Database Users

My solution for the case of "SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem"

Hi guys. I got a problem with my SD card after I recorded a video on my Nexus One (rom from Paul for very first Froyo over my rooted Nexus). I tried to to mount the SD card to my computer, but after clicking on the mounting button, the card appeared to have something wrong and displayed the warning message "SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem". I could not access to the data on the card. I cared about my data so I tried to get the card out and used a card reader to read the content of the card from my Windows machine, but it seemed that Windows could not recognized the card. I thought the card was spoiled. I tried to save the card anyhow by trying to format it since I had the backup data on my computer already. Because I could not see the card on my Windows, I could not format it. I tried to format it on my N1, but after clicking on the format button, nothing happened. It seemed that my SD card was really spoiled.
But actually, I found a way that could help to save the SD card for my case. My solution is to try to partition the SD card using the ultility from my Recover section (I am using RA for nexus 1.7.0). The card after partitioning seems to work ok again. So I think the problem for my case is that the recording application already overwrote some data to the partition table on the card and that made my card inaccessible. Partioning the card again will help in this case but about the existing data on the card, I am not quite sure if it is still there. For my case, it's all gone.
Just a little experience to share ...

Hope this solution helps! Am doing the recovery thing now...

hi
i have got the exact same problem... samsung galaxy s with a 32gb micro sd... says unsupported file system and does not format it... windows cant see it in the memory card reader... could u please help me out...
thanks man !!

psychopython said:
i have got the exact same problem... samsung galaxy s with a 32gb micro sd... says unsupported file system and does not format it... windows cant see it in the memory card reader... could u please help me out...
thanks man !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try to partition your card on an Android phone with RA 1.7.0 (or newer) installed. You can have a look at following page which is about RA for nexus v1.9.0 alpha:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829
Good luck.

thanks man !
will give it a try... i first have to figure out how to get my phone into recovery mode. the three button method does not work for me.

psychopython said:
thanks man !
will give it a try... i first have to figure out how to get my phone into recovery mode. the three button method does not work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whoa whoa if you have a galaxy s, do NOT flash the one he linked to. that is for the nexus one only. if you need to partition in windows, try plugging in the card to a reader and opening disk management (type "disk management" w/o quotes after pressing the windows key)
right click the card and hit format

Check your data before formatting it may not be corrupt
I had the same problem, rather than format the card straight away, I mounted it in ra recovery so that it was accessible over usb, then copied off all my data before formatting the card.

[Q] Can't access SD card from Wildfire ?

Morning good people.
Just got a nice sim free Wildfire for my daughter and I'm trying to install a few apps.
I've got Astro installed but when I try to access the SD card from it it says there's nothing on the card even through when I view it from the pc (either as mounting the phone as a drive or just putting the card in the reader) I can see the dir's and files ?
I've tried formatting the card as fat and fat 32 and I've tried 2 cards, nothing.
The Wildfire can write to the cards as its creating .footprints and LOST.DIR when it's given a new card. Also when I going in to settings/SD phone storage both unmount and format are greyed out.
Am I missing something here ? or is there a problem with the phone ??
Thanks...

steve1221 said:
Morning good people.
Just got a nice sim free Wildfire for my daughter and I'm trying to install a few apps.
I've got Astro installed but when I try to access the SD card from it it says there's nothing on the card even through when I view it from the pc (either as mounting the phone as a drive or just putting the card in the reader) I can see the dir's and files ?
I've tried formatting the card as fat and fat 32 and I've tried 2 cards, nothing.
The Wildfire can write to the cards as its creating .footprints and LOST.DIR when it's given a new card. Also when I going in to settings/SD phone storage both unmount and format are greyed out.
Am I missing something here ? or is there a problem with the phone ??
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your home directory(In settings) set to "/sdcard"?
Also try another filemanager for reference.
I highly doubt that there is something physically wrong with the phone.

