Formatting an SD card/Windows

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This is an add-on section for formatting an SD card to work with the 3DS.

If the 3DS already recognizes the SD card, this guide is not required.

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

What You Need

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 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
Enter anything for "Volume label"
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!

Enter anything for "Volume label"
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