Format new ext-sd card before using? - Acer Iconia A500

I just bought a new card because I believe my old one bit the dust. I would really like this card to be formatted to NTFS as opposed to FAT32. A lot of the media files I use are too big for FAT32. Can I just format the card in my pc first thing, then put it in the tablet? I see that people tend to use Flash Format in the settings, but I would guess that just sticks it back to FAT32.
I tried to format my sd card last night using Gparted (linux) and it will not complete the format. Through some web searching, the common answer to that is that your SD card is a goner. At this point, that card will not format, and will not be recognized by the tablet.
I ordered a new one, and would hope that I can just immediately format it. I know the tablet can read ntfs, because my usb drive is that format and it will read it.
Thoughts?
I just don't want to ruin a brand new sd card. Thanks.

YeeP said:
I just bought a new card because I believe my old one bit the dust. I would really like this card to be formatted to NTFS as opposed to FAT32. A lot of the media files I use are too big for FAT32. Can I just format the card in my pc first thing, then put it in the tablet? I see that people tend to use Flash Format in the settings, but I would guess that just sticks it back to FAT32.
I tried to format my sd card last night using Gparted (linux) and it will not complete the format. Through some web searching, the common answer to that is that your SD card is a goner. At this point, that card will not format, and will not be recognized by the tablet.
I ordered a new one, and would hope that I can just immediately format it. I know the tablet can read ntfs, because my usb drive is that format and it will read it.
Thoughts?
I just don't want to ruin a brand new sd card. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition. http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Partition-Wizard-Home-Edition/3000-2094_4-10962200.html

10507 said:
You can use MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition. http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Partition-Wizard-Home-Edition/3000-2094_4-10962200.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your response. I will check that software out. However, I am just wondering if it will cause a problem if I do reformat the sd card, before using it. I think I will use gparted for formatting, it is a good tool on my linux box.
Based on your response I would guess you are saying that it is ok to format the sd card ahead of time. Right?

It's definitely OK to format an SD card before being used. What errors does GParted give you? It might also be worth trying to format it to EXT4, unless you plan to be able to read it outside of Android/Linux.

Related

[Q] Help, my 16GB now shows as 8GB after 1GB partition in ClockWorkMod

I received a new 16GB micro SD card and put it into my phone.
I partitioned it in ClockWorkMod and started moving files (Music, photos etc) from the computer to my new card. While copying the blue screen of death came up on my laptop. This never happened before but upon reboot I tried to carry on copying files and it came up saying I have to format my card. I tried to format but it refuses to so I tried a full format, that didnt work either.
My 16GB micro SD card is now reading as 8GB. Can anyone help???
Have you tried removing the partition in gparted and then formatting?
Try using Panasonic SD Card Formatter
LiFE1688 said:
Try using Panasonic SD Card Formatter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have, it comes up as saying the memory card failed to format.
You can't just format...you're going to have to repartition the card. You can use gparted like nokn suggested or any of the various windows partition tools out there. After you have set up the partition(s) you can format the card.
Just wondering what settings you used with the SD Formatter?
Did you enable RESIZE? Did you do a FULL Format with Erase on?
These two settings are pretty important. Another thing to look at would be [email protected], you can "KILL" a whole drive, which essentially writes a ZERO from beginning to end of the drive.
bdkinney said:
You can't just format...you're going to have to repartition the card. You can use gparted like nokn suggested or any of the various windows partition tools out there. After you have set up the partition(s) you can format the card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened up a program called Partition Wizard and I managed to unallocate the partition and then resize the card to fat but only up to 8GB. It still refuses to be formatted or for anything to be written on it.
LiFE1688 said:
Just wondering what settings you used with the SD Formatter?
Did you enable RESIZE? Did you do a FULL Format with Erase on?
These two settings are pretty important. Another thing to look at would be [email protected], you can "KILL" a whole drive, which essentially writes a ZERO from beginning to end of the drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In SD Formatter v3.0.0.0 I opened options I selected Format Type as Full Erase and Format Size Adjustment as On and it came back as failed. Now my card is showing up as 8MB . It is also saying the memory card is write protected.

