Note – If you're using a Micro SD card, please insert the Micro SD card into the SD card adapter that came with card. Connect the SD card adapter to your computer by using an external card reader. Also note – Mac OS 10.6.5 or earlier does not support exFAT format, which most 64 GB SD cards are formatted to.
Aug 10, 2020 People get additional storage through an SD card, which does not bring any problem to phone memory. Read the complete guide before format SD card on Mac in 2021. After prolonged use of the SD Card, you might face some problem with your stored data. If your Mac comes with a built-in SD card slot, you can insert a compatible SD card, avoiding using SD card that has a thickness greater than 2.1mm. When inserting SD card, you should make sure that the metal contacts face down and point toward the computer.
Format an SD card in your computer.
How to fix it?
Click on your platform to show the formatting instructions for your SD card:
Mac
Windows 10
Mac
Here is a link that shows you how to reformat an SD card (or MicroSD card) on your Mac. How do i open word on a mac. The steps are also written out below.
- Connect the SD card to your computer by using an external card reader. Save all the files from your SD card that you want to keep to your computer before moving to step 2. Formatting the SD card deletes all the data off of the card.
- Note – If you're using a Micro SD card, please insert the Micro SD card into the SD card adapter that came with card. Connect the SD card adapter to your computer by using an external card reader.
- Also note – Mac OS 10.6.5 or earlier does not support exFAT format, which most 64 GB SD cards are formatted to. This means that you won't be able to format or use exFAT card on your computer. In this case, we'd recommend either upgrading your OS to 10.6.6 or later, or using an SD card that's already formatted to MS-DOS (FAT) or FAT32 to complete the below steps.
- Open Disk Utility. To do this, click on the magnifying glass in the top-right corner of your computer screen. Type 'disk utility' in the search box that opens, then click on the 'Disk Utility' Application that comes up.
- Find the SD card in the left side of the window. It'll be named something like NO NAME or UNTITLED.
- Click the ERASE tab in the middle of the window.
- Next, click on the Format dropdown menu. Select MS-DOS (FAT) if the card is 32 GB or smaller. If it's a 64GB card, please select ExFAT.
- A message will appear asking, 'Are you sure you want to erase the partition '[YOUR SD CARD NAME]?' Click Erase. The computer will delete the contents of your SD card and format it. You're all done.
Windows 10
Step 1: Bring up Desktop View
If you are not already in Desktop View, bring up Desktop View by pressing the Windows key + D on your keyboard.
Step 2: Open 'Computer'
Open up the 'Computer' window by pressing Windows key + E on your keyboard.
Step 3: Display right-click options
Your SD card should be displayed in the 'Devices with Removable Storage' section. Right-click on your SD card to bring up the right-click menu options. Select Format.
Step 4: Format the SD card
Format 128gb Micro Sd Card
- In the Format window make sure that the correct File System is selected. It should be set to FAT32 for 32GB SD cards and EXFAT for 64GB SD cards.
- Select Quick Format.
- Click Start.
- Once the formatting is complete, you can close the window.
Congratulations! You have formatted your SD card.
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SD Cards need formatting if you are to use them in a new electronic device. Or even if you simply want to remove the data stored in the SD card, it requires formatting. If you have a Macbook, formatting an SD Card on Mac is super easy and convenient.
This article will outline the steps to be followed when formatting your SD Card or Micro SD Card on a Macbook. Let's get started!
Contents
- 1 How to Format SD Card on Mac
How to Format SD Card on Mac
Follow the given steps to be format or clean your SD card on Mac.
1. Getting Started
Before we get to formatting the SD Card, here are a few things you should keep in mind beforehand:
- When you format data on SD Card, it erases all the data. Thus, it is advisable to backup any files/data you want beforehand.
- It is important to be aware of the format Type you are going to perform, which will depend upon the size of SD Card and the OSX version you are running. For SD card size greater than 64GB and Mac Os Lion and greater, usually ExFAT is used. MS-DOS (FAT) can be used for earlier versions and smaller sizes. If you wish to have the SD Card compatible with other devices, do not select the OS Extended formats.
