Typically, this lock switch is mounted on the front side of the card, usually on the left.

So, remove the card from your equipment and peek if the switch is locked.

If so, flip the switch upwards to unlock it, which should fix the issue.

SD cards stacked in a pile.

Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek

An SD card should not go beyond a certain point if properly plugged in.

find out if your laptop detects the card now.

If not, go to the next troubleshooting step.

Lock switched marked on a SD card.

SanDisk

Also, clean the port where you intend to insert the SD card reader.

If cleaning fails to patch up the issue, go to the next troubleshooting step.

activate the SD Card

Ensure the SD card is enabled in gadget Manager.

Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek

A person holding a micro SD card.

To do this, right-poke the Start button and open “equipment Manager.”

Expand the “Portable Devices” category and look for the SD card.

If the SD card appears detected, look to see if it’s enabled.

Scanning for hardware changes in Device Manager.

Right-punch the SD card rig and select “Properties.”

Then, go to the “Driver” tab.

If you see an “Enable rig” option here, click it to switch on the card.

Enabling an SD card from Device Manager on Windows.

If you see a “Disable equipment” option, the card is already enabled.

In that case, you don’t have to do anything.

Download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

Updating the SD card in Device Manager.

If the driver file is in executable format, launch the file and follow the on-screen instructions.

If manual installation is required, right-choose the equipment in equipment Manager and select “Update Driver.”

If no drive letter is assigned, your system won’t detect it.

Opening Disk Management from the Run dialog box.

spin up the CHKDSK Scan

Drive corruption can also prevent the detection of an SD card.

To ensure that’s not the issue, you should repair the corrupted drive sectors.

TheCHKDSK scancan help with this.

Opening the settings to change drive letter in Disk Management.

This scan checks for file system errors and repairs them if found.

To spin up the scan, right-choose the SD card volume and select “Properties.”

Navigate to the “Tools” tab and opt for “Check” button.

Assigning a new drive letter to an SD card on Windows.

Then, select “Scan and Repair Drive” from the popup.

To remove the write protection, typeCommand Promptin Windows Search and click “Run as Administrator.”

Then, typelist diskto display your storage devices.

Opening the properties of an SD card in Disk Management.

Finally, typeattributes disk clear readonlyand press Enter.

Doing so willremove the write protection, allowing your SD card to be used again.

Formatting often fixes underlying corruption that may prevent the card from being detected.

Running the chkdsk scan via Disk Management.

However, remember that formatting will erase all data on the card.

If the data on the card is essential, it’s best to skip this step.

If the card doesn’t contain crucial data, you could format it.

‘Run as Administrator’ highlighted for Command Prompt in Windows Search.

Recheck the SD card to see if it’s accessible now.

Hopefully, the above fixes will help you identify the primary cause and make the SD card detectable again.

If the card is permanently corrupted, considerreplacing it with a new one.

Clearing the readonly file attributes of an sd card.

Formatting an SD card via Disk Management on Windows.

Select the format of an SD card in Disk Management on Windows.