How to Format an SD Card Using CMD | Full Details

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Last updated on April 19, 2024

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Format SD Card using CMD – Alternative Method – Tool – SD Card Formatter [Easiest]

Formatting Tool: AOMEI Partition Assistant – A Perfect CMD Alternative for Third-Party SD Card Formatter - AOMEI Partition Assistant, a third-party SD card formatter, can help you format corrupted or damaged memory cards in Windows 11/10/8/7. This SD card formatter can easily format your SD card to any file system format you need with just a few steps. Follow the simple instructions to complete the task.

Step 1: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click the partition of the external hard drive/USB/SD card you want to format and choose "Format".

Step 2: Specify a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size for the selected disk partition, then click “OK”.

<Step 3> Click "Yes" in the warning window to proceed.

Step 4. Hit the “Run 1 Task” button on the top left to preview the changes and then click “Apply” to start formatting the external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Note: If your SD card is larger than 4GB, you can only choose the FAT32, NTFS, or EXT2/EXT3 format. If the partition is less than 4GB, you can choose between FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or EXT2/EXT3.

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How to Format an SD Card Using CMD

Formatting utility: The DiskPart command-line tool

Diskpart is a disk management utility that's built into the Windows operating system. You can use it to format corrupted or virus-infected internal or external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, and more. This method is a bit more advanced, so if you're uncomfortable with the process, you may want to avoid using Diskpart commands.

Tip: If you are new to computers, try Method 2 or Method 3.

If you're not familiar with CMD, we recommend that you use a professional SD card formatting software to format the SD card in a risk-free way. But if you insist on using this method, then check out the steps below on how to format an SD card using CMD in Windows 11/10.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box and run Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2: Type diskpart, and then press Enter.

Step 3: Type list disk and press “Enter” to see a list of all available disks.

Step 4: Type in select disk K (replace K with the name of your SD card), and hit "Enter."

5. Type clean, then press "Enter" to erase the SD card.

6. Type create partition primary and press “Enter” to create a new partition.

Step 7. Type format fs=ntfs (or format fs=exfat) and press "Enter" to format the drive with the NTFS or exFAT file system.

Step 8: Type assign drive letter M (where M is the new drive letter name) to assign the drive letter.

When DiskPart confirms that the volume has been successfully formatted, type exit to close the program. Spread the word on how to use DiskPart to format an SD card.

If you have accidentally formatted the wrong drive, do not despair; you can easily recover data from formatted hard drive using a powerful data recovery application.

Video: How to format a memory card using CMD

This video tutorial shows advanced users how to format any drive using the CMD command line in utf-8 format.

• 00:04 Open the Command Prompt.
• 00:26 Format the USB drive.

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Please also read:

Repair Damaged SD Card without Losing Data

How to fix a corrupted Micro SD card? What will you do when your SD card is damaged or unreadable? Follow the content navigation, and you'll get a clear guide on how to fix a damaged SD card yourself.

How to format an SD card using two built-in Windows tools

Aside from the two methods above, you can also format an SD card using a Windows utility. In this section, we will show you how to format a memory card using the Quick Format feature of Windows and Disk Management.

Method 1: Format the SD Card using File Explorer

To format an SD card using Windows Explorer, first connect the SD card to your computer. Then, follow this guide to format the SD card:

Step 1: Press the "Windows key + E" to open File Explorer.

Alternatively, click on “This PC” on Windows 11 or 10, or “Computer” on Windows 7.

Step 2: Right-click on the SD card and select "Format."

Step 3: In the formatting window, choose your desired "File system": For a 32 GB SD card, the default option of FAT32 should be fine; for a 64 GB card, you'll need to select exFAT.

Step 4: Click "Start".

Unable to Complete Format

You may encounter the "Windows was unable to complete the format" issue. In this case, you can try to fix the problem or choose another way to get the job done.

