Guides
Practical help for memory card problems on a Mac. Each guide covers the free options too.
- How to recover photos from a formatted SD card on a MacFormatted the wrong card? Your photos are usually still there. What formatting really does, what to do first, and the free and paid ways to get the photos back on a Mac.
- How to tell if an SD card is fakeFake memory cards report far more space than they have and silently lose files. The warning signs, why Get Info can't tell you, and how to test a card on a Mac for free.
- How to fix an MP4 or MOV that won't play after the battery diedA clip that won't open after a camera, drone or dashcam lost power usually has its video intact but its index missing. Why it happens, what to try first, and how to rebuild it.
Updated October 11, 2026.