What is an SD card?
An SD card, which stands for Secure Digital card, is a non-volatile flash memory card used for storage in portable devices like cameras, phones, and tablets [1]. SD cards were developed in 1999 by SanDisk, Panasonic, and Toshiba as an improvement over MultiMediaCards (MMC) [2].
There are several types of SD cards that have emerged over the years:
- SD – Original SD card with up to 2GB capacity
- SDHC – SD High Capacity, from 4GB to 32GB
- SDXC – SD Extended Capacity, from 64GB to 2TB
- microSD – Smaller SD card used in many phones and tablets
SD cards are commonly used for storage expansion in devices like cameras, mobile phones, tablets, and handheld game consoles. They provide removable, rewritable storage for photos, videos, music, documents, apps, and other data [3]. Higher capacity SD cards up to 512GB allow storing more high-resolution photos and HD video.
Why should I backup an SD card?
There are several important reasons to regularly back up the data on your SD card:
Prevent data loss – SD cards can unexpectedly fail or become corrupted. Backing up your SD card provides you with a separate copy of your files in case the original data is lost or damaged. This allows you to recover your photos, videos, documents, and other important files.
Recover from corruption – Sometimes SD cards can experience corruption that makes the data inaccessible. Backing up your SD card ahead of time ensures you’ll have a clean copy you can restore from if this occurs.
Migrate data to new device – When transitioning to a new phone, camera, or other device that uses SD cards, backing up your SD card allows you to easily transfer your files to the new device.
Overall, routinely backing up an SD card provides vital protection against catastrophic data loss. It gives you the peace of mind that your files and memories can be recovered if anything happens to the original SD card. Regular backups are essential for anyone who stores important or irreplaceable data on an SD card.
Sources:
https://www.quora.com/Is-an-SD-card-necessary-for-backing-up-data-on-a-laptop-or-are-built-in-storage-solutions-adequate
Choosing a Backup Destination
When backing up an SD card, you have several options for where to store the backup files:
External Hard Drive
An external hard drive that connects via USB is one of the most common and convenient backup destinations for SD cards. Look for a portable external hard drive with plenty of storage space. Popular models like the WD Elements Portable Hard Drive offer up to 5TB of storage.
Cloud Storage
Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and iCloud allow you to backup files to the cloud. This gives you offsite backup and makes the files accessible from other devices. Just be aware of storage limits based on your plan.
Another SD Card
You can copy files from one SD card to another as a simple backup solution. However, this lacks redundancies if the original SD card fails. It’s better to use an additional backup destination.
USB Flash Drive
A USB flash drive can also store SD card backups. Look for a high-capacity drive with at least 64GB to 128GB. Just be careful not to overwrite previous backups on the flash drive.
When choosing a backup destination, consider convenience, reliability, capacity, and security. Using an external hard drive or cloud storage service typically offers the best experience.
Using Windows to Backup an SD Card
Windows makes it easy to backup files from an SD card using File Explorer. Simply insert the SD card into your computer’s card reader and open File Explorer. The SD card will appear as a separate drive. You can then copy files by selecting them and using copy/paste into a folder on your computer or external hard drive. This manual method works well for small backups.
For larger backups, dedicated backup software like EaseUS Todo Backup can be used. As recommended by EaseUS, this software allows you to quickly backup an entire SD card drive or selected files. It also includes options to schedule automatic backups and encrypt backups for added security.
Other popular Windows backup software includes Macrium Reflect, Paragon Backup & Recovery, and Acronis True Image. These tools provide full or incremental SD card backups along with drive cloning functionality for creating an exact copy of your card.
Regardless of method, be sure to verify the integrity of backups by opening files to check they have transferred correctly. Store the backup in a safe location in case your original SD card is lost, stolen, or corrupted.
Using Mac to backup an SD card
There are a few different ways to backup an SD card on a Mac computer.
Using Finder
The easiest method is to use the Finder app that comes standard on every Mac. Simply insert the SD card into your computer’s SD card reader. Open Finder and locate the SD card, which will appear in the left sidebar under Devices. You can then copy and paste files from the SD card to another location, like an external hard drive or cloud storage. This allows you to manually select which files you want to backup.
Here are the steps:
- Insert your SD card into the SD card reader on your Mac.
- Open Finder and click on the SD card in the Devices list.
- Select the files/folders you want to copy.
- Click Edit > Copy (or press Command-C).
- Go to the location you want to save the backup and click Edit > Paste (or Command-V) to copy them.
Using Time Machine
If you want automated, continuous backups, you can use Time Machine which is also included with macOS. Time Machine will regularly backup all files on your SD card to an external hard drive or NAS. This ensures your files are protected in case your SD card fails.
To set it up:
- Connect an external hard drive to use for Time Machine backups.
- Open System Preferences > Time Machine and turn Time Machine on.
- Choose your backup drive and enable backups for your SD card.
