5 Ways to Format an SD Card on Different Platforms [2025]

When you want to free up more space or fix the unreadable or corrupted SD card, formatting SD will be a nice choice. This page collects the comprehensive guide to format the SD card on computer or phone, and even the protected SD card can be formatted in the ways.

Summary

SD card is a valuable storage device that you can use in your camera, smart phone, or other devices that support SD card inserting. You can use it to store files or as the data transfer tool between computers.
However, when your SD card is full of unwanted files, or SD card is unreadable or corrupted, formatting becomes very common to solve this solution.
The way that you format an SD card has been the same for a number of years. Nevertheless, this page provides a comprehensive guide to format the SD card on Windows, Mac, camera, and Android devices. Moreover, you are able to format a write protected SD card here.

Format SD Card

Part 1. Preparations Before Formatting SD Card

Before you start to format SD card, you should grasp the basic information about it.

What does formatting SD card mean?

SD card formatting is the process of preparing a flash device for data storage. It cleans the SD card by removing previously existing data and information on the card (low level formatting) and creating a new file system (high level formatting).

SD formatting is different from deleting file. When you use erasing or deleting function in the SD card, the actual image data remains on the memory card, but will be overwritten when new images are taken.

Back up SD card data before formatting

Formatting will destroy the files in the SD card. For avoiding any regret, you had better backup your SD card data firstly.

If your SD card content is unreadable or corrupted, then you can get the SD card recovery here.

Part 2. How to Format SD Card on Windows

In this part, we will show you several common ways to get your SD card format on Windows 11/10/8/7. Even if your SD card is unreadable, corrupted, or damaged, you can format it only if your SD card can be detected by a computer. (SD card is not reading?)

Step 1.
Get a SD card reader to connect to your computer. Back to your Desktop View, open up "Computer", and your SD card should be displayed in the "Devices with Removable Storage" section. Right click to select "format".
Step 2.
In the format window, you need to make the following settings:

File system: FAT32 for 32GB SD cards and EXFAT for 64GB SD cards.

Format options: Leave the "Quick Format" checkbox unchecked for a thorough formatting, or check it if you prefer a quicker, but more superficial process.

Format SD card on Windows
Step 3.
Click “Start” to format your SD card on Windows computer.

Part 3. How to Format SD Card on Mac

Step 1.
Insert your SD card into your Mac. Then, type "Disk Utility" in the search box and click on the "Disk Utility" Application that comes up.
Step 2.
After that, locate your SD card on the left side and choose “Erase”.
Find SD Card Mac
Step 3.
You can rename and change the format of your disk here. Once done, click “Erase”.
Format SD Card Mac

Part 4. How to Format SD Card on Android Phone

Every Android phone is a little different from the reset procedure, but the settings are mostly the same. Here, we will use Samsung as an example.

Step 1.
Open “My Files” on the phone.
Step 2.
Scroll down and type the 3 dots on the right side of the “USB storage 1” (Or the name of your SD card).
Step 3.
Click “Format” and then click “Format” again to start the process.
Format SD Card on Android

Note: That will wipe your memory card clean, but the internal storage of your phone will stay untouched.

Part 5. How to Format SD Card Inside a Camera

Formatting a memory card inside the camera in which it will be used is a very good means of maintaining a card's full capabilities.

While the exact formatting procedure and menu display may differ between cameras, and the following step guidelines will be able to perform the task for most cameras.

Step 1.
Turn the camera off and insert the memory card you wish to format into the camera's memory card slot. After that, turn on camera with well charged battery.
Step 2.
Press the "Menu" button > Navigate to the "Format" or "Format Memory Card" item in the menu, which is always within the "Setup" screen.
Step 3.
Select/highlight the "Format" or "Format Memory Card" item and then press "OK".
Format SD card on camera

The end of the formatting procedure will normally be indicated on the rear screen.

Part 6. How to Format Write-Protected SD Card

Sometimes when attempting to format an SD card you will receive an error saying that it is write protected.

For formatting write protected SD card, you need to look at the edge to find a little tab, which can be moved up and down. Move the tab into the opposite position to turn off the protection.

Then you can follow the ways in part 2 to start to format the card.

If the step fails or there is no tab in the SD card, do as the following:

Step 1.
Run command option

Windows 8 and above: Right click the start button and Click "Command Prompt (Admin)".

Windows XP, Vista or 7: Click the start button and right click on the "Command Prompt" option and choose "Run as administrator" > Find the "Command Prompt" icon.

Commmand Prompt
Step 2.
Type "diskpart" and Enter > Type "list disk" and Enter

A list of all the available disks on your computer will appear. Make a note of the disk number that resembles the same size as the SD card you are formatting

Step 3.
Type "select disk n" (Where n is the number of the disk for the SD card) and Enter > Type "attributes disk clear readonly" and Enter > Type "clean" and Enter > Type "exit" and Enter to exit diskpart.
Format SD card Protected

Then you just need to follow the part 2 to reformat SD card again.

Part 7. Bonus Tips: Recover Data from Formatted SD Card

Nevertheless, suppose you forget to back up your data before formatting your SD card or some files are lost or damaged. In that case, you can use Aiseesoft Data Recovery to recover them.

Aiseesoft Data Recovery is a superb tool for recovering lost, deleted, or formatted data on SD cards, cameras, PCs, and so on. Besides its multiple support on various devices, its file types support is also numerous, including photos, videos, documents, emails, etc. What’s more, it has the ability to restore even under special circumstances, such as system crashes, virus attacks, or accidental power off. Its AI-based scanning function can thoroughly analyze storage devices to identify and restore lost files with high success rates. Additionally, it offers a preview feature that allows users to view recoverable data before running the restoration process.

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Now, follow the steps below to get your lost data back on your computer in on time!

Step 1.
Launch the app and choose “USB/SD Recovery” on the left.
Format SD Card on Android
Step 2.
Insert your SD card into your PC. Then, find your SD card and click “Scan Disk”.
Format SD Card on Android
Step 3.
After the scanning, choose the files you want to recover and select “Recover”.
Format SD Card on Android

Conclusion

This post is designed to format the SD card on Windows, Mac, camera, and Android devices, even if your card is encrypted. In addition, you can restore the files from the formatted SD card if you need it.

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