SD Card Formatter is a free desktop program for formatting SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. It is an indispensable tool for restoring the compatibility of SD and microSD memory cards with operating systems and devices. Correct formatting does not always, but in many cases eliminates the problem of file system incompatibility.
The SD Formatter application is designed entirely to work with memory cards, format them using SD / SDHC / SDXC standards. Therefore, if for some reason your sd card is not formatted, we strongly recommend SD Formatter as a formatting tool instead of the standard utilities included with the operating system. Those applications also work with almost all types of flash drives and cards, but the result is not optimal in terms of speed. Manufacturers advise formatting the sd card using special applications. SDFormatter is one of the best for formatting.
How to format an android device
In fact, formatting the memory of a tablet or phone running Android is not difficult.
To format the memory card, you need to go to Settings - Privacy - Reset settings. However, in the latest versions of Android, this method is not available, so we would advise you to format the memory card on your computer. How to do it - read below.
How to format a phone tablet through a card reader
To format a tablet or phone, you will need a card reader and the installed sdformatter program, which can be downloaded from the link above.
- We take out the microsd / sd card from the android device
- We take a card reader, connect it to a computer and insert a memory card into it
- Run the sdformatter program
- In the list of disks in the sdformatter window, specify the letter of the memory card connected through the card reader (you can check the correspondence by the disk label or by the contents of the memory card). Be careful, make sure that you are going to format exactly the memory card that was in the phone!
- We go into the settings of the sdformatter program (Option button) and select the Full OverWrite formatting type.
- Click Format, wait for the formatting to finish.
- We take out the sd card from the card reader and insert it into the phone.
How to format a memory card on your phone using SD Format
You can read about how to work with SD Formatter in the official instructions or follow the instructions in the Message Area of the program. The utility is very simple in its design, and we will note the key features when working with it.
Download SD Card Formatter
The first thing you need for successful formatting is to download the SD Memory Card Formatter application.
Important. Administrator rights are required to run SD Card Formatter.
Connecting a memory card to a computer
We carefully remove the memory card from the mobile phone (or tablet) and connect it to the PC using a card reader. Alternatively, you can simply connect the device to your computer, which has the SD Memory Card Formatter program installed.
To work with media, you will need one of the following special devices:
- USB SD Card reader - a separate device, connected accordingly through the USB port of the computer
- SD Card slot - usually available in any laptop/Macbook.
Formatting settings
Formatting is configured through the Option window. The Format Options provide two types of formatting:
- Quick format - files and folders are marked as writable, but the formatting does not affect the data in the files
- Full (Overwrite) format - the program also deletes the contents of files.
In other words, after Quick format, you can still try to recover files, while after Overwrite format, the chances are extremely small.
Selecting a disk to format
From the Drive list, select the sd card to format. As a rule, the program does this on its own. Conveniently, hard disk partitions are not displayed here, so it's hard to get confused and select the wrong disk. However, it is still worth double-checking the name of the letter if other storage media are connected to the computer.
If the flash drive was inserted into the SD slot after the program was launched, the disk may not be displayed immediately. In this case, you need to click the Refresh Button and check the status field. The blue logo in the main window indicates the successful connection of the SD card.
A similar scenario is also valid if you do not know how to format an Android phone: follow the instructions exactly, SD Format is quite suitable for working with this mobile OS.
Performing formatting
To apply the settings, click OK, to start formatting - Format in the main program window.
When formatting is complete, a window will appear with the status Memory Card Format Complete! Information about the file system, available memory card capacity, and cluster size is also available here.
Instructions on how to format an SD card
Summary. SD Formatter is an excellent program for formatting microsd, sd and other memory cards. If you do not know how to format an sd card using standard means or have encountered certain problems reading information from a memory card, this utility will provide all possible assistance. The program is absolutely free and safe, and you should not be afraid that after formatting you will get a "brick" at your disposal.
Supported SD card interfaces
The sdformatter utility supports multiple device interfaces for working with SD, SDHC, microsd and SDXC
- SD slot on computer
- USB SD reader
- PC card, CardBus or Express Card SD adapter (ExpressCard SD)
Before downloading sdformatter and just before starting to work with the application, you need to make sure that you have the ability to work with the sd-card using one of the above protocols with the sdformatter program.
