Fix Dell Laptop Not Reading SD Card Issue With Some Advanced Solutions

SD cards are excellent for storing digital media, such as photos or video clips. If you are trying to connect SD cards with your Dell laptops for transferring some digital media, then you can do it easily. However, a lot of Dell users often report that their Dell laptops are unable to read the SD card after updating their Windows operating system. When they insert an SD card in the Dell laptop slot, the laptop seems incompatible with the SD card. As a result, they face Dell laptop not reading the SD card issue.

If you are among those users who are coming across this error in their laptop, then just take a look below to know more about it. Let’s go through this article to fix this Dell laptop SD card reader not working issue.

Possible Causes of Dell Laptop SD Card Reader Not Working Issue:

Have a look at the possible causes which led to Dell laptop not reading SD card error on your Dell laptops. So, that you can take precaution for the next time.

• If there is poor contact between your Dell laptop and the SD card
• In case, the drive letter of the SD card is missing, then  you may see this issue on your laptop
• If the file system of your SD card is unrecognized or it is corrupted, then also this issue may pop up on your screen
• Sometimes the outdated device driver may be a valid cause behind the occurence of this issue.
• In case, your Dell laptop is attacked by the virus, then also this issue might irritate you

No matter, whatever be the cause for the occurence of this trouble on your Dell laptop, there are always some easy and practical solutions which you can implement to resolve this issue. Check them out.

Ultimate Solutions to Troubleshoot and Fix Dell Laptop Not Reading SD Card Issue:

When you encounter this SD card issue, the first thing that you need to do is to use the SD card on another Dell laptop. If it works there, that means your SD card is ok and the problem is associated with your card reader.

In case, the SD card does not work on the other laptop, then you need to replace it and buy a new one. Below we have also provided some additional solutions which you can try to fix this error.

Solution 1- Update the Necessary Drivers

If the above procedure does not work for you, then you need to update all the required drivers. To do so, first, go to the Home page of your Dell laptop and then click on the Start icon. After that, you have to click on the Settings. Now, once the Settings window will appear on your display, then you should click on the Windows Update which is located at the top left corner.

If an update is available, then click on that and after that, the updating process is beginning.

Now, if you are still dealing with this Dell laptop not reading SD card trouble, then don’t be panic, simply proceed on to the next solution.

Solution 2- Change the Drive Letter

In case, the SD card is joined to the laptop but it is not showing in the File Explorer, then you can use Disk Management to check whether the drive letter is missing or not. If yes, then you can select a new drive letter by following the below steps:

1. To beginning, you have to press the Windows+ R keys together to open the Run box
2. Once the Run dialog box open, after that, you need to type the ‘diskmgmt.msc’ in the given field and hit the Enter button for opening the Disk Management.
3. In Disk Management, you have to locate your SD card. Once done, then right-click on it and click on the Change Drive Letter and Path option
4. In the next window, you should click on the Add to select the drive letter for your SD card.

After that, reboot your Dell laptop and if the issue still persists on your laptop, then there is another alternative at your rescue.

Solution 3- Use CHKDSK

Now, you should go through this method to get some easy steps to eliminate your glitches. To apply this process, take a look below.

Step 1

Turn on your laptop and select My Computer. After that, right-click on it and click on the Disk Management option. Thereafter, you have to search for the device to check out if your laptop can find out the memory card or not.  Now, continue the procedure with the CHKDSK command.

Step 2

Then, you need to hit the Windows + R keys simultaneously and once the Run windows show on your screen. Then, you have to type ‘cmd’ in the search field and after that, hit the Enter button and go to the next step.

Step 3

A new page will now appear and you should type ‘chkdsk D: / f’ and hit the Enter button. You can put ‘chkdsk D:/f /offlinescanandfix’, then press the Ok button.

You should wait sometimes and after that, you don’t need to deal with this Dell laptop not reading SD card issue anymore.

Solution 4- Update Your SD Card Driver

If this error still creates trouble for you, then you can update your SD card to resolve this issue on your own. To do so, first, go to the Device Manager. Once this page open, then you can see the SD card driver option is present there.  If there is a yellow sign beside it, then it simply means that you have to update your card driver to its new version. Here’s how to apply this process:

1. Connect your SD card to the Dell laptop
2. After that, go to the Control Panel and click on the System button. Within the System button, you have to click on the Device Manager and then you should click on the Disk Drivers.
3. Now, find and choose the USB device after that, right-click on it and then, select  ‘Uninstall.’ After that, click on the ‘Scan for hardware changes.’

Then, reboot your Dell laptop and if you still see this error in your laptop, then there is another alternative at your rescue.

Solution 5- Remove the Malware

Sometimes, if your laptop is affected by the virus, then this can be a reason behind this issue. So, you need to plug in the SD memory card to the laptop. After that, go to the Start menu and type’cmd’ in the search field after that press the OK button. Now, a list of programs will pop up on your screen and from there, you can find something named ‘cmd. Exe’. After that, you need to right-click on that and then you can see the command windows, which allow you to recover all the virus infected files.

Solution 6- Format Your SD Card

If your SD card is still not recognized after trying all the above solutions, then we advised you to recover the data from the memory card and format your SD card. To recover the data, you should follow these steps.

Step 1

Connect your SD card with the laptop. Then, insert your SD card through a card reader.

Step 2

Now, you have to run an SD card recovery software and scan your card. Then, click on the Scan button. After that, the scanning process will be started.

Step 3

Once you have done with it, then click on the Format button. We can guarantee you that now you are not dealing with this issue anymore.

Hope this passage was helpful for you to get rid of from this Dell laptop not reading SD card issue completely. In case, if you find that none of the above-given procedure works for you, then we recommended you to take an expert help for eliminating this error.