- Mac computers do not usually come with inbuilt SD card readers. Due to this, you will have to purchase an external accessory, a card reader that has slots for general SD cards and micro SD cards, available on online stores and retailers.
2. Connect the SD Card
Using the card reader, connect the SD Card with your Macbook.
3. Erasing/Formatting the Data
To format or clear the SD card, you don't require any third party application or a ‘Formatter'. This can be done very easily by the ‘Disk Utility' application as follows:
- Open Disk Utility from Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities and run it.
- In the left sidebar, locate the SD Card you wish to format, select it. Click on the Erase button in the upper toolbar.
- You will be prompted by the app, once you click on Erase, to Enter the Name of the SD Card and the type of Format operation you wish to perform. Usually, ExFAT is used as it is compatible throughout a range of devices and hence convenient. Choose a Name, type of Format, and click Erase.
- The Format Process will happen, and once it is done, press Done to continue.
- That's it! You've successfully erased your SD card.
4. Eject The SD Card
- After erasing, eject the SD Card by clicking the arrow icon next to the Name of the card in the Sidebar. The SD card will get ejected.
Format SD Card using Terminal: An Alternative Method
Some users wish to perform the same operation of Formatting the SD Card or micro SD Card using the Command Line in MacOSX instead of performing it with the Disk Utility.
- If you do wish to perform Formatting using the Command Line/Terminal, make sure to follow the correct syntax.
- Once you delete with Command Line, every partition and volume will be erased. The Entire target disk will get erased.
The Steps to format your SD Card by the terminal are given below:
- The syntax that will be required is as shown below-
diskutil eraseDisk FILE_SYSTEM DISK_NAME DISK_IDENTIFIER
For example, if Disk Name to be given is ‘MyDisk‘, the location of the SD card is given as /dev/disk6s2, and you desire the new Format Type to be ‘Mac OS Extended Journaled (JHFS+)‘, then you would write:
diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ Emptied /dev/disk6s2
- Be careful to use the syntax properly, lest you end up erasing the wrong drive or inducing some unfixable error in your SD card. This is why only advanced users use Command Line for Formatting the SD Card on a mac. A much simpler way is using Disk Utility, explained above.
- Find the Disk Id node, that is your SD Card, by ‘diskutil info 'DISK NAME' |grep Device'.
- Here are given some common commands for formatting your SD card, that you can use:
- Formatting SD Card to Mac OS Extended Journaled (JHFS+) from Terminal in Mac OS X
diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ DiskName /dev/CardNodeID
- Formatting SD Card to Mac OS Extended (HFS+) from Terminal in Mac OS X
diskutil eraseDisk HFS+ DiskName /dev/CardNodeID
- Formatting SD Card to MS-DOS fat32 from the Command Line in Mac OS X
diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 DiskNameGoesHere /dev/CardNodeIDHere
- Formatting SD Card to ExFAT from the Command Line in Mac OS X
diskutil eraseDisk ExFAT DiskName /dev/CardNodeID
These will help you erase your SD Card completely. Other advanced options like GPT and MBR settings are also available in the Command Line Method, but they are beyond the scope of this article.
- If, for a reason you wish to erase the Disk that has been booted into your system using Command Line, you can only do this from Recovery Mode, or by means of a boot disk. The User Signed cannot simply Format the disk that has been loaded with Operating System using Command Line.
Final Take!
I hope the article was relevant to your needs, and after reading this you were able to Format your SD Card On Mac, whether its a 64Gb or 128 GB SD Card, or if it's a Micro SD Card. The Type of Formatting is completely up to you, for your specific use, but if you are unsure it is best to go with ExFAT, or if not that, FAT-32.
If you have any further queries regarding formatting your SD Card, you can mention them down below. We will try our best to look into them to give you the best possible response.
That will be all for this article about How to Format SD Card on Mac. You can read more such articles on our website for information, tutorials etc. that might be of interest to you.