7 Best Ways To Fix SD Card Won’t Format Error

This article contains the whole information regarding SD card won’t format error. So, if you are facing this issue while trying to format your SD card on Windows PC then go through this whole post.

Here, I have mentioned 7 workable solutions to fix micro SD card won’t format error. Also, you will get to know the causes leading to this error.

So, without any further delay, let’s proceed:

In case, you formatted your microSD card without saving the backup of your data then you can use SD Card Recovery Tool. This tool can recover files from formatted, locked, write-protected or virus infected SD cards.

Why Is My SD Card Not Formatting?

You may unable to format your microSD card due to the following reasons:

• If your microSD card is write protected.
• SD card might get corrupted due to bad sectors on card
• Your memory card might be infected by virus/malware.
• File system error on SD card won’t let you format.

After knowing the causes, now it’s a time to learn the ways on how to format a memory card which cannot be formatted.

How to Format a Memory Card That Cannot Be Formatted?

If you can’t format your SD card then you can use the below given Windows utilities one by one to format your microSD card.

#1: Remove Write Protection from SD Card

One of the foremost and frequent reason of getting SD card won’t format error is – Write Protected SD card. Whether it’s memory card, USB flash drive or hard drive, if it’s write protected, Windows will not able to make any changes in your drive.

This is because, enabled write protection puts your device in read only mode and as a result you can’t format your drive on Windows.

To deal with this situation, you need to remove the write protection from your SD card by following the below steps:

Step 1: Connect your SD card to PC then press Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: In the search box, you need to enter “diskpart” then press Enter.

Step 3: Now, a diskpart window will open where you have to enter the below given commands (You need to press Enter key after each command mentioned below).

• List disk/
• Select disk # (# shows a disk that is write-protected).
• Attributes disk clear read-only.

After executing the above steps, if you see “Diskpart attributes cleared successfully” that means “SD card won’t format error” is solved.

#2: Use Windows Disk Management to Format SD Card

Since you are unable to format SD card in Windows File Explorer, you should try formatting it by using the Windows Disk Management. The Windows system utilities will enable you to view & manage your drives along with their partitions that installed on your system.

You can perform a various actions by using this Windows utility including, formatting the SD card or raw SD card.

Here’s how to format your SD card in Windows Disk Management:

• Firstly, you need to connect your SD card to PC then go to My Computer/ This PC.
• Then, click on Manage then > Disk Management.

• Once the Disk Management window opens, find your SD card & right click on it then select Format

• Here, you need to choose the file system like exFAT, FAT32, NTFS,
• Next, tick the “Perform a quick format” checkbox and click “OK“.

#3: Fix SD Card Won’t Format Error Using CHKDSK Utility

Another solution that you can try to fix can’t format SD card error is – Run CHKDSK command. It is one of the useful tool that diagnose and repair the disk-related issues in Windows.

You can also use this method to fix SD formatting error. It will scan and repair any errors and issues found on the drive.

Here’s the step by step guide on how to do so:

• Started with connect your SD card to PC.
• Then, press Windows + R keys to open the Run box.
• Type ‘cmd’ in a search box then select Run as administrator.

• Now, the cmd.exe window will open, here you need to type ‘chkdsk’ followed by a drive letter of the memory card, a colon and /f. (For example, chkdsk G: /f)
• As you will press Enter key, the check & repair process will begin. This process can take long time to finish.

Once completed, the message will appear in a command window – saying ‘Windows has made corrections to the file system’. Hope you will able to format your microSD card now.

You May Also Read – How To Format Write Protected SD Card [Full Guide]

#4: Run Diskpart Utility to Clean & Format SD Card

Diskpart is a command-line utility in Windows OS that lets its users to manage the disks, partitions & volumes on Windows PC. By using this utility, one can perform various disk-related tasks like formatting volumes, creating & deleting partitions, assigning drive letters etc.

You can use this disk partitioning utility to clean and format your SD card and thus your SD card won’t format error will be resolved.

Please Note: Before applying this method, save the backup of your drive as any wrong command line could lead to severe data loss.

• First of all, connect your memory card to PC.
• Then, press Windows + R keys together to open the RUN dialog box.
• After that, type cmd in a Run box and press Enter to open a command prompt(cmd.exe).
• Now, type diskpart in order to run the diskpart utility.

• Again, type list disk to list the drives on PC.

• Type select disk 2 (a number must be replaced with exact drive number of the SD card).

• This time, you need to type clean in order to run a clean utility (doing this will wipe out all data of your SD card).

• Next, type create partition primary in order to create the new partition on SD card.

• Finally, type format fs=ntfs to format a partition to your desired file system.

• Once done, simply type exit & Press Enter in order to close a cmd.exe window and that’s it.

