Card not formatted

Memory Cards Compatibility
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‘Card is not formatted. Format card?

This appears on my camera when turning on. I only use the camera a few odd times per year. I have some photos on there not uploaded to my laptop and I have tried connecting the camera to my laptop and the memory card to a photo machine with no success. Is there a way to fix this issue and retrieve all photos? I assume formatting the card will wipe it? Thanks for your time reading this!

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Try connecting the SD card to the computer using a card reader. If you are using a Windows PC, check if it appears in Disk Management and File Explorer. This issue can happen for several reasons, including file system corruption, physical damage, or improper ejection from a device.

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When your camera prompts you to format the card, it generally means that the card’s file system has become corrupted or unreadable by the camera. Formatting the card will indeed erase all data on it.
I would suggest try some error-checking tools from Windows to fix your card. Check out this article on how to Fix the ‘SD Card Needs to Be Formatted’ Error.

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Yep, don’t format it yet if the photos matter to you. A format usually wipes the file table, making recovery harder. The card might just have some file system errors or bad sectors.What you can try:
Use a card reader (not the cam) and connect directly to your PC.
Run a recovery tool (e.g. EaseUS SD card recovery, TestDisk, PhotoRec). They scan the raw data, so even if the card isn’t readable normally, the pics may still be there.
If the card shows up but asks to format, just cancel and go straight to recovery software.
If the data is really critical, avoid DIY too much and go for a pro data recovery service. But in most cases, good software can get your shots back.