Buzz
This guide will walk you through the process of formatting an SD card, a portable storage device commonly used in cameras, tablets, and smartphones. Formatting any drive will erase all stored data; therefore, ensure you back up important files (such as photos or videos) before proceeding.
Steps
On Android Operating System
Ensure the SD card is inserted into your Android device. If you need to insert the SD card, you may need to remove the back cover of the device.
- Tablets and smartphones typically use microSD cards, which are smaller versions of the SD cards used in cameras.
- In some cases, you may need to remove the battery of your Android device to access the SD card slot.
Swipe down the screen and select Storage. This option is typically found midway through the Settings page.
- On Samsung devices, select Device maintenance instead.
Tap on the name of the microSD card listed under the "Portable storage" section.
Tap the ⋮ icon located at the top-right corner of the screen.
Select Storage settings from the list of options.
Choose Format or Format as internal. To set the SD card as internal storage, choose Format as internal. To simply erase the data on the SD card, select Format.
- On Samsung devices, you may need to select Storage at the bottom of the page first.
Select ERASE & FORMAT at the bottom of the page to begin formatting the SD card for your Android device.
- This process only takes a few seconds. Once completed, your SD card will be successfully formatted.
On Windows Operating System
Insert the SD card into your computer. Most computers have a thin, wide slot on the exterior for SD cards.
- Ensure the notched end of the SD card is inserted first, with the label facing upward.
- If your computer lacks an SD card slot, you can purchase a USB card reader to connect the SD card via a USB port.
- You can also press the ⊞ Win key.
Click on My Computer, represented by a computer screen icon on the left side of the File Explorer window.
Click on the name of the SD card. You will find the card's name under the "Devices and drives" section in the middle of the This PC window. The SD card's name is often accompanied by the characters "SDHC".
Click on the Manage tab located in the top-left corner of the This PC window.
Click on Format in the top-left corner of the window, represented by a flash drive icon with a red circular arrow above it. This action will open the Format window.
Click on the "File System" dropdown menu under the "File System" heading near the top of the page. A list of options will appear, including:
- NTFS - The default format for Windows, compatible only with Windows.
- FAT32 - A widely compatible format suitable for both Windows and Mac, but with a 2-terabyte storage limit and a maximum file size of 4 gigabytes.
- exFAT (Recommended) - Compatible with both Windows and Mac, with no storage limitations.
Select the desired format type.
- If the storage has been formatted before, check the Quick Format box.
Click on Start, then select OK to initiate the SD card formatting process on Windows.
- All photos on your SD card will be erased during this process.
Click OK when prompted. This confirms that the SD card has been modified to support the selected format.
On Mac Operating System
Insert the SD card into your computer. Most computers have a thin, wide slot on the exterior for SD cards.
- Ensure the notched end of the SD card is inserted first, with the label facing upward.
- Many newer Mac computers lack an SD card slot, so you may need to purchase a USB card reader to connect the SD card via a USB port.
Open Finder by clicking the blue face icon in the Dock.
Click on Go in the top-left corner of the Mac menu bar.
Select Utilities from the Go dropdown menu.
Double-click on Disk Utility in the middle of the Utilities page.
- The utilities on this page are typically listed in alphabetical order.
Click on the name of the memory card in the leftmost window of the Disk Utility page.
Click on the Erase tab at the top of the Disk Utility window.
Click on the dropdown menu below the "Format" heading in the middle of the page. This will display a list of options, including:
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - The default format for Mac, compatible only with Mac.
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) - An encrypted version of the default Mac format.
- Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) - A version of the default Mac format that differentiates between files with the same name but varying letter cases (e.g., "file.txt" and "File.txt").
- Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted) - A combination of the three above formats for Mac.
- MS-DOS (FAT) - Compatible with both Windows and Mac but has a 4-gigabyte file size limit.
- ExFAT (Recommended) - Compatible with both Windows and Mac, with no storage limitations.
Select the format you want to use for the SD card.
Click Erase, then confirm by clicking Erase when prompted. This allows your Mac to begin erasing and reformatting the SD card. Once the process is complete, your SD card will support the selected format.
Tips
- SD card readers are often priced below 200,000 VND.
Warning
- If you do not back up the SD card before formatting, you will not be able to recover the deleted files.
