She has two issues, and she would like there to be just one solution. The photos stored on the microSD card inside her Samsung Galaxy "have disappeared", her laptop "showing it as a RAW SD card", although it "was working yesterday" before the gallery emptied. Separately, there is an older Samsung "which appears to be completely bricked", and she wants the photos from that too. These are two distinct recoveries needing two different methods: the memory card shows a logical fault, while the older Samsung phone is dead, with its photos on sealed internal storage. Separating them is the first step, because what works for one will not work for the other.
| Media | A microSD card from a Samsung Galaxy displaying as RAW after its photos disappeared · a separate older Samsung phone, bricked and unable to turn on, with photos on internal storage · two distinct, independent devices |
| Reported situation | Card working properly the previous day, gallery photos then no longer visible · laptop now reports the card as RAW · an additional older Samsung phone completely bricked · photographs needed from both · the two faults independent of each other, aside from both being Samsung products |
| Fault class | Two independent failures: file system corruption on the microSD card, with the data recoverable behind the lost structure, and a non-functional phone whose internal storage location and encryption dictate what can or cannot be done |
| Equipment used | microSD card imaged under a hardware write-blocker, structures parsed in R-Studio and carved in PhotoRec, card health checked · bricked phone tested on a current-monitored bench supply for signs of power and life, board inspected under stereo microscope · boot or storage access re-established where the fault allows, or chip-level examination on the phone's generation, subject to internal encryption · all recovered photographs verified by rendering, both results delivered together |
The card and the phone are separate faults and must be treated separately. The only thing they have in common is the brand name (Samsung). One is a memory card with a logical problem, while the other is a dead or "bricked" phone with all of its data on internal storage. Each needs to be diagnosed independently and recovered with its own method, and how one is doing says nothing about the prospects of the other. That's why they are assessed as two cases, delivered in one report.
A card that shows as RAW one day after working perfectly is a classic sign of recoverable corruption. A computer reports a card as RAW when it can no longer read its file system, but the pictures on the card are still there, in the same location. So when the gallery empties and the card turns RAW overnight, that points to structural damage, not lost data. Recovery rebuilds the damaged structures from their backup copies where possible, and carves the images out of the data area otherwise, and the outlook for the card's photos is good.
The one real risk with the card is the laptop asking to format it. Say yes to that and it writes new, empty structures over the card, on top of photos that could still be got back. We'd never click yes on that with a RAW card, or any RAW media for that matter, and everything we do happens on a write-blocked copy of the card, so the card itself, which already has damaged structures, never gets written to.
The bricked phone is the trickier one, and it's only fair to say so up front. When she says "completely bricked" that could be a few things, maybe software that won't let it boot, maybe a power fault, maybe damage deeper in the circuit board. Her photos are on its internal storage, sealed in the phone, so there's no card you can just pull out. A lot rides on why it actually died, and on which generation of Samsung it is.
There are two things that will decide how her phone turns out, and we can only tell where it stands on each after we've assessed it. The first is what's actually wrong with it: if we're able to revive the phone, or get access to its storage again, that gives us a reasonably direct way in, whereas if the damage is deeper in the board it becomes a harder job. Then encryption. Most modern phones lock what's stored to the passcode, so we could get right to the chip and still not be able to read her pictures without it. Hers is an older Samsung, and those can be easier, but that's something we'd check on the bench, not guess at. If it is encrypted, then it'll matter whether she knows the passcode.
She is told the honest split for each piece of hardware before we start any work. We believe there's a good chance of recovering the images from the card. We can't say with certainty how much (if any) can be recovered from the phone, as that depends on the nature of the failure and the model of the phone, and we report that plainly. She gets both answers together, and the phone's isn't promised on the strength of the card's.
The microSD card was first imaged through a hardware write-blocker. Its structures were then parsed in R-Studio, and the photos carved out with PhotoRec. The condition of the card was checked too. A bench supply with a current monitor was used to check the bricked phone for signs of life or power, and its circuit board was looked at under a stereo microscope. Where the fault allowed, boot or storage access was restored, or chip-level examination was attempted for that phone's generation (subject to internal encryption). Finally, all recovered photographs were verified by rendering, and both results were returned together.
Two separate jobs, really. The RAW card was rebuilt and carved, and the bricked phone was assessed and got into as far as its fault let us. The assessment's free and the quote is one fixed price, VAT included. Most of the time you only pay if we recover your data. Chip-level work on the phone is different, though: that's 50% of the fixed quote upfront, with the balance only if we recover your data. The decode: the card and the phone are different problems with different answers. The card's photos were intact all along, behind a structure that had got lost, and they come back well. Her phone was a different matter, as it depended on why it had died and whether its storage was encrypted, and we assessed that honestly rather than assuming it would go the same way as the card.
For the card, don't accept the format prompt, and stop putting it back in. RAW means the file system's been lost, but the photos are still on the card and can be pulled from an image of it. With the phone, don't keep force restarting it, and don't let anyone factory reset it. Jot your passcode down somewhere. Most phones encrypt their memory now and getting to the photos may need it. And keep the two separate in your head. The card looking good doesn't tell you anything about the phone.
Our case files are written up from genuine enquiries our lab has handled for customers across Staines, Surrey and the surrounding area, anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Each one describes the diagnostic and recovery approach our engineers apply to that fault, using the equipment listed.
Honestly, the first step costs nothing: we diagnose it free and give you a fixed quote, and on most jobs you only pay if we recover your data. You can start online, or ring the freephone if you'd rather talk it through.