Method 2: Format SD Card via Disk Management

Step 1: Right-click "My Computer" or "This PC," select "Manage," and then choose "Disk Management" under the "Storage" section.

Step 2: Right-click on the partition for your SD card and select "Format."

Step 3: In the formatting window that pops up, check the "Quick Format" option. You also need to choose a file system and allocation unit size.

Step 4: Click "OK".

Repartition with the partitioning tool?

Why do you format SD card/memory card?

What is formatting an SD card for? In many cases, people need to format an SD card to the NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT file system for the following purposes:

• Reformat the file system on a specific device like digital cameras, Android smartphones, gaming consoles, music players, etc.
• Repair or fix a problematic SD memory card to address corruption, damage, inaccessible issues, and the like.
• Clean your SD card by deleting all files and restoring its full capacity.
• Check and extend the lifespan of an SD card.

When the need to format an SD card arises to fix these issues, you might hear some advanced Windows users suggesting a solution – formatting SD card using CMD.

So, can you format an SD card using CMD? Of course! In the next part, we'll show you the full steps to format an SD card on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP with Diskpart CMD and two other alternative formatting tools.

Extra Tip: How to Protect Data on an SD Card

There are several reasons why you might format an SD card. You might format an SD card to completely wipe the data from it, or if the file system is corrupted or the SD card seems to be damaged. However, you risk losing data in the process. To protect the data on your SD card, remember the following.

Tip 1: Backup your data before formatting.

The best way to prevent further data loss is to back up your files regularly on a storage device like an SD card. You can do this manually by copying and pasting the files from your SD card to another location, or you can use free backup and recovery software. A free backup program like Todo Backup allows you to easily schedule and run backups proactively, with incremental data saves on a daily basis.

For a step-by-step guide, you can refer to this page for help: How to Backup SD Card Before Formatting. In just 5 minutes, you can set it up to automatically back up your system, files, disks, or partitions – be it a single photo or your entire C drive.

Tip 2: Safely Eject Your Memory Card from the Computer

Just like external hard drives, USB flash drives, and memory cards, you should always safely eject your SD card. In other words, you shouldn't remove it while the device is still accessing the SD card (like transferring or reading data).

Tip 3: Avoid using the same card on multiple devices.

Another important thing is to avoid using the same memory card on many different devices. Each device may use a different file system that might be incompatible with the card's formatting. This can lead to corruption. So, don't use the same SD card, USB drive, or memory stick on multiple devices.

Tip 4: Stop using the SD card if any errors occur

When an SD card encounters errors like "SD card not showing up in mobile phone or PC" or "the disk is write protected", stop using it immediately. Otherwise, the card might get further damaged without your notice.

Conclusions

You have learned how to format SD cards using CMD, Disk Management, and Partition Master. If you are not comfortable with CMD or the Windows formatting process is not smooth, you can use the Partition Master tool to format your storage card. As mentioned earlier, aside from formatting partitions, this powerful disk management tool supports many basic and advanced options such as converting FAT to NTFS, MBR to GPT, migrating OS to SSD/HDD, and more. Give it a try, and you will find it excellent and practical.

Extended Reading: What Else Can CMD Do Besides Formatting an SD Card?

On this page, we will guide you on how to format an SD card using CMD or its alternatives on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7. Some of you might also wonder what else CMD can do for you. Here, we have compiled three major solutions and will guide you through using them successfully on your SD card:

Function 1: Use CHKDSK Command to Check and Fix Damaged SD Card Errors

Connect the SD card to your computer. Open Disk Management, and type the following command line: **chkdsk E: /f /r /x** then hit Enter.

Replace E: with the drive letter of your SD card. Here's what the syntax means:

• /F: Checks for disk errors instead of bad sectors.
• /R: Locates bad sectors on the target hard drive and attempts to recover readable information from them (which also implies /F).
• /X: Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary. It includes the functionality of /F.

