Smart Media Cards are memory cards developed by Toshiba. These cards come with a storage capacity of 2MB to 128 MB and aims at storing, retaining and sharing media files on portable platforms. The successor to floppy disks was named originally as Solid State Floppy Disk Card.

SmartMedia card contains a single NANO Flash Chip which is implanted in a thin plastic chip. Higher capacity cards are integrated with multiple linked chips. In the category of an early SD card, it is considered as the smallest, thinnest (0.76mm thick) and cheapest of all.  Absence of integrated controller chip was the major reason behind such a low cost of SmartMedia cards.

These cards can be accessed via medium of FlashPath adapter on a standard 3.5” floppy disk. This is the only way that makes it possible to obtain flash memory functionality with older versions of hardware. It is considered as the most distinctive attribute of SmartMedia cards. However, the procedure comes with few limitations such as:

• Special drivers are required to offer even the basic read/ write functions; read only in case of Mac machines
• The overall procedure is subject to transfer speed of floppy disks.

Sometimes, the SmartMedia cards turn to inaccessible state due to corruption or damage. However, there are other reasons as well that contributes to inaccessibility of images, audio or video files from memory cards.

Factors Responsible for SmartMedia Card Corruption

Several factors are responsible for loss of Photos from SmartMedia cards.

• Due to inappropriate handling, these cards become corrupt and all the data present on them turns inaccessible
• Incorrect removal or improper insertion from PDAs or digital cameras can result in loss of embedded content or images
• When data processing is in operation and you pull out the memory card from cameras or card readers without prior notification.
• When the SmartMedia card comes in contact with viruses or infected program(s), the data available on them becomes corrupted
• Extended usage of cameras or other digital devices accumulates bulk data on memory cards. When the storage reaches the stipulated volume, there are chances that the memory cards may become inaccessible.Note: If the memory card gets corrupted, there is no manual procedure available to recover data from it; however, third party card recovery software apps can be utilized to retrieve all data from SD cards.In case of SD Card corruption or format, all incorporated data such as images and videos are lost. Minimum lifespan of SD Cards makes it even imperative to recover data at the earliest as otherwise; the data might get lost forever.Approximately about 10000 erase, write, or edit operations can be carried out on a flash card. Once this stipulated limitation is reached, there are chances that the storage media might get corrupted.Smart Media Card Corruptions Symptoms/Errors

  If at any instance of time, any of the following error appears, chances are that the card has become corrupt. If the memory card gets physically damaged, there is no way to recover data; however software damage is quite possible to repair.

  • Errors such as “Corrupt Memory Card” or “Memory Card Error”
  • System recognizes SD card but fails to open the stored media
  • When error message displays “Read/ Write error on SD card”

  Pre-fix Methods to Recover SmartMedia Cards

  There are some basic methods to recover photos from Smart Media cards such as

  Solution# 1:

  Connect your card to the system through a card reader and access the drive letter assigned to it. If you get error message “Please insert the disk into drive [E]:” open ‘Operating System Settings’ and manually assign a drive letter to the connected card reader.

  Solution# 2:

  In case the memory card displays write-protected message, simply unlock the switch available in the memory card. If the system still fails to read the card, try connecting on another device.

  Steps for Assured Recovery of corrupt media cards,

  In case none of the above mentioned methods work, you can try out the third party software that comes with assured outputs. The best part of the tool is that it is available for both Windows and Mac Operating Systems.

  1. Launch Stellar Photo Recovery Software.
  2. On the home screen of the software – ‘Select What to Recover’. Click Next.
  3. Next, select the location from where you want to recover. Click Scan to start the scanning process
  4. A dialog box of ‘Scanning Completed Successfully!’ displays the scan results – number of files found and size of the data. In the left-pane of main window, all the recovered data is listed. You can preview them in the right pane.
     Note: If you do not see the required videos in the list, opt for Deep Scan option at the bottom.
  5. Click Recover. You can also choose to recover only the selective files – select files that you need, right click, and click Recover.
  6. In the dialog box, specify the location to save the image files. Click Save. All the files get saved at the specified location.

  Note: Advance Scan option available within the tool will allow customizing the recovery process based on the file types.

  5. ‘Advance Scan’ feature allows recovering selective files from the enlisted photo, video and audio files. You can also select particular data range from the selected file(s). This speeds up the recovery process.
  6. Once the process is initiated, file preview will be generated in a tree- like structure within the tool panel.
  7. You can click on the items to select specific files for recovery.
  8. Last, provide a desired storage destination for saving the recovered files when the tool prompts.

  A little consideration while handling SD cards can prevent them from all sort of physical damages. However, to recover data from deleted or corrupt SD cards, the above mentioned card recovery software can be utilized. Thereafter, video, audio, and image files can be recovered safely.