Skye Menjou said:
Is your home directory(In settings) set to "/sdcard"?
Also try another filemanager for reference.
I highly doubt that there is something physically wrong with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, home is set to /sdcard.
I've tried 2 other file managers. Just the same issue. They say they see the card(s) but report nothing on them !

Did you try rebooting the phone or Hard resetting it?

Skye Menjou said:
Did you try rebooting the phone or Hard resetting it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With each change of card and file manager...

Whoooa new problem.. just go to settings >> sd card and Memory settings .. try to unmount and then mount the card...sorry i dont exactly remember the settings menu as i have gifted the phone to my bro and he is in other city..still just try to find where the Mount/Unmount SD card option is...also try another file manager AndroZip
Hope it helps

[Q] Android can't see MicroSD card

As said, Android can't see my SD. I have CleanDroid installed on NAND.
When I insert the SD in the phone, appears an icon on the top that says "Now it's possible to remove the SD safely". If i remove the SD it says that it's removed, and when i reinsert it, again "Now it's possible to remove the SD safely". Obviously i can't install apps in the sd through "APP2SD", can't use Waze cuz it says that doesn't find the SD card in the phone, the same appears with the camera that tells that if i want use camera i need to insert an SD. BUT THE SD IS STILL THERE!!! what do I wrong with it?
I tried to change my 8GB SD with a friend's 2GB SD... but still the same. I tried to go in Settings, Memory, "Install SD" too, but it only tells again that i can remove the sd safely...WHAT THE HELL I WROOOOOOONG?!?!?!?! xD
EDIT: I forgot, i tried to change the ROM too, tried about 5-6 different ROMs but it still doesn't work...

Did you try formatting with Panasonic formatter?
You're just inserting the SD card right? You're not pressing amount SD card in settings right?

Its look your cards r not compatible with HD2 card reader. I had same issue with about 3 or 4 cards.
The best way is to use genuine SanDisk cards !

rikardo1979 said:
Its look your cards r not compatible with HD2 card reader. I had same issue with about 3 or 4 cards.
The best way is to use genuine SanDisk cards !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kailkti said:
Did you try formatting with Panasonic formatter?
You're just inserting the SD card right? You're not pressing amount SD card in settings right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but...it's impossible! simply cuz with wm6.5 and wp7 it works perfectly! And on the PC too! In fact yesterday i came back to wm6.5 and the SD works well...

Just format it. ._.

i've tried to format it in ntfs, fat32 & extFat...don't work.... :'(

fdm91xda said:
i've tried to format it in ntfs, fat32 & extFat...don't work.... :'(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi guys, there is an update: today i woke up and tried again to insert an sd card. If it's formatted in NTFS or in exFat it says "The SD is damaged. Do u want to try to format?". So i answer yes, it formats the card and then says again the same thing "The SD is damaged. Do u....". From there whatever SD i will insert wont work cuz it will say the same thing. If i try to insert a 2GB Sandisk SD it wont work, the same for my 8GB Kingston and everything else. If i flash again the ROM (the same or another) it tells only that I can safely remove the SD card...BUT I DON'T WANT TO REMOVE IT! I WANT TO USE IT!!! xD so i think my problem is something like a "loop". The telephone remembers his last one choiche and whatever I will do it will give me the same response for every SD. If I format it will be the same...
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE PERSON WITH THIS FU*** PROBLEM???

I sometimes have this problem - it sometimes does what you describe or says that the card is Damaged.
The only way i've found to fix this issue is to format the Card on a Linux machine - i have a laptop that i can dual boot with Ubuntu - i remove the partitions on the card and format it fresh to NTFS using the Disk Tools in Ubuntu and it works a charm every time....
Hope this helps - it is a bit of an annoying issue!
Cheers
Paul

paulrgod said:
I sometimes have this problem - it sometimes does what you describe or says that the card is Damaged.
The only way i've found to fix this issue is to format the Card on a Linux machine - i have a laptop that i can dual boot with Ubuntu - i remove the partitions on the card and format it fresh to NTFS using the Disk Tools in Ubuntu and it works a charm every time....
Hope this helps - it is a bit of an annoying issue!
Cheers
Paul
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANKS PAUL!!!!! I have BackTrack on my laptop cuz i need it at the university, but it's based on Ubuntu so i'll try to format my sd from there and try to format the sd from there! I'll let u know if I solved the problem! MANY THANKS!!!!!