SDFormatter application interface
SD Formatter interface A few SDFormatter program settings required when formatting a memory card. If your memory card is not being formatted, we advise you to pay close attention to all parameters without exception.1 Status
This field shows the status of the SD memory card/SDHC/SDXC memory and the device interface.
- Blue: activity status.
- No logo: SD memory card or SDHC/SDXC memory card or SD interface of the device is disabled.
- Grey: no connection. These can be SD memory cards, SDHC/SDXC cards recognized by the SD Formatter utility.
2 Drive
This list indicates the disks of the SD memory/memory card, SDHC/SDXC card that have been opened and recognized by the SD Formatter. A drive from this list can be selected for formatting the SD memory card.
3 Size (Size) sd card
This field indicates the capacity of SD/SDHC/SDXC cards on the selected drive.
4 Message Area
This area displays messages or notifications from SD Formatter to users. This area is useful for additional information in case the sd card not formatted.
5 Refresh Button
This button is used to update the information on the SD memory card/memory card or SDHC/SDXC storage cards. When this button is pressed, the SD Formatter receives the latest information from the SD storage card. This button is useful when new memory cards, SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards are added via the unit's SD interface.
6 Volume Label
This field in the sdformatter program is used to display the label of the sd volume. Enter a new volume label that will be written to the SD card during formatting. You can enter up to 11 characters in the Volume Label field. If the volume label name was NOT English, this field may not display correctly. In this case, you should enter a new sd card volume label in English.
7 Select button (Option)
This sdformatter utility button is used to select options when performing a format operation. When the button is pressed, a window with options to format the SD card is displayed on the screen.
8 SD card format options
This area shows the current SD card formatting options selected in the format window options. If the sd card is not formatted, you should vary with the program options.
9 SD start button (Format)
This button starts formatting the sd memory card. After clicking this button, a format confirmation window will appear on the screen. You can continue or cancel formatting the disk/sd card.
10 Exit button
This button is used to exit the SD Formatter application after the memory card has been formatted.
It should be noted that memory cards supporting SD/SDHC/SDXC protocols have a so-called protected area dedicated to standard security features. The SD Formatter 4.0 utility does not format this same security zone. Therefore, always use an appropriate application or an SD compatible device to provide an SD protected function to format the protected area on the memory card.
System requirements to run sdformatter
This information will be useful if your memory card is not being formatted and you need to install the sdformatter application.
If an sdxc card is connected directly through the computer's sd slot without installing a driver, the card may not be recognized correctly, and therefore a message will appear asking you to format it. In this case, do not agree and do not format the memory card: this may result in complete deletion of data on the storage device and unwanted formatting in a file system that is not compatible with the SDXC device.
SD Card Formatter vs Standard Formatting Tools
In Windows and Mac OS, basic tools are available for formatting a hard drive, usb drive, and sd card. However, this method is not recommended as formatting can significantly degrade the performance of the storage device.
There is no such drawback in SD Card Formatter. Moreover, the program is often used to fix memory card recognition problems after incorrect standard Windows formatting.
Unlike system utilities, SD Formatter does not affect the protected area. This reserved area on the memory card is required for security functions. Formatting is not recommended.
As the developers of SD Formatter clarify, formatting is configured for maximum performance (for the FAT file system). Thus, when formatting, you can use the default settings.
Like other programs, SD Formatter cannot format encrypted memory cards (for example, BitLocker To Go). Therefore, a mandatory step is to decrypt the content before performing the operation.
Answers to questions from readers
How to format a flash drive on Android?
Answer. To format the memory card of an Android device, you need to remove the card from your phone or tablet, then connect it to your computer using a card reader. After that, open SD Formatter and find the flash drive in the list of storage devices. All subsequent actions are described in the instructions for formatting a memory card above in the text.
The operating system gives an error with the following content: "Windows cannot complete formatting." What would it mean, how to solve the problem?
Answer. Usually this error appears in two cases: if for some reason it is not possible to complete the formatting or it is not possible to format the USB flash drive using regular OS tools.
There are two methods for solving formatting errors and, accordingly, two tools. The first is the built-in system utility diskmgmt.msc (launched via Start - Run). The second program, you guessed it, is the sd formatter. Through it, you can perform quick and deep (low-level) formatting of the microsd card.
What is low-level formatting microsd?
