Solved: SD Card Is Blank or Has Unsupported File System

Follow the step-by-step guides to fix SD card is blank or has an unsupported filesystem' error.

Overview of Blank SD Card Error

The "Blank SD card" error usually occurs due to improper operations, and the supplementary error description is "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem". The unsupported SD card error usually comes with problems like SD card unreadable or undetectable. Why is SD card blank or has an unsupported filesystem? As far as we concerned, many unpleasant situations would throw your Android phone memory card into such an error. For instance, abrupt removal, virus infection, file system corruption showing as RAW, and other logical damages...

4 Solutions to 'SD card is blank or has an unsupported filesystem' error

The problem mostly happens to Android phone SD cards, Camera SD cards, memory cards or other USB drives, etc. When it occurs, do you know any fix? Sure, disk formatting would be the most direct method to fix a blank SD card., but this will wipe out all the existing data and finally lead to a serious data loss problem. Fortunately, full and safe solutions for the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error are offered here to help!

STEP 1. Re-install disk drivers to fix blank and unsupported SD card 

One of the most frequently used troubleshooting methods for a removable drive is to update disk drivers. If your SD card cannot be detected or recognized by the computer or device, here we have two methods for you to fix it:

1. Unplug your SD card and connect it to the other device, or PC, to see whether it can be read or not.

2. If the other phone or PC cannot read the blank SD card, connect it to a computer, and try to show hidden device driver, and reinstall disk drivers as instructed.

• In Windows 10, for example, type cmd in the search box and right-click "Command Prompt", then choose "Open as administrator".

• Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 at the command prompt interface. Then input "start devmgmt.msc" and hit Enter.
• Next, "Device Manager" will open. Click the "View" tab and select "Show hidden devices".
• Now expand the "Universal serial bus controller" section.
• If you find any grayed entries > Right-click on it > Select "Uninstall".

Reboot the computer and the drivers will be automatically re-installed. Connect the SD card to your mobile phone, and it should be fine now.

STEP 2. Run chkdsk to fix blank and unsupported SD card 

If it still cannot be detected by the computer, there might exist some internal errors, like file system corruptions, that results in a blank SD card. Then, you can run chkdsk command to get the unsupported SD card fixed.

• In the same way to open Windows Command Prompt.
• Type: chkdsk g: /f (f represents your sd card drive letter) and hit Enter

The chkdsk /f command is for checking and repairing disk drive issues. When the command takes effect, your SD card will become readable again.

File system corruption is likely to show the disk status as RAW, and you can try to repair RAW SD card to fix the unsupported file system error.

If you aren't tech-savvy and want to minimize risks to your data, using third-party software could be your best bet. The command line approach is only suitable for computer professionals since wrong commands can cause severe problems. Therefore, we strongly recommend you try an automatic command line alternative.

EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is both safe and lightweight. It's a perfect alternative to CHKDSK command. Use this one-click tool to solve your computer issues.

To fix a file system error or disk error:

Step 1:  DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for free and install it.

Step 2: Run the software and select the "File Showing" option. 

Step 3: Choose the drive and wait until the tool performs the repairing task. After the operation is completed, click the "View" button to check the drive.

STEP 3. Recover data from SD card that is blank or has some unsupported filesystem 

What if the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error still exists after you have tried all the above two methods? Don't worry! You can still try to restore data from the blank SD card and then format the device to permanently fix all the possible errors that might cause the problem. Here, professional SD card recovery software from EaseUS Software will help you manage the data recovery job. Note that the free file recovery software allows you to restore 2GB data for free. To recover an unlimited amount of data, upgrade the free version to the full version.

Guide: How to restore data from blank and unsupported SD card

Step 1. Select SD card to scan

• Downoad and install EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your Windows PC.
• Use the proper way to connect your SD card to the computer. Let Windows recognize the card and assign it a drive letter.
• Launch EaseUS SD card recovery software. All connected drives will display here. Select your SD card according to its drive letter under the Devices section. Click "Scan" to start finding lost data on your SD card.

Step 2. Check for scan results

After the scanning process, you can click "Filter" and specify one or several file types to show up, like Pictures, Word, Excel, PDF, Videos and so on. This will help you quickly find wanted files of one kind.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

• After the scan, you can check and preview found files by double-clicking each one of them.
• Choose desired files and click Recover.
• Choose a different location to save the recovered files instead of the orginal SD card.

STEP 4. Format to fix blank and unsupported SD card for reuse

Finally, after getting all the data back from the inaccessible SD card, you just need some simple clicks to format the SD card to the wanted file system. This operation will help you permanently remove the "SD card is blank or has some unsupported filesystem" error and make the card work properly again. 

To format a blank SD card in Disk Management:

• Press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box. Type diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
• In Disk Management, right-click on the blank SD card and choose Format...

• Follow the on-screen wizard, choose an NTFS/FAT32 file system according to your own case, and perform a quick format.

The Bottom Line

That's all about how to fix SD card is blank or has unsupported filesystem error. Hope you can solve your problem after reading this post. If you have any questions, please contact our support team: [email protected]