[Q] T-Mobile HD2 having trouble reading it's own MicroSD card

We have a T-Mobile HTC HD2, it came with a 16GB MicroSD card.
Lately, the phone is having trouble reading this SD card, and ONLY this SD card.
Any other MicroSD card I plug into it, from other phones or other devices, it reads them fine, and if I plug it's card into other phones or devices, they read the card perfectly fine as well! I tried it in other phones, in usb microsd readers, and even using a sd adapter in my laptop's built in sd reader, digital cameras, Wii, and PS3. The PS3 was the only other device that could not read the card,
But when I plug the card it came with into it, now it mounts it and works fine for about 30 seconds, then unmounts it and acts as if there is no card inserted.
We have had this phone for a year now with no problems of it reading it's own card before, any idea why this suddenly started happening? The owner said he recently dropped it, but that doesn't explain such strange behavior as refusing to read it's own card while reading every other card just fine, and the card reads on any device I plug it into so it doesn't appear to be damaged either.
Have you thougbt about tryinv to reformat your SD card, maybe it has become currupt? You can use the default windoes format software or the Panosonic software, most prefer the Panosonic software. Just do a google search for it to find it. To use the defualt Windows format software just go to Start>My Computer> and find your SD card listed as a removable drive and rigbt click on it then select format. Make sure to make a back up of your data that is on it if you can before you format it, and do a full wipe not a fast format and use Fat 32.
I tried SD Card Formatter 3.0 but it didn't help, it also refused to do a full format, claiming my card didn't support it.
Cyber Akuma said:
I tried SD Card Formatter 3.0 but it didn't help, it also refused to do a full format, claiming my card didn't support it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmmm that program should have worked, curiouse?
Here is a link to the download for the Panosonic SD card formating software. Give it a try and if it does not work hour SD card may have just played out on you. What for others here to post with more advice tough befor you just toss your card and get a new one as someone eles may know something I Don't. Also go to this post, I know you have not flashed WP7 to your HD2 but this may still help as it will wipe any acidental portition that was made somehow on your SD card. Plus itcjist helps hou cover all your bases.
T-Macgnolia said:
Hmmmmm that program should have worked, curiouse?
Here is a link to the download for the Panosonic SD card formating software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what I used.
Also, I know about partitioning a drive, the sdcard does not have multiple partitions on it.
Cyber Akuma said:
Thats what I used.
Also, I know about partitioning a drive, the sdcard does not have multiple partitions on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that I just googled " SD Card Formatter 3.0" and it carried me to another site.
As I said in my last post I just linked the post to make sure you were covering your bases.
If you tried the Panisomic software with no joy then it is very possible your SD card is ready for a funeral.
Bit don't just take my word for it let some more members post with their ideas. Sorry I could not be of any more help.

Should I be able to format my MicroSD card?

I don't see an option to do so in settings.
gunnyman said:
I don't see an option to do so in settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that i'm aware of.. you'll have to use a PC and format it to fat32.
The external sd support on honeycomb is appalling. It's almost as if google weren't expecting manufacturers to include external sd slots on their devices. I get no notification when I insert my sd, no options to format or safely remove either. Even my Nokia (and I hate Symbian) can do these things. Also haven't seen any news about this support being added in 3.1.
Have you been able to format your SD Card yet? One thing I can tell you I dont like is that the system is reading the internal memory as SD Card. So all the apps you use like titanium and SD card Tools to test the speed error out. They really need to fix that. As far as your card goes if you havent.
With Windows insert card right click on it and click format and select fat32.
With mac Use Disk utility and format through there and also select fat32.
A lot of SD card manufactures are not intializing the cards which is why if it is brand new needs to be put in your PC. At the current moment there is no partition table which is why the tablet can not read it.
tablet can read it as it's an old one I had. I just wanted to format it without having to pull it

Mount SDXC Card

So some of us have already gotten an SDXC 64GB card to work in our SD slot as posted at the Lenovo forums. Everyone's mileage seems to vary on the best method for this, I just wanted to share the way that I was able to do it after much trial and error, in a pretty clear and concise way.
Basically, just as with USB drives, it all comes down to formatting any external storage in FAT32 for the TPT to read it. The trick is getting an SDXC card into FAT32, and readable by the Thinkpad Tablet. If it's not done right, the tablet will just sit on "Preparing SD Card" forever. I've tried all kinds of PC HDD and Flash card tools to do this, and the one that finally worked was Easeus Partition Master Home Edition which is a free version (download.cnet.com/Easeus-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html)
I formatted the card with EaseUS and TPT recognized it right away, showing 61.84GB capacity
Here's how: First be careful to click only the SD card you want to format in the list of drives or you could format a hard drive by mistake (check your drive letter!). There may be another small unlabeled partition on the card, don't worry about that. Click Format Partition (on the left), select file system FAT32, click OK, and then click Apply (big check mark at top of main UI). (If the SD card doesn't appear in the list, you may need to use the SDFormatter first, details below).
BTW, the tool to get your SDXC back to its original state (if things get too screwed up or you need to return it) is the official SDFormatter (sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/). You may also need to run this on the card first before using EaseUS if you've been mucking around with it and EaseUS does not pick it up.
Hope this saves some headaches.
(Sorry for the truncated URLs, I'm a new poster though I've been around XDA for years, so the system won't let me post proper links...that's what I get for trying to be helpful...)
Trying some links
Easeus Partition Manager Home Edition download.cnet.com/Easeus-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html
SD Formatter from the SD Association web site sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/
Ah, I forgot to mention, the SD card I am using is the Komputerbay SDXC 64GB, purchased on Amazon.