Answer. - this is a type of formatting a memory card and a flash drive, in which cleaning and subsequent testing are performed, a table of files is created and copied to the service section of the storage device. As a rule, low-level formatting should be resorted to only in extreme cases, if the microsd or sd card works with errors.
I recently bought a 16 GB memory card. The phone supports more, but during operation there was a problem when using the phone for an hour or two for a long time. Applications on the memory card open and immediately close, but when the phone is rebooted, everything gets back to normal, and then it's bad again. Why is that?
Answer. Not the fact that the problem is related to the memory card. If a certain application causes a conflict, it may affect the operation of other programs. It might be running in the background.
Check if there are any unnecessary applications on your phone. Removing them may improve the situation.
If the method with deleting applications does not work, try formatting the microsd memory card. This can be done both through the phone (in the Android settings), and through the card reader, on the computer. SD Formatter is just this very program for formatting a memory card.
Flash drive problem. 2 days ago I bought a new 16 gig flashcard. I inserted it on Android and completely formatted it and then moved the files from Android to it. After formatting the sd card, everything is fine, but when I download some videos and applications from the Internet after 5 minutes, they are damaged. More precisely, he writes: it is impossible to play the video and the black screen. The application writes: error parsing the package. I formatted the microsd again - everything seems to be clean. And the files get corrupted again. last night in the android folder in the sd card I saw strange files with an unknown format 2-3 gig in size. I tried to delete, but writes a failure when deleting. rebooted Android and they disappeared. could it be a virus or something else?
Answer. The package parsing error in Android occurs, as a rule, due to the wrong size of the apk file. This means that the installer was not completely copied to the microsd card.
It is possible that the wrong format was specified during formatting. Android supports FAT and exFAT, try this one or that one. See above for how to format a microsd using SDFormatter.
If the problem persists, uninstall unnecessary and recently installed applications on the phone, as a last resort, update the Android firmware.
The phone sees the flash drive, reads the photos that were on the flash card, but does not open applications on the flash drive. Samsung galaxy s3 mini phone.
Answer. If you can't open apps on your phone, you can move them to your phone's internal storage using the app manager. The second option is to download them again from Google Play and install them on a memory card.
If the application still does not open, format the memory card in FAT or exFAT.
I was watching a video on the Nomi_i4510 phone and suddenly I forgot about the percentage of the charge and the phone passed out. I put it on charge, turned it on, and it says to me in the notifications they say "sd card is missing, if you can't connect the sd card, press forget the device." I reboot the phone and go to the settings, then to the storage and drives, and there is such a picture: the internal storage SD card (damaged) and below - the SD card is missing. I go into the SD card is damaged and it says that in order to continue using the SD card, you need to format it. I click "Format" and now it's formatted, everything is ok. But the fact is that the SD card partition (missing) is still there and the reboot does not help. That is, the SD card is connected and working normally and as if it is missing. What to do, how to format the sd card?
Answer. Try formatting the sd card not through the phone, but using the sd formatter program. Also try inserting another memory card into your phone and check if information about the missing card appears. If yes, update the phone firmware and reboot the device. As a last resort, you will have to perform. Whether the game is worth the candle is up to you (be sure to save all important files from your phone to your computer beforehand).
About 2 months ago I bought a HUAWEI LUA - 21 phone. It reads a memory card, but when I download a photo or a program from the Internet, they always write: "no memory", although I have a new micro flash drive. And every time the notification "Preparing SD card" appears.
Answer. The appearance of errors may be due to incorrect formatting of the memory card. This is a fairly common problem, it is easy to fix it:
- remove the sd card from the phone,
- connect to PC (via card reader)
- copy the files from the flash drive to the PC (make a backup copy)
- format the memory card to Fat32 or exFAT
- copy files from PC back to flash drive
After these steps, the sd card should be normally detected by the phone.
Can you please tell me if it is possible to decrypt the sd card with this program? Since there was a failure in the phone, and the files remained encrypted and the phone does not read them.
Answer. Unfortunately, you will not be able to recover encrypted data after a factory reset. Neither additional software like SD Formatter, nor the built-in features of Android will help. For further use, you need to format the sd card. It is clear that you will lose encrypted data on microsd.
Formatted phone. Now he asks for an account that has been synced with him. I don't know this account because I turned off sync. What to do?
