What happened to my files?

[audiobomber]

I downloaded files to a mini SD card. It took several hours to copy about 100GB to the 124GB card. I loaded the card to my phone and played some music. For some reason it was only playing from two artists. I looked at the software and sure enough, those were the only files it could see. I moved the card to my laptop, and Properties indicates it is almost full. I can see the artist names, but when I click on one, it says it's empty. My laptop says the SD is damaged and needs to be scanned but when I try, it just hangs. Any idea how to fix this? 

[bluesman]

It’s common for an SD card to show a much lower capacity than it has, eg when formatting it.  There are many reasons for this, such as prior formatting into multiple partitions with different file systems on each, so that an OS will not recognize one or more.  Windows will ignore ext4, for example.  Google “restore full SD card capacity” or similar query and pick the method that appeals to you.  It can also be caused by malware, card defects etc - but it’s usually from prior formatting.
 

Space recovery will not recover your files - it will delete everything on the card, so don’t do it to a card with any contents you need and haven’t backed up.  There are ways to recover “lost data” if they’ve been written to a file system that’s just not readable by one OS (eg Android).  Another Google search will reveal alternatives for doing this.  The first pass would logically be to insert the card into devices with different operating systems to see if one will read and access everything.  After that comes a host of free and paid software (like this) that may or may not work to retrieve data that are corrupted or MIA for other reasons.

 

To avoid this, I use SD Formatter to reformat every card to full capacity that shows as smaller, before putting anything fresh on it.  Finally, make sure your phone can access the amount of storage you insert - there are limits on this for many operating systems and hardware.

[yamamoto2002]

Perhaps the SD card advertise 128GB capacity to host computer but actual size is 8GB, 16GB or 32GB. Run H2testw to see actual size of the SD card

[GregWormald]

It sounds like either the card is damaged or the transfer was faulty.

 

IMO you'll have to format it and try again. Unfortunately I'd say the data is probably toast—I really hope the original files are safe.

 

If the second go is a dud, chuck the card. Even if the second transfer is a success the card may be unreliable (all cards have lifespans) so keep multiple backups.

[audiobomber]

Thanks for the replies. I had bought two cheap 128GB micro SD cards, from China via Amazon. I ran H2testw on one and SD Card Formatter on the other, then loaded each with 60GB of music. Same result; Properties shows 60GB loaded, I can see the artist file folders, most are empty when I open them. I threw both cards in the trash and ordered SanDisk. 

[bluesman]

2 hours ago, audiobomber said:

Thanks for the replies. I had bought two cheap 128GB micro SD cards, from China via Amazon. I ran H2testw on one and SD Card Formatter on the other, then loaded each with 60GB of music. Same result; Properties shows 60GB loaded, I can see the artist file folders, most are empty when I open them. I threw both cards in the trash and ordered SanDisk. 

Just make sure your Android device can access a 128 card - many can not.  And those apparently empty folders may not be.  Make sure you check “view hidden files and folders” when exploring the card on your computer.

[audiobomber]

2 hours ago, bluesman said:

Just make sure your Android device can access a 128 card - many can not.  And those apparently empty folders may not be.  Make sure you check “view hidden files and folders” when exploring the card on your computer.

I have a new LG G8 phone, rated for 128GB.

 

The folders do not appear to be empty, there is 60GB showing in Properties, but music is only showing in a few files. Most folders are empty according to Windows, viewing hidden files makes no difference. The SD card checker that @yamamoto2002 recommended indicates the card is damaged:

 

Error writing file 'F:\1.h2w', offset 0x0.
It is still possible to verify the test data written up to this point.
(The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error. Code 1117)
Warning: Only 1000 of 127968 MByte tested.
Writing speed: 0.00 KByte/s
H2testw v1.4
 

[bluesman]

1 hour ago, audiobomber said:

I have a new LG G8 phone, rated for 128GB.

 

The folders do not appear to be empty, there is 60GB showing in Properties, but music is only showing in a few files. Most folders are empty according to Windows, viewing hidden files makes no difference. The SD card checker that @yamamoto2002 recommended indicates the card is damaged:

 

Error writing file 'F:\1.h2w', offset 0x0.
It is still possible to verify the test data written up to this point.
(The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error. Code 1117)
Warning: Only 1000 of 127968 MByte tested.
Writing speed: 0.00 KByte/s
H2testw v1.4
 

Sorry - I’m out of tricks.  That error code points to a card fault or a problem with the card read / write hardware or software (which seem to work for you on other cards). So it’s probably the card itself.

[Niktech]

Most SD cards for use on your Android phone will need to be formatted by the phone before use. Once formatted you should see an Android Directory folder on the SD card.  

 

Once formatted by the phone, you can take out the SD card and insert it in your PC to do the file transfer, and when completed put it back in the phone.

[plissken]

On 7/4/2020 at 9:45 AM, audiobomber said:

Thanks for the replies. I had bought two cheap 128GB micro SD cards, from China via Amazon. I ran H2testw on one and SD Card Formatter on the other, then loaded each with 60GB of music. Same result; Properties shows 60GB loaded, I can see the artist file folders, most are empty when I open them. I threw both cards in the trash and ordered SanDisk. 

 

First question I had was what was the Manufacturer? You'll get this all day long with USB Thumb and SD cards from no name outfits. It's a scam. I use Samsung SD cards exclusively.

[jcbenten]

Check the SanDisk when you receive them.  I remember a couple of years ago...maybe a few years...of bootleg SanDisk cards.  I had good luck with capacity but on one 200 GB unit had a short or something and it nearly caused my laptop and DAP to burst into flame.  Literally smoking hot...a one-second touch hot on the laptop surface.  Never a problem with Samsung.

[audiobomber]

The 128GB Scandisk is in my phone and loaded successfully with 90GB of music. I'm not wasting any more effort with the cheap Amazon cards, they are defective.