How to Fix an SD Card That Won’t Format: Comprehensive Guide?

It is usual for everyone to format an SD card. You may need to reuse it as a new card on your camera or Android phone. In addition, the SD card may get corrupted, and you may have no choice but to format it to solve the problem. But sometimes, a simple formatting process can be a painful experience. There are several reasons why the SD card won't format. The good news is there are many methods to fix this issue also recover your precious data. Use the guide below to diagnose and repair the SD card that cannot be formatted. As a bonus, we will also show you how to recover data from a logically damaged SD card.

Part 1: Why can't I format my SD card?

Before we explain how to repair an SD card, let's take a look at some of the reasons why micro SD card won't format:

Logical corruption

Serious damage appears in various forms. One such possibility is that the SD card is so damaged that the standard formatting process cannot cope.

Malware

Malware does various bad things on the SD card. If your SD card is damaged by a virus, you may not be able to perform certain operations like formatting.

File System Error

Improper device removal can result in file system errors. If you remove the device before safely ejecting it, the file system may be damaged, and the SD card may not work properly.

Hardware failure

If the SD card is physically damaged, formatting may not be possible. The same applies if the SD card reader or SD card slot is faulty. Test and check the card with another reader.

Once you understand why SD card cannot be formatted, the next section will show you how to restore data from SD card.

Part 2: Recover data from SD card that won't format

Formatting an SD card means that all the data present there will disappear. Therefore, you should be careful when formatting. Data loss can be a severe problem for you.

The advice is to do it carefully. There are reliable tools. Tenorshare 4DDiG has the ability to restore files from an SD card and return your important data to the right place. Tenorshare 4DDiG is a trusted data recovery software that can restore lost files from formatted devices in just 3 steps. Whether you're operating a Windows or Mac computer, this tool works perfectly on both.

Follow these steps to recover data if you are facing issue SD card won't format:

Step 1: Connect and Select the Card: Install and launch 4DDiG Data Recovery, connect your SD card to your PC, and select it to start.

Step 2: Scan SD Card and Preview Data: Click "Scan" to allow 4DDiG to search