Answer. Probably, we are talking about a Google account, which is indicated in the Android settings or immediately at the stage of initial phone setup. Create a new Google account and connect a new email.
Phone Lenovo A7000. Reads microsd as internal memory. There is a lot of free space on the map, but it does not even allow applications to be updated. I deleted a bunch of applications, left only the most necessary - I still can't download anything. How to make a memory card an external media? Resell only?
Answer. Most likely, the problem is in the wrong formatting of the card. Try formatting the sd card on your computer, choosing Fat or extFat as the file system on microsd. The SDFormatter utility will cope with this task.
A fast and secure utility for formatting SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards. The program also supports other types of external media (external HDD, USB flash drives, digital cameras, etc.)
Program description
The SD Card Formatter tool is quite simple and intuitive for users of all skill levels. After a simple installation procedure, the utility is immediately ready for use and does not require any settings.
After launching the SD Card Formatter in the main program window, you need to select the required memory card for formatting from the drop-down list. After selecting a storage device, technical information about the media will be displayed.
There are two modes available when formatting an SD card:
- Quickformat(Quick Format)
- In this mode, the data on the SD physically remains, but the space on the memory card is marked as unused. The advantages of this type of formatting are the fast execution process, and the disadvantages are the possibility of recovering confidential information after the memory card is lost.
- Overwriteformat(Full Format/Overwrite)
- This mode, during the formatting process, records zero values over the entire available space of the external storage medium. The procedure may take a long time depending on the size of the SD card, but data recovery is not possible later.
Before formatting, it is also possible for you to specify a new “label” for the SD card. After formatting the memory card is completed, the SD Card Formatter will display a detailed report on the status of the storage device (available capacity, file system type, cluster size).
Designed for use in portable technology. Now they are used mainly in cameras and camcorders, and a smaller version (microSD) is used in mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, DVRs and other compact mobile devices.
Using their portable devices, users are often faced with the need for an SD card. For example, in order to quickly delete all data. In addition, the need to format the SD card may arise in case of file system damage. As a rule, in such cases, a computer or mobile device reports an error and the need to format.
Before attempting to format using a computer, try to do so using the portable device with which it is normally used. Examine the menu of your device, it is likely that you will find a format function. If not, then you will need a computer with .
There are several types of card readers:
- Built-in card readers. Most modern laptops and all-in-one computers are equipped with built-in card readers. Inspect the case of your laptop or monoblock and find the slot you need.
- If you have a modern desktop computer, then most likely it is equipped with a card reader. Card readers are installed in the 2.5 inch bay of the computer case, where the floppy drive used to be.
- external card readers. If you don't have a laptop or desktop computer with a card reader, you can always use an external card reader. They are not expensive at all and are sold in any store with computer equipment.
After you have found a card reader, you can start formatting. To do this, insert the card into the card reader. This must be done carefully, without using too much force. If you are using an external card reader, be sure to connect it to your computer using a USB cable.
After you have inserted the card into the card reader, your computer should recognize it. Typically, this only takes a few seconds. After that, the memory card will appear in the system, open "My Computer" and you will see it. It should be detected by the system in the same way as a regular flash drive.
A memory card is a convenient way to store information that allows you to save up to 128 gigabytes of data. However, there are times when the drive needs to be formatted and standard tools cannot always cope with this. In this article, we will look at a list of programs for formatting memory cards.
The first program on this list is SDFormatter. According to the developers themselves, the program, unlike Windows tools, provides maximum optimization of the SD card. Plus, there are some settings that allow you to slightly adjust the formatting for yourself.
RecoveRx
The RecoveRx utility from Transcend is not too different from the previous one. The only thing I would like to have in the program is more fine-tuning. But there is data recovery in case of loss in the event of a memory card crash, which gives the program a small plus.
AutoFormat Tool
This utility has only one function, but copes with it quite well. Yes, the process takes a little longer than usual, but it's worth it. And given that it was developed by the well-known company Transcend, this gives it a little more credibility, even despite the lack of other functionality.
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Another fairly popular tool for working with USB and MicroSD drives. The program also has formatting with a little customization. In addition, there is additional functionality, such as an error scanner on a flash drive. And in general, the program is great for formatting a non-opening or freezing flash drive.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
This software is more suitable for HDDs, which is evident even from the name. However, the program copes with simple drives. The program has three formatting modes:
- Conditional low-level;
- fast;
- Complete.
