Then download and install the update.

Final Words

Wrapping up – that’s enough about how to fix SD card not showing up in Windows. All shared methods will help you in this regard. If you have an issue with it, let us know in the comment section.