Formatting an SD card: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:54, 16 June 2026

The process to format an SD card to FAT32 is different for Windows, Linux and macOS.

Choose your operating system

ChromeOS and Android are not an option and formatting an SD card with its built-in formatter may result in it becoming unusable by consoles.

iOS/iPadOS cannot format SD cards.

Alternatives

If you have a 3DS with custom firmware, you can instead use GodMode9.
If you have an unpatched or modchipped Switch, you can instead use Hekate or TegraExplorer
- Note: Under TegraExplorer, if you do not wish to create an emuNAND, e.g. for a sysCFW setup or for other consoles, select Only Fat32 instead of Fat32 + EmuMMC

If you already understand how to use the tools in the above guides, here are direct links to their pages:

Windows: SD Memory Card Formatter + guiformat
Mac: Disk Utility
Linux: dosfstools

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 The process to format an SD card to FAT32 is different for Windows, Linux and macOS.
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 {{OS selector|w=1|l=1|m=1}}
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 {{info|text=<translate><!--T:3--> iOS/iPadOS cannot format SD cards.</translate>}}
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-=== Alternatives === <!--T:4-->
+===Alternatives=== <!--T:4-->
 </translate>
-* <translate><!--T:5--> If you have a 3DS with custom firmware, you can instead use [[3DS:GodMode9 Usage#Format an SD card|GodMode9]].</translate>
-* <translate><!--T:6--> If you have an unpatched or modchipped Switch, you can instead use [[switchguide:user_guide/all/partitioning_sd_syscfw|Hekate]] or [https://github.com/suchmememanyskill/TegraExplorer TegraExplorer]</translate>
+*<translate><!--T:5--> If you have a 3DS with custom firmware, you can instead use [[3DS:GodMode9 Usage#Format an SD card|GodMode9]].</translate>
-** <translate><!--T:7--> Note: Under TegraExplorer, if you do not wish to create an emuNAND, e.g. for a sysCFW setup or for other consoles, select Only Fat32 instead of <code>Fat32 + EmuMMC</code></translate>
+*<translate><!--T:6--> If you have an unpatched or modchipped Switch, you can instead use [[switchguide:user_guide/all/partitioning_sd_syscfw|Hekate]] or [https://github.com/suchmememanyskill/TegraExplorer TegraExplorer]</translate>
+**<translate><!--T:7--> Note: Under TegraExplorer, if you do not wish to create an emuNAND, e.g. for a sysCFW setup or for other consoles, select Only Fat32 instead of <code>Fat32 + EmuMMC</code></translate>
 ----
@@ Line 22: / Line 26: @@
 If you already understand how to use the tools in the above guides, here are direct links to their pages:
 </translate>
-* Windows: [https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/ SD Memory Card Formatter] + [http://ridgecrop.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm guiformat]
-* Mac: [https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/format-a-disk-for-windows-computers-dskutl1010 Disk Utility]
+*Windows: [https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/ SD Memory Card Formatter] + [https://nintendohomebrew.com/guiformat guiformat]
-* Linux: [https://github.com/dosfstools/dosfstools dosfstools]
+*Mac: [https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/format-a-disk-for-windows-computers-dskutl1010 Disk Utility]
+*Linux: [https://github.com/dosfstools/dosfstools dosfstools]
 [[Category:General guides{{#translation:}}]]