How to Fix: SD Card Error 0x8007045D When Copying Files

Infopackets Reader William O. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I have a Samsung smartphone with a 16 GB SD card, which I use to store all my pictures and videos. I have taken the SD card out of my smartphone and placed it into an SD card reader, so I can copy files over to my computer. I get about 13% through the transfer and then I get an error message that says: 'Error 0x8007045D: the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.' I then have the option to skip the current file; when I click that, the transfer resumes, but then it says it will take over 1 day to complete the transfer! I tried copying over another folder and it worked without any issues. Can you help? "

My response:

There are usually two possibilities in this scenario: you either have a hardware compatibility problem with your SD card, card reader, and computer, or the card is corrupt and/or failing. Below I'll explain three approaches you can use to resolve this error.

How to Fix: SD Card Error 0x8007045D When Copying Files

1. In the first case: your SD card, card reader, and computer simply aren't compatible with each other. If that is true, you can try and use another card reader (#2) and attempt to copy the files over again. If that doesn't work, try copying the files onto a second (preferably newer) PC using the #1 card reader; if that doesn't work, try card reader #2 on the second computer. I highly recommend using a PC that is as new as possible, as it will have the most compatibility with SD cards compared to older computers - and chances are it may even have an SD card reader built right into the machine. If you don't have access to a newer computer (within the last 5 years) then I suggest you wait and ask a friend for help before attempting Option #3 further down.
    
2. It is also possible that the SD card is corrupt or is failing. In this case, put the card back into the phone and try and transfer your files using a USB cable from the phone to the computer. The phone's settings (USB mode) may need to be adjusted in order to copy files over using a USB cable. If that doesn't work for you, another option is to download an FTP (file transfer protocol) server app on your phone, then install an FTP client onto your computer, then wirelessly transfer your files from the phone to your PC. If you need help setting this up, you are more than welcome to contact me for remote desktop support.
    
3. If you still receive an error while transferring a particular file in either of the methods mentioned in Option #2, then there is always a chance that the card is failing. In this case I suggest you go back to Option #2 and try and skip the file(s) that are giving you issues and do your best to copy over the remaining data on the SD card to your computer as best you can. After that, I would attempt to check the SD card for errors using a Windows PC, which I will describe next.
   
   To check the SD card for errors: put the SD card back into your SD card reader, then attach it to your computer - preferably do this on a computer made within the last 5 years, or this procedure may corrupt the card even worse. Next, go to My Computer / This PC in Windows and right click the SD card, select Properties, then go to the Tools menu and under the "Error Checking" menu, click the "Check" button. If Windows finds any errors on the SD card then it will ask whether or not you want to fix them - click Yes.
   
   Important: only check for errors on the card -after- you have attempted to copy over your data from the SD card to the computer as I previously mentioned in Options #1 and #2. Sometimes the error checking in Windows (if authorized to 'fix' the errors) may make things worse and clear the directory indexes, making data recovery that much more painful. If all goes to plan, Windows will report that errors have been fixed. If this is the case, then try and copy over the files again, starting with Option #1.

I hope that helps.

Additional 1-on-1 Support: From Dennis

If the above instructions are over your head, or if you are having issues recovering data from your SD card, you are more than welcome to contact me for remote desktop support. Simply send me an email briefly describing your problem, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!

I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question - or even a computer problem that needs fixing - please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.