How to get pictures off an sd card

Many cameras and smartphones come equipped with or feature support for SD cards, making these memory cards great for storing photos. While there are a few ways to access the photos on your SD card, the process of downloading the photos to your computer is generally the same.

Table of Contents Show

Connecting to the Computer
Using Autoplay
Using File Explorer
Downloading the Files
Direct from Card
From a Camera or Phone
Ejecting the device
How do I get pictures off my SD card without a computer?
How do I transfer files from SD card to computer?
How do I access images on my SD card?
How do I transfer pictures from my SD card to my phone?

Connecting to the Computer

How your SD card connects to your computer depends partially on your computer and partially on how you use the card. The three most common options are connecting the card directly via a built-in SD card slot, using an external reader or adapter or by connecting your phone or camera to the computer via a USB cable.

For built-in card readers, locate the SD card slot on your computer and insert the card. Make sure you're putting the card in correctly or you won't be able to access the data. You also risk damage to the card. If you're using a microSD card, you need a microSD-to-SD adapter card.
For external card readers or adapters, insert your card into the reader or adapter and connect the reader to your computer. Typically, readers or adapters connect via USB.
For direct connection between cameras and phones, switch your device to computer or USB mass storage mode, then connect it to the computer via a USB cable.

Using Autoplay

Autoplay is a Windows feature that helps you set a default action for Windows to take when you connect a device, in this case an SD card. Options include opening the SD card in File Explorer as a folder, opening the pictures in an app like the Windows 8 Photos app or Google's Picasa, or in image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP. What options you're presented with depend on what software you have installed on your computer.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Tips

If you change your mind about how you want Autoplay to handle your card when you connect it, insert the card while holding down the Shift key. The Autoplay prompt returns, so you can choose a new default action.

Using File Explorer

Use File Explorer to look through the SD card's contents as a file folder. Press Windows-X to bring up the power user menu and select File Explorer, then select the card from the list of devices and drives. What drive letter is assigned to your card depends on what other storage devices you have connected to your computer.

Downloading the Files

Downloading pictures from the card is a simple copy/paste operation. Before you get started, make sure you have a destination folder ready in your Pictures folder.

Direct from Card

Open the SD card's folder in File Explorer by double-clicking it.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Select the picture(s) that you want to copy to your computer.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Right-click one of the pictures and select Copy if you want to just copy the pictures, or Cut if you want to move them off of the card. Alternatively, you can also press Ctrl-C on your keyboard to copy and Ctrl-X to cut.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Go to the destination folder in File Explorer and right-click it. Select Paste from the list. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl-V on your keyboard to paste. The pictures are now in your folder and can be viewed at any time.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

From a Camera or Phone

The process is very similar for cameras or phones. The primary difference is that the photos are stored in a named folder on the SD card. In most cases, the card is listed as DCIM.

i Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Ejecting the device

After you have finished downloading the pictures, eject the card before removing it from your computer. Properly ejecting your card finalizes all read and write operations, so there isn't a chance of losing or corrupting data when you remove the card.

Moving the pictures off of your digital camera's memory card and onto your computer is a very easy task. Once you've got the pictures at your fingertips, edit them with your photo editing software and share them with the world.

Step 1

Identify the type of memory card that you have. Some are normal size like an SD card in your digital camera. Many cell phones have microSD cards; these won't fit into a standard memory card reader and need an adapter. Adapters can be bought individually for each card, or you can buy a USB plug in device that has spots for these smaller memory cards.

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Step 2

Plug your memory card into your computer or into a USB memory card reader. You should receive a dialogue box asking you what you want to do with the media -- select "View Files." If you don't get the dialogue box, go to "Start," "Menu," "My Computer" and double-click your memory card under "Devices with Removable Storage."

Step 3

Locate the folder called "DCIM." You'll probably see two more folders inside this folder. Select the top one and you should start to see your images coming up. Change the icon view to "Large Icons." Click on the "Views" button until the files are large enough for you to clearly see what each picture is.

Step 4

Leave the folder open so you can still view all the photos, and minimize all windows so that it's just the desktop. Right-click on the screen and select "New" and "Folder." Name this folder so you'll remember what's inside it.

Step 5

Double-click and open your new folder. Move it to one side of your screen. Maximize the DCIM folder so you can see all your photos. Press "CTRL" + "A" (this will highlight all the pictures), and then press "CTRL" + "C" (this will copy all). Click back onto your computer's new folder and press "CTRL" + "V" (this will paste a duplicate of your pictures into your new folder).

Step 6

Remove all the pictures off your memory card and clear up some space by returning to the DCIM folder and selecting the photos a second time. Hit your "Delete" key to delete the photos. You can also cut the photos off your memory card and paste them into your computer's folder by holding down "CTRL" + "X" instead of "CRTL" + "C."

Step 7

Go to your picture folder you created and delete any bad photos that you don't want. It's a lot easier to do it here than on the camera itself.

How do I get pictures off my SD card without a computer?

Connect the camera memory card to your phone using the card reader. Copy and paste the images from the camera memory card to the micro SD card in your smartphone. You can invest in multiple micro SD cards if you prefer to use this method to take photo backup while traveling.

How do I transfer files from SD card to computer?

Before starting, note that it may be helpful to create a folder on the computer for which to store the files you move from the SD card. Locate the files you want to move in the SD card folder. Cut/copy and paste the desired file(s) from your SD card to your computer. You can also drag and drop items.

How do I access images on my SD card?

You can use the SD card reader to copy photo or video files to a computer for viewing. You can also go to Album on the mobile App to download the photo or video files to your phone and view it in the App under “Album.”