fdm91xda said:
THANKS PAUL!!!!! I have BackTrack on my laptop cuz i need it at the university, but it's based on Ubuntu so i'll try to format my sd from there and try to format the sd from there! I'll let u know if I solved the problem! MANY THANKS!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Luck mate - i know how annoying this issue is!

MicroSD is write protected, how do I fix?

Hello,
I recently tried to flash the Epic Sense ROM and it screwed up my SD Card, it wouldn't install system files and I was waiting over an hour. I pulled the battery out and ever since then, I wasn't able to paste any files to it because there was no paste option. I decided to format, but I was not able to because it said that the card was write-protected. I even made sure that the switch on the side was unlocked. I tried using CWM to format, but no luck. Is there anyway I can fix this?
Thanks
I have also tried the manage computer and tried to format using that, but the format option was greyed out I wish someone could help me fix this.

i went through this but it was cuz the switch was on lock
have you tried to format it through the phone?

A_Flying_Fox said:
i went through this but it was cuz the switch was on lock
have you tried to format it through the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Its always the little things that jam me up..lol
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

It won't format through phone, it says cannot delete folder whenever I try. I used ESFileExplorer and Astro, I even tried the CWM formatter, but no luck. Does anyone know how I can format the card or make it readable again?
Thanks

gokuman56 said:
It won't format through phone, it says cannot delete folder whenever I try. I used ESFileExplorer and Astro, I even tried the CWM formatter, but no luck. Does anyone know how I can format the card or make it readable again?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try pulling SD card, put it directly in PC, save everything to PC, format card, then put SD back in phone and format. Then put whet you want back on SD from your PC
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

JohnCorleone said:
Did you try pulling SD card, put it directly in PC, save everything to PC, format card, then put SD back in phone and format. Then put whet you want back on SD from your PC
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I tried formatting on PC, says write protected. I can only copy the files, and then I tried putting it on the phone and formatting, but it just makes me wait when I use CWM and then says its done, but nothing happens. When I use esFile Explorer, it just says that the files cannot be deleted.

If you have a way to try another computer, card reader, and Micro to mini adapter that might work.
Also, you might try this format utility written specifically for SD cards at the bottom of this page:
https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter_3/
It's also possible that your card was damaged by the flash or battery pull. At least 16 gb cards are pretty cheap these days.

I tried the formatter, said the card was write protected.
Any other options? or should I start searching for a micro sd card?

gokuman56 said:
I tried the formatter, said the card was write protected.
Any other options? or should I start searching for a micro sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know you said you had the switch on the adapter in the unlock position, but I've had adapters who's switches were so loose that just inserting them in the reader slid the switch back to lock. Make sure that's not happening too. (unlock or writable is forward, towards the contacts. write protect is towards the end of the adapter that sticks out)

poit said:
I know you said you had the switch on the adapter in the unlock position, but I've had adapters who's switches were so loose that just inserting them in the reader slid the switch back to lock. Make sure that's not happening too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 100% sure thats not the case because I have even tried formatting on my phone and also tried formatting another micro sd card with the same adapter.

gokuman56 said:
I'm 100% sure thats not the case because I have even tried formatting on my phone and also tried formatting another micro sd card with the same adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm out of ideas. A quick search on google doesn't bring up any software solutions either. Sorry.

sounds like its messed up i guess
to be clear, you went into Settings> SD Card> Format on the phone and it didnt work?
i agree with the other guy. atleast 16gb is pretty cheap these days lol