Time Machine will now automatically backup your SD card hourly.
Using backup software
There are also paid third-party Mac apps like Carbon Copy Cloner that offer advanced options for cloning and backing up SD cards. These tools allow scheduling, incremental backups, compression, and more control over the backup process.
Using Android to Backup an SD Card
One easy way to backup files from your Android device’s SD card is by using the built-in file manager app. The file manager allows you to browse files and folders on your device and provides options to copy, move, share and delete files.
To backup files using the file manager:
- Open the file manager app on your Android device.
- Navigate to the SD card folder.
- Long press on the files or folders you want to back up to select them.
- Tap the copy icon in the toolbar at the top.
- Browse to the location you want to backup the files to. This could be an external SD card, USB drive or cloud storage if you have an app like Google Drive or Dropbox installed.
- Tap paste to copy the selected files to the backup destination.
Another option is using a cloud sync service like Google Drive or Dropbox. You can install the app, then configure it to automatically upload files from your SD card to cloud storage. This provides an ongoing backup of your SD card contents.
Regularly backing up your SD card to another location ensures you have a copy of your files in case your phone is lost, damaged or your SD card fails.
Using iOS to Backup an SD Card
iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad make it easy to backup files from an SD card. The key is using the Files app that comes pre-installed on iOS.
To backup an SD card on iOS:
- Insert the SD card into the SD card reader on your iOS device.
- Open the Files app and navigate to the SD card under Locations.
- Tap and hold on the files or folders you want to backup from the SD card.
- Tap “Copy” to copy them.
- Navigate to the destination you want to backup to, like iCloud Drive, and tap “Paste” to paste the files there.
This will copy the files from the SD card to the chosen destination like iCloud for safe keeping. iCloud syncs across all your iOS devices, so the files will also be backed up there.
You can also automatically backup an SD card by going to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups and enable iCloud backups for the SD card.
iOS makes backing up files from an SD card easy with just a few taps in the Files app. And iCloud provides a built-in backup solution synced across devices. (https://blog.dominey.photography/2022/12/06/how-to-backup-sd-cards-using-an-iphone)
Choosing what to backup
When backing up an SD card, you have a few options for what specific data to copy over. The main choices are:
Entire card
You can back up the entire contents of the SD card. This will copy all folders, files, apps, and data from the card. Backing up everything can be useful if you want a full mirror image of the SD card for recovery purposes. However, it will take more time and storage space than a selective backup.
Select folders/files
Many backup tools allow you to choose specific folders or files to copy from the SD card. This is helpful if you only need to back up your photos, documents, music, or other subsets of data. Selectively backing up folders gives more control over what gets copied and can save time and storage space compared to backing up the full card.
File types
Some backup software can filter backups based on file type or extension. For example, you may want to only back up JPG photo files or MP3 music files. Filtering by file type provides a quick way to isolate important file categories without tediously selecting individual folders.
Overall, determining what to back up depends on your specific needs. Focus on your most valued data and the purpose of the backup. For full protection, the entire SD card contents can be copied. But selective backups often work well for most use cases while consuming fewer resources.
Automating backups
Automating the backup process can save you time and ensure your files are regularly copied from your SD card to another storage device. Here are some options for automating SD card backups on different devices:
On Windows 10, you can use the built-in File History tool to automatically back up files from your SD card to another drive whenever you plug it in. You can set File History to back up files every hour while the SD card is connected. See this guide for steps: Unlimited SD Card Backup
On Mac, you can use an app like Hazel to set up rules to automatically copy files from your SD card to a specified backup folder whenever it’s inserted. Hazel can watch for new SD cards being mounted and immediately copy files over. This forum thread discusses options.
On Android, some manufacturer versions of Android include a setting to automatically back up data from an SD card to Google Drive or another cloud storage service. Check your device settings for this option. Alternatively, apps like FolderSync can sync folders on your SD card to the cloud or local storage.
On iPhone and iPad, you can enable iCloud Photo Library to automatically sync photos and videos from the Camera Roll (which includes your SD card) to iCloud storage. Enabling iCloud backup will also back up some app data stored on your SD card.
Scheduling regular backups, rather than purely relying on automated options, can also be wise to ensure your SD card files are fully protected in case the auto backup misses anything. Many backup apps and services allow scheduling daily, weekly or monthly backups.
Verifying the Backup
Once you have completed the backup process, it is crucial to verify that the backup was successful before deleting any files from the source. There are a few ways to verify your backup:
Compare the source and destination: Calculate checksums for your files on the SD card and on the backup destination, then compare the checksum values. They should match if the backup was successful.
Check free space: Compare the free space available on your SD card before and after the backup. The free space after should be greater if files were properly transferred.
Spot check files: Open random files from the backup destination to verify they contain the expected content and were not corrupted in transfer.
Verifying your backup helps ensure you have a usable, restorable copy of your important SD card data before deleting or overwriting anything on the original card.