#5: Change the Drive Letter & Paths (If SD Card Isn’t Detected By PC)

If your SD card is not recognized by computer then you need to change the drive letter and paths of your card. If you want to fix SD card won’t format error then firstly you need to make your card detectable.

Follow the below given instructions to know what you need to do: 

• Connect your microSd card to computer via card reader.
• Make a right-click on My Computer/ This PC then click on Manage > Disk Management.

• Find your SD card & make a right click on it and select “Change drive letter or path“.
• Re-select the new drive letter of your SD card then click on OK to confirm.

#6: Check & Repair Bad Sectors to Fix SD Card Won’t Format

However, the bad sectors present on your storage device are not visible, but they can prevent you from accessing your device smoothly. You can troubleshoot this issue by formatting your drive.

But what if you can’t format your microSD card having Bad sector? In such a situation, you can run a command lines in order to check the bad sectors.

After removing the bad sectors from your memory card, you can simply format your device. You need to follow the below given steps to remove the bad sectors from your device:

• First of all, press the Windows + R keys to launch the Run dialog box.
• Then, type cmd in Run box and press Enter to open a command prompt (cmd.exe).
• In the Command Prompt, enter the given command: chkdsk E: /f /r /x. Then, replace E with the SD card’s drive letter.

#7: Using Third-party SD Card Formatter to Format SD Card

Even after trying the above troubleshooting fixes, if you are still unable to format your SD card then you can use the third party SD card formatter tool.

You will find a tons of SD card formatter tools in Google that can help you to fix memory card cannot format issue with ease.

You May Also Read – Fixed- Can’t Format SD Card On Windows PC Or Android Phone (2023)

How To Recover Deleted Data From Memory Card

If SD card won’t format error is resolved with the above listed manuals and you have formatted your SD card without saving the backup of precious data then you can try our recommended SD Card Recovery Tool.

This software has enough capability to recover data from all external data storage devices including memory cards, pen drives, USB flash drives, hard drives etc. No matter whether your SD card is locked, corrupted, write-protected or virus-infected, it can recover the files from it effectively.

Moreover, it supports all the brands SD card such as – microSD, miniSD, microSDHC, SDHC, miniSDHC, SDXC, SDSC, microSDXC, miniSDHC etc.

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* Free version of the program only scans and previews recoverable items.

So, quickly download, install and run this software on your PC and recover the deleted files from your memory card with ease.

Why I recommend you to choose this software?

• It is one of the top-rated recovery tool that can recover all kind of deleted, lost, missing, formatted or inaccessible files.
• It can recover photos, videos & other data from all external data storage devices.
• It is 100% safe & secure and very easy to use
• It will let you preview the files before recovering the files from SD card successfully.
• It is available for both Windows & Mac OS

Follow these step-by-step guide to know how to recover deleted data from formatted SD card using this  recovery tool.

FAQs [Frequently Asked Questions]

Can A Corrupted SD Card Be Formatted?

Yes, you can format your corrupted SD card by applying the below given steps:

• First of all, click on File Explorer icon on your PC.
• Then, find and right-click on your corrupted SD card & select Format.
• Next, choose the file system (exFAT/ FAT32/NTFS) then click on Start to format the drive.

How Do I Force An SD Card To Format?

Here’s how to format your SD card forcibly:

• Open Disk Management by clicking on My Computer/ This PC
• After that, click on Manage > Disk Management.
• Now, locate & right-click on your SD card & choose 'Format'.
• Choose the proper file system like NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, & tick 'Perform a quick format'.
• At last, click on 'OK'.

Can I Recover Format SD Card?

Yes, you can recover your data from your formatted SD card by using the most reliable SD Card Recovery Tool.
When you format your memory card, you think all of your SD card data gets deleted forever. But it’s not true! Those data are still present on your SD card itself in hidden way. And you still have a chance to recover them until & unless the old data are overwritten with the new one.

How to Fix the RAW SD Card Won't Format

When your SD card shows as RAW, then you can convert a RAW file system into usable file system such as - NTFS or FAT32. In order to convert the RAW SD card into FAT32 or NTFS, you have to perform the disk format.
You can simply fix RAW SD card won't formatissue in the Disk Management by trying the below given ways:

• Format Raw SD Card Using CMD Option
• Use Disk Management to Fix ‘Raw SD Card Won’t Format’ Error
• Force Format Your Raw SD Card

Conclusion

You may often need to format your SD card to fix various kind of SD errors and issues. In such situation, when you receive the SD card won’t format error, nothing is much frustrating than that. But now, you don’t have to worry about.

In this blog, I have summarized 7 best techniques on how to format a memory card which cannot be formatted. So, if you can’t format your memory card due to any of the above listed reasons then you must try out the solutions mentioned in this post.

However, in case you formatted your SD card without taking the backup of your important data then you can use our recommended SD Card Recovery Tool. This tool will surely help you to retrieve your data from your formatted SD card.