Hello! I've browsed the forum to try and self-serve, but I'm still not sure what to try next.
I have a microSD card in an android phone (Samsung Galaxy Note8 ) that I used predominantly for audio and image file storage. Out of the blue (not tied to any changes or interaction I can think of, including moving files or installing updates, etc) I got an error that my audiobook couldn't be played because the folder wasn't there. I tried to look at the files on the SD card using the Files app on the phone, but it only showed one folder with a gobbledygook name. I turned off the phone, took out the SD card and reset it in the tray, then reinserted it and rebooted the phone. I got an error that the SD card needed to be formatted.
I again turned off the phone and removed the SD card. I tried putting it in my Dell laptop (Windows 10 OS) and it shows up in the file explorer, but I again get an error that the drive needs to be formatted before use.
I downloaded the free version of Recuva and tried a scan.
From here, I'm not sure what's the best next step. I'm not sure what the difference is between file system recovery vs file recovery. I saw a post that recommended a "Quick Format" of the drive in question, but before I do anything that seems to be action-oriented vs purely exploratory, I wanted to check with folks who have a better sense of what might be going on than me. Any tips or guidance is deeply appreciated!
Thanks!