Each of them differs in the duration of the process and the quality of mashing.
Ordinary USB drives and removable cards have become so firmly established in our lives that many users increasingly prefer storing information using such devices. But sometimes it becomes necessary to format them, for example, due to damage or software failures. Since SD cards are one of the most common today, let's look at why micro SD and how to fix such a problem. Several main methods will be given as methods. But if they do not help, it will be possible to say goodbye to the device.
The micro-SD flash drive is not formatted: what to do first?
When such situations arise, before deciding in favor of a particular method of correcting them, you should find out the root cause that led to the failure.
The simplest and most common case can be called a situation when a micro-SD flash drive is not formatted (the device is protected and the system simply does not start the formatting process). Everything is simple here: apparently, on the adapter for the card, the write-lock lever has been moved to the on position. But this is the simplest thing possible.
It also happens that the device is busy with some processes, which makes formatting impossible. In the simplest case, you just need to remove the drive from the card reader and insert it again to repeat the operation. Sometimes it can help to use the "Task Manager", in which you need to display all services, hide Microsoft processes and stop all others, and then try to format again. Perhaps this will work.
It is much worse when it may turn out that the drive has file system corruption or physical problems. Here you will have to use other methods, some of which may seem quite complicated.
What to do if standard formatting doesn't work?
If, after using the standard method of calling the procedure from the "Explorer", the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted, you can try to start the process using the section
It can be accessed through the Run console, where the diskmgmt.msc command is written. In the location window of all currently connected devices, we find the card (in most cases it will be located at the very bottom of the list), and then through the right-click menu we call the format command. Sometimes it helps (but not always).
Using special utilities
The micro-SD flash drive is not being formatted again, and the system displays a message about the impossibility of completing the procedure? Alternatively, you can use programs that allow you to produce
One of the most popular is the simple free SDFormatter utility. In the start window, after starting the program in devices, select the drive letter, and then click the properties button at the bottom right.
In the new window, in the formatting type, you should specify Full (Full Erase), and just below, activate the setting for automatic sector alignment (ON value). We return to the previous window and start formatting. In most cases this helps. Again, not always. What to do if the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted even after such measures? We'll have to, as they say, use "heavy artillery".
Hidden features of Windows systems
First, we call the command line with admin rights from the Run console (Win + R) and write diskpart there, then enter the list disk command and find the device we are looking for in the list (you can determine the card by volume). At this stage, you need to remember the device number in the list, otherwise you can destroy the data in other sections.
Now the next line is select disk Y (Y is the number of the disk set above). After it - the line of clearing the attributes of reading attributes disk clear readonly. After the successful completion of the process, we check the attributes using the attributes disk line. If it is indicated that only the read attribute is missing, exit the console by typing the exit command.
(micro SD not formatted)?
In some cases, you can try to restore an inoperative card before formatting. In this case, the restoration will affect not only the information previously contained on it, but also the file system.
There are plenty of programs for this, but the R.Saver application is considered the most powerful utility. The algorithm of actions in it is very simple: first you need to select your device, and then press just one button to start the analysis and recovery process. Further, the program will perform all actions without user intervention, however, this process can take up to several hours. It all depends on the degree of damage to the drive and its capacity. When the recovery is completed, formatting can be done without problems.
If nothing helps
If such actions did not produce a result, and the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted again, you will have to use the last resort - flashing the controller.
To do this, you need to find out the unique identifiers of DEV and VEN, which can be done in the "Device Manager" through the properties menu on the details tab, where the device ID is selected from the drop-down list (for completeness of information, it is better to use the longest line in the list), or use programs for this like UsbFlashInfo.
After that, you will have to visit the resource of the equipment manufacturer and download the latest firmware version using the numbers found, and then start the process itself using the downloaded executable file. In principle, you can find the firmware on other sites, but for security reasons it is better to refer to the manufacturer's resource. At the end of the process, the formatting should start in normal mode.
Finally, if none of the above helped, alas, you can say goodbye to the card, since it will no longer work. But, as practice shows, even with damaged microcontrollers, it is possible to revive the card, and with the use of flashing tools and the R.Saver program, it is also possible to restore data.