I've had this issue in the past. This is what I do.
Put it in a full size SD adapter and push the lock switch to lock.
Plug it into my laptop via either a built in SD card slot or a USB card reader (depending on which laptop I have in front of me.)
try to delete a file (it should tell me it's locked)
eject the card by right clicking on the drive and choosing eject
flip the lock switch back to unlocked
Plug it into my laptop via either a built in SD card slot or a USB card reader
try to delete a file
It usually lets me at that point and then I can format it via the phone. I did have one instance where I was never able to get it out of locked mode and I had to buy a replacement.
Good luck.

I have the same issue right now and i've been using an sd adapter and my laptop's reader all the time.
I coppied all my files on a folder and i'm doing a format right now (not quick)... :fingers-crossed:
Have you tried a pc with Linux or a Mac? I'm pretty sure that'll work!

I' ve fixed it but later on it got me the same msg again... So i had to transfer my files from my Mac. But i' ve found out that the transfer from recovery is working even if i can't transfer via the card reader of my laptop...
Sent from my Evo 3D GSM using xda app-developers app

SD card becomes Read-Only after a while

After using my phone for sometime, the SD card becomes read only.. I can't modify anything on the card. Apps like Zedge don't start because it says SD not detected. The camera clicks pictures but nothing gets saved. However i can watch videos and play songs but cant write anything on the card. Remounting the SD solves the problem temporarily.
Running stock GB rom, rooted. Does anyone else have this problem? How do i fix it?

Boot the phone w/o SD once and see if help if not u might need to reformat ur sd
Sent from my MB525 using xda premium

Booted without SD, and re-inserted it again. Lets see if it happens anytime soon

Still happens. It happens when phone isnt in use for long time(while im sleeping). Help anyone?
Sent from my MB526 using XDA App

formatting the card didn't help..the problem still exists..can anyone please help?
Sent from my MB526 using XDA App

I faced a similar problem with my defy
Try to install MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition (google it, its free)
use external card reader to mount sd card and select the memory card
select wipe the select the last choice (phases) the select apply, it will take more than 8 hours to finish
then insert to your mobile
also it is better to install CM7.1
I made that it and it worked for me

In custom ROMS this has never happened to me.. when i reverted back to stock i found this issue
8 hours? really?

Me too facing the same problem!!!
oSandmaNo said:
After using my phone for sometime, the SD card becomes read only.. I can't modify anything on the card. Apps like Zedge don't start because it says SD not detected. The camera clicks pictures but nothing gets saved. However i can watch videos and play songs but cant write anything on the card. Remounting the SD solves the problem temporarily.
Running stock GB rom, rooted. Does anyone else have this problem? How do i fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use 4 GB class 4 SD card on my Micromax Canvas 2 Plus A110q....after a month or so, my SD card turned read only...I tried to format it and was successful..but when I remounted it, the files were back!! I changed my mmc and got a new 4 GB class 4 SD Card....but after some time, it also turned read only!! I have also googled it and found no results!! If u anywhere get the solution, plz tell me also..

DarkSJ1998 said:
I use 4 GB class 4 SD card on my Micromax Canvas 2 Plus A110q....after a month or so, my SD card turned read only...I tried to format it and was successful..but when I remounted it, the files were back!! I changed my mmc and got a new 4 GB class 4 SD Card....but after some time, it also turned read only!! I have also googled it and found no results!! If u anywhere get the solution, plz tell me also..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use external card reader and use HDD low level format tool.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Solution!
oSandmaNo said:
After using my phone for sometime, the SD card becomes read only.. I can't modify anything on the card. Apps like Zedge don't start because it says SD not detected. The camera clicks pictures but nothing gets saved. However i can watch videos and play songs but cant write anything on the card. Remounting the SD solves the problem temporarily.
Running stock GB rom, rooted. Does anyone else have this problem? How do i fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your adapter at mobile is locked ???
Can be it...