# Solved: Can physically damaged SD card be repaired?



## wgreene (Jul 20, 2001)

When I couldn't insert an SD card into the card slot on my laptop, I inspected it and noticed that two thin gold metal strips were sticking out from the flat surface. (These thin strips are found on either side of the nine small gold rectangles found at the top of the card.) Is it possible to repair the card by somehow mashing and snapping the strips back into place, or, as I fear, is the card beyond repair at this point? Thank you.


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## wowzer (Dec 28, 2009)

wgreene said:


> When I couldn't insert an SD card into the card slot on my laptop, I inspected it and noticed that two thin gold metal strips were sticking out from the flat surface. (These thin strips are found on either side of the nine small gold rectangles found at the top of the card.) Is it possible to repair the card by somehow mashing and snapping the strips back into place, or, as I fear, is the card beyond repair at this point? Thank you.





> Is it possible to repair the card by somehow mashing and snapping the strips back into place


 Now that made me chuckle...

I'd be also looking at the slot in the reader.

How/where did the damage come from?

Is a new card that expensive to risk "your fix"  and possibly causeing further damage?


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Are they still connected and just bent upward, or have they lost their electrical connections, too?

If they are only bent upward, you could probably put a bit of epoxy on their backs and clamp then tightly until they harden.


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## wgreene (Jul 20, 2001)

Thank you for your response.



> I'd be also looking at the slot in the reader.


The reader slot is fine. Had it not been, I would've mentioned it. (Either that or I probably wouldn't have bothered to post at all.)



> How/where did the damage come from?


_Apparently_ the damage occurred last night in my car when I hurriedly switched cards. It was dark. To make matters worse, I had very recently consumed two beers. I've been removing and inserting cards for years and never had a problem of any kind -- until last night. That's probably because I'm completely sober 99.9% of the time. Lesson learned the hard way!



> Is a new card that expensive to risk "your fix" and possibly causeing further damage?


Now, that's a very good question. In fact, that is precisely why I posted in the first place. Personally, my feeling is that it would_ not_ be worth the risk, that it would simply make sense to buy another card. That having been said, I _still_ would like to hear the ideas and opinions of others.


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## wgreene (Jul 20, 2001)

Elvandil said:


> Are they still connected and just bent upward, or have they lost their electrical connections, too?
> 
> If they are only bent upward, you could probably put a bit of epoxy on their backs and clamp then tightly until they harden.


Thank you very much for your response.

The strips are still connected, just bent upward.

I truly appreciate your repair suggestion. Perhaps I'll give it a try; however, as I indicated earlier, I'm reluctant to try any fix without a very strong assurance that using the repaired card will not cause any damage. Without such an assurance I would not even attempt to restore the card to working order. Oh, well, if nothing else, at least I've learned my lesson!


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

You could buy a cheap card reader and plug that into your USB so you would not have to worry about any damage. But if there is nothing on the card that you need, toss it out.


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## wgreene (Jul 20, 2001)

Elvandil said:


> You could buy a cheap card reader and plug that into your USB so you would not have to worry about any damage. But if there is nothing on the card that you need, toss it out.


That's a good idea. Somewhere around the house I have an old reader which I never use anymore. Just for the fun of it I'll probably give it a try. Thanks again.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

You can mark your thread "solved" if you are done with this thread.


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