View source for Formatting an SD card/Windows/en

<languages/>
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 [[Special:MyLanguage/Formatting an SD card/Linux|Linux]] or [[Special:MyLanguage/Formatting an SD card/Mac|Mac]] pages.

== Choose your SD card size ==
<tabber>
|-|64GB or larger=

=== What You Need ===
*The latest version of [https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/sd-memory-card-formatter-for-windows-download/ SD Memory Card Formatter]
*The latest version of [http://ridgecrop.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm guiformat]

=== Instructions ===

<ol>
<li>Insert your SD card into your computer</li>
<li>If the SD card has any files and folders on it, copy everything to a folder on your computer</li>
<li>Run <code>SD Card Formatter Setup</code> (the <code>.exe</code> file) in the downloaded .zip file with Administrator privileges, then install the program</li>
<li>Run <code>SD Card Formatter</code> from the Start Menu</li>
<li>Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"{{warning|Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!}}</li>
<li>Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected</li>
<li>Click "Format"</li>
<li>Click "OK"</li>
<li>Wait for the format to finish</li>
<li>Click "OK"</li>{{info|'''You're not done yet!''' Your SD card will be formatted to exFAT at this point. The following steps will format it to FAT32.}}
<li>Close SD Card Formatter</li>
<li>Run <code>guiformat.exe</code></li>
<li>Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Drive"{{warning|Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!}}</li>
<li>Select a size for "Allocation unit size"
<ul>
<li>If the SD card is 64GB, choose 32768</li>
<li>If the SD card is larger than 64GB, choose 65536</li>
</ul></li>
<li>Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected</li>
<li>Click "Start"</li>
<li>Click "OK"</li>
<li>Wait for the format to finish</li>
<li>Click "Close"</li>
<li>If the SD card had any files and folders on it before the format, copy everything back from your computer</li>
</ol>

=== Common errors with guiformat === 
==== Failed to open device: GetLastError()=32 ====
Close everything that may be using the SD card, such as any File Explorer windows. If it does not resolve the issue, try formatting the card to NTFS, then run GUIFormat again.

==== GetLastError()=1117 ====
Your SD card write-protection switch may be [https://3ds.hacks.guide/images/sdlock.png enabled]. The lock must be flipped upwards to allow writing to the SD card (including formatting).

|-|32GB or smaller=

=== What You Need ===
*The latest version of [https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/sd-memory-card-formatter-for-windows-download/ SD Memory Card Formatter]

=== Instructions ===

<ol>
<li>Insert your SD card into your computer</li>
<li>If the SD card has any files and folders on it, copy everything to a folder on your computer</li>
<li>Run <code>SD Card Formatter Setup</code> (the <code>.exe</code> file) in the downloaded .zip file with Administrator privileges, then install the program</li>
<li>Run <code>SD Card Formatter</code> from the Start Menu</li>
<li>Select your SD card’s drive letter for "Select card"{{warning|Make sure you choose the correct drive letter, otherwise you might accidentally erase the wrong drive!}}</li>
<li>Ensure that "Quick Format" is selected</li>
<li>Click "Format"</li>
<li>Click "OK"</li>
<li>Wait for the format to finish</li>
<li>Click "OK"</li>
<li>Close SD Card Formatter</li>
<li>If the SD card had any files and folders on it before the format, copy everything back from your computer</li>
</ol>
</tabber>

==SD Card not formatting or has some other issue.==
Refer to the [[SD Clean/Windows|SD Clean]] guide.

{{hg imported|Guide_3DS}}

[[Category:General guides]]