Help with 64GB SDcard

Just got a SanDisk microSDXC 64GB card from Amazon for my Galaxy S4. I don't want to mess anything up, so I've got a few questions.
Are these cards formatted with exFat? How can I tell? Do I need a special kernel to have it work? Will the stock kernel work?
Should I format it from within the phone before use?
Any other problems/concerns I should have before I copy all my music and ROMS over to the card?
Thanks in advance,
Foulwx...in Atlanta tonight where there really is some foul weather.
I recently purchased a 32GB SanDisk Ultra, and followed the instructions at these two links, for moving apps to the sd card:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2142844 - mini partition tool guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2285221 - link2sd and foldermount
If you have some way to connect the card to your PC, the mini partition tool guide is really easy to follow. If you don't plan on moving apps to the card, you could just toss it in the phone and format it there. I screwed up the partitions a couple of times on my own (formatted the card 5 or 6 separate times, trying out different filesystems and partition sizes), before I found the mini partition tool guide, so I don't think there's much chance of permanently ruining the card.
If you formatted the card into fat32, then it would be more compatible without modifying anything on the phone.
Foulwx said:
Just got a SanDisk microSDXC 64GB card from Amazon for my Galaxy S4. I don't want to mess anything up, so I've got a few questions.
Are these cards formatted with exFat? How can I tell? Do I need a special kernel to have it work? Will the stock kernel work?
Should I format it from within the phone before use?
Any other problems/concerns I should have before I copy all my music and ROMS over to the card?
Thanks in advance,
Foulwx...in Atlanta tonight where there really is some foul weather.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can connect the microSD to your PC to determine what format it currently is. If you stick in the phone, it'll format to exFat. The exFat format can be recognized by the stock kernel as well as the agat kernel and the ktoonsez kernel.
I have the same one. Just put it in my phone and went from there. Guess it auto formats it to exfat that way.
I flashed bluKuban and had to switch to agats kernel to see it. But otherwise works well.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Is there an advantage to exFat over FAT32?
flu13 said:
Is there an advantage to exFat over FAT32?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exFat can have files over 4gb.
I killed my sandisk 32gb ultra card ...created the fat 32 partition and then the exfat and it won't be ready by the phone at all. When I put it into the computer it shows it only has 30.6 MB...I'm unable to format it through windows or with another app. Any help would be appreciated
majid25 said:
I killed my sandisk 32gb ultra card ...created the fat 32 partition and then the exfat and it won't be ready by the phone at all. When I put it into the computer it shows it only has 30.6 MB...I'm unable to format it through windows or with another app. Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Insert it into your phone, and format it there. That "may" fix it for you.
jj14 said:
Insert it into your phone, and format it there. That "may" fix it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not being read by the phone it doesn't even mount..
I'd try plugging it into the computer and running a partitioning program. It should see the card no matter what. Partition it to whatever format you want.
oscarthegrouch said:
I'd try plugging it into the computer and running a partitioning program. It should see the card no matter what. Partition it to whatever format you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres one computer where it sees it and I connect it through an HP printer that had an SD slot.. Windows shows it as 30.6MB and asks me to format it but the format fails. I tried SD card formatter, HP USB disk tool..I don't know what to do
OK, I loaded all my music, pictures, and roms onto my 64SDCard from my laptop. Windows says it is exFat. Booted and seems to work fine.
Then I went into OUDhs recovery to try and make a nandroid. It can't mount the external_sd. Suggestions? Do I need a different recovery or kernel? I'm on the stock kernel.
Thanks again.
Edit: I installed TWRP 2.5.0.3 and it worked fine, I think. I haven't tried a restore yet.
I finally gave up with exFat and, after some research here on XDA, used Mini Tool Partition Wizard Home Edition to format my SDCard to fat32. I just made a Nandroid with OUDhs recovery. Hopefully, everything will continue to work OK and I don't need any 4GB files on my card.

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