How to Fix Nikon 'This Memory Card Cannot Be Used' Error

"You're experiencing issues with your Nikon D5200's 16GB SD card, showing an error message indicating it may be damaged. When you tried to access it via a card reader connected to your computer, it didn't appear. You'll need to troubleshoot or potentially replace the card to resolve the issue."

this memory card cannot be used nikon d5200

The memory card is no longer usable suddenly because it may have been locked, corrupted, damaged, or broken, making it unable to be used on a digital camera, Android phone, or game console.

How to Fix This Memory Card Cannot Be Used

If you got the error message on your Nikon camera, try the following methods first to try to solve the problem.

Method 1. Confirm the Card is Correctly Inserted

To resolve the issue, simply take the SD card out of your camera and reinsert it, ensuring the correct insert direction. Some cameras may produce a click sound when the memory card is properly seated, typically with SD cards.

Method 2. Ensure the Card is Approved

To ensure compatibility, check the approved memory card compatibility charts provided by Nikon, and verify that the SD card you plan to use is listed and approved by the manufacturer.

Method 3. Check the Memory Card Contacts

Remove the memory card from the device, gently clean the contacts with a soft dry cloth, and re-insert the card.

If the above methods don't work, the memory card might be corrupted or damaged. In this case, you can try to fix a damaged SD card by either using a data recovery software or sending it to a professional data recovery service.

Repair Damaged/Corrupted Memory Card

Like Canon's "card cannot be accessed" error, Nikon users can also experience issues with memory cards. However, there are fixes available for Nikon's "memory card cannot be used" problem, and troubleshooting the issue can be done with two useful solutions.

Fix 1. Format a damaged SD card

On your PC, right-Click on "My Computer" or "This PC" (Windows 10), then click on "Manage" and select "Disk Management".
Right-click the SD card and select Format.
To quickly format a drive, choose a file system such as NTFS, FAT, or FAT32, and then perform a quick format.

format sd card in disk management

Fix 2. Repair a damaged SD card using cmd

Press Windows + X hotkeys, click "Command Prompt (Admin)".

open command prompt as admin

To check and repair a damaged SD card, enter the command `chkdsk [sd card drive letter]: /r` and press Enter. For example, if the SD card is assigned the drive letter "F", you would type `chkdsk F: /r` and press Enter. This command will scan the SD card for errors and attempt to repair them.

Fix Device with CHKDSK Alternative

Download Qiling CleanGenius and install it on your computer. Let's start checking and fixing file system errors on your device now.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 1. Click "File Showing" to enter the next step.

Step 2. To fix a problematic device, choose the target device and select the option to "Check and fix file system error". Then, click "Execute" to initiate the repair process.

Step 3. The fixing process is complete, and you can now access and utilize your device by clicking on the provided link.

Recover Memory Card Data after Formatting

After formatting a memory card, all the pictures on it will be erased, but if there's no overwriting, they can still be recovered using a professional data recovery tool like Deep Data Recovery.

Free Download
Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Let's check some fantastic features of this tool first:

Recover lost or deleted files after formatting, partition loss, OS crash, virus attack, etc. with ease.
This software provides two scanning options: a quick scan for a fast recovery and a deep scan for a more thorough search, ensuring all your recovery needs are met.
Enables users to preview lost files before recovery.
Photo Recovery Software supports to repair damaged or corrupt JPEG/JPG photos during the recovering process.

 Tip: If your micro SD memory card isn't showing up on your computer, you can try assigning a drive letter to it through Windows Disk Management, which should make it visible on your computer.

Download and install the Qiling data recovery software, then launch it after installation.

Step 1. Run Deep Data Recovery. Select file types and click "Next" to start.

Select file types that you want to recover

Step 2. Connect your SD card, memory card, or CF Card to your computer and launch Qiling memory card recovery software. The SD card will be listed under the Devices section, allowing you to choose it and click "Scan" to start searching for your lost data.

Step 3. The software automatically starts a powerful scan that can find all lost files, including those with lost file names. After the scan, deleted items can be found in the tree-view panel on the left. Users can then filter the results by file type, such as photos, documents, videos, or emails, to find specific files.

Step 4. Once you've double-clicked to preview the files, you can select the desired ones and click "Recover" to restore them to a secure location on your PC or external storage devices.