Feature 2: Wipes all partitions and cleans the SD card with a single command

Connect the SD card to your computer. Type each of the following commands in Disk Management and press Enter after each one: list disk select disk 2 (replace 2 with the drive number of your SD card) clean

The clean command will delete all existing partitions and files on the SD card, restoring its full capacity.

Feature 3: Remove write protection from an SD card using the 'Erase Read-Only' command

Connect the SD card to your computer and open the DiskPart program. Enter each of the following commands one by one, pressing Enter after each: 1. **list disk** 2. **select disk 2** (replace '2' with the drive number of your SD card) 3. **attributes disk clear readonly**

If you want to learn more tutorials on how to use CMD to fix SD card or other storage device issues, feel free to browse our articles or use the search button on the website for assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Formatting a Memory Card Using CMD in UTF-8 Encoding

If you have more questions about how to format an SD card using cmd, refer to the following questions and check out the answers below:

**1. How to format an SD card to FAT32 using CMD in Windows?** In the Windows operating system, you can format an SD card to the FAT32 file system using the Command Prompt (CMD). Follow these steps: 1. Insert the SD card into your computer's card reader and make sure the computer detects it. 2. Open the Command Prompt. You can do this by searching for "cmd" or "Command Prompt" in the search bar and clicking on the "Command Prompt" application. 3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command to view all connected disks and their drive letters: ``` diskpart ``` Press `Enter`. 4. A new "Disk Management" session will open. In it, type the following command and press `Enter` to list all disks: ``` list disk ``` 5. Identify your SD card from the list (usually the smaller capacity one). Note its number (e.g., `Disk 1`). 6. Next, select your SD card: ``` select disk X ``` Replace `X` with the number of your SD card. 7. Clean the disk data (this will erase all data, so proceed with caution): ``` clean ``` 8. Create a new primary partition: ``` create partition primary ``` 9. Select the newly created partition: ``` select partition 1 ``` 10. Format the partition as FAT32: ``` format fs=fat32 quick ``` 11. Optionally, assign a drive letter to the SD card (if you need to specify a particular drive letter): ``` assign letter=Y ``` Replace `Y` with the desired drive letter. 12. After completing these steps, type the following command to exit diskpart: ``` exit ``` Press `Enter` again to exit the Command Prompt. Your SD card is now formatted to the FAT32 file system. Please note that this process will delete all data on the SD card, so back up important files beforehand.

The steps to format an SD card as FAT32 using CMD with UTF-8 encoding are as follows: 1. First, insert your SD card into the computer's SD card reader. 2. Open the Command Prompt. You can do this by typing "cmd" in the search bar and pressing Enter. 3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter to navigate to the drive where your SD card is located. Typically, the SD card will be recognized as a letter like "E:", "F:", and so on. So, replace "E:" in the command below with the actual drive letter of your SD card: ``` cd /d E: ``` 4. Next, run the following command to format the SD card as a FAT32 file system. Make sure to back up all important data beforehand, as this will erase everything on the SD card: ``` format E: /FS:FAT32 /Q ``` Here, `/FS:FAT32` specifies the file system to use, and `/Q` is for quick formatting. 5. Wait for the formatting process to complete. Once finished, the Command Prompt will display a message saying "Format complete." Please note that this method might not work for SD cards larger than 32GB, as FAT32 has limitations on single file size and total capacity. For larger storage devices, you might need to use the NTFS or exFAT file systems.

1. 1. Type "cmd" into the search box, then click to open it.
2. 2. In the Command Prompt, type the following command:

1. diskpart
2. list disk
3. select disk X (replace X with the number of your disk)
4. list volume
5. select volume * (replace * with the number of your SD card's volume)
6. format fs=fat32 quick
7. exit

2. How to force format an SD card?

1. Right-click the Start icon and select Disk Management. 2. Find and right-click on the SD card, then choose Format. 3. Select an appropriate file system and perform a quick format. Click OK.