What Is LOST.DIR and How to Recover Files from LOST.DIR on SD Card

Nowadays increasing information and apps are eating up the storage space of smartphones. Quite a few people choose to purchase an SD card and use it to expand the storage of the phones. When managing the files, sharp-eyed people may find a folder in Android SD card called LOST.DIR with strange files in it which seems to have nothing to do with anything in your smartphone. Are Android LOST.DIR files really useless and can I delete the LOST.DIR folder? Let's find out!

What Is LOST.DIR and What Is Inside the Folder?

LOST.DIR is an Android system folder used to collect the corrupted data produced when the process of writing data into SD Card is interrupted such as suddenly shutting off the phone or pulling out the external SD card. The corrupted data are usually renamed with a random number and copied to this folder. Some people compare it to the Recycle Bin on the computer. But I think there are still differences because the data in a LOST.DIR folder is not deliberately deleted by users and they are placed in the folder for they are corrupted. The files in recycle bin are deleted by users and can be easily recovered for only the volume space they take up is labeled as unused and they are not really erased in the volume.

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Is It Safe to Delete LOST.DIR Folder in Android?

As I have said, LOST.DIR folder contains only the corrupted data. If the corrupted data is not important to you or there is a backup of them, you can feel free to delete them. But if you have files missing on your Android SD card, LOST.DIR files can actually help you to recover the lost files.

You can either empty the folder or you can delete the whole folder for saving the precious memory. Some people may worry that deleting the folder may cause the system to work abnormally, which is a redundant fear. Every time the SD card is plugged into the phone or the phone is rebooted, the system will detect the files in LOST.DIR folder. When they cannot find the folder, they will create one.

To sum up, the corrupted files in LOST.DIR folder and the folder itself can be deleted at your will for saving storage space as long as you don't need to recover files with LOST.DIR folder. However, there is no point in deleting the folder because it will reappear when the system reboots.

LOST.DIR Recovery: Recover Files from SD Card

If some files get lost on your SD card and you want to recove LOST.DIR files, you normally need to resort to a third-party app. Here I recommend a standout data recovery program, FonePaw Data Recovery, which can recover deleted and corrupted files from SD card, USB drive and computer. Let's have a quick look at how to restore your files from LOST.DIR to the SD card with FonePaw Data Recovery.

Step 1: Download FonePaw Data Recovery to the computer by the below button and install it.

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Step 2: Double click the icon of FonePaw Data Recovery to open it.

Step 3: Connect your phone to the computer (Make sure the SD card works normally on the phone and the computer can read and manage the phone).

Step 4: Tick off the file types you want to recover and check the SD card on the homepage.

Step 5: Click the "Scan" button on the right bottom corner.

Step 6: After finishing quick scanning, view the files by Type List or Path List. If you cannot find the files you want, you can try "Deep Scan" by clicking the button on the right top corner. Tick off files you want to restore.

Step 7: Click Recover button on the right bottom corner and select the path you want the recovered files to be saved in.

To sum up, LOST.DIR is a system folder used to collect corrupted data produced by SD Card. Files inside the folder is safe to delete. If you need to recover LOST.DIR files, FonePaw Data Recovery are helpful. If you have any question, feel free to contact us.