Formatting an SD card/Windows: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:30, 8 August 2023

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This is an add-on section for formatting an SD card to FAT32.

This page is for Windows users only. If you are not on Windows, check out the Linux or Mac pages.

Insert your SD card into your computer
If the SD card has any files and folders on it, copy everything to a folder on your computer
Run SD Card Formatter Setup (the .exe file) in the downloaded .zip file with Administrator privileges, then install the program
Run SD Card Formatter from the Start Menu
Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"

Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!
Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected
Click "Format"
Click "OK"
Wait for the format to finish
Click "OK"
Close SD Card Formatter
Run guiformat.exe
Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Drive"

Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!
Select a size for "Allocation unit size"
- If the SD card is 64GB, choose 32768
- If the SD card is larger than 64GB, choose 65536
Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected
Click "Start"
Click "OK"
Wait for the format to finish
Click "Close"
If the SD card had any files and folders on it before the format, copy everything back from your computer

Close everything that may be using the SD card, such as any File Explorer windows.

Your SD card write-protection switch may be enabled. The lock must be flipped upwards to allow writing to the SD card (including formatting).

Insert your SD card into your computer
If the SD card has any files and folders on it, copy everything to a folder on your computer
Run SD Card Formatter Setup (the .exe file) in the downloaded .zip file with Administrator privileges, then install the program
Run SD Card Formatter from the Start Menu
Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"

Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!
Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected
Click "Format"
Click "OK"
Wait for the format to finish
Click "OK"
Close SD Card Formatter
If the SD card had any files and folders on it before the format, copy everything back from your computer

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 <li><translate>Run <code>SD Card Formatter</code> from the Start Menu</translate></li>
 <li><translate>Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"</translate>{{warning|<translate nowrap>Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!</translate>}}</li>
-<li><translate>Enter anything that does not start with '''3DS''' for "Volume label"</translate></li>
 <li><translate>Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected</translate></li>
 <li><translate>Click "Format"</translate></li>
@@ Line 69: / Line 68: @@
 <li><translate><!--T:10--> Run <code>SD Card Formatter</code> from the Start Menu</translate></li>
 <li><translate><!--T:11--> Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"</translate>{{warning|<translate nowrap><!--T:12--> Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!</translate>}}</li>
-<li><translate><!--T:13--> Enter anything that does not start with '''3DS''' for "Volume label"</translate></li>
 <li><translate><!--T:14--> Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected</translate></li>
 <li><translate><!--T:15--> Click "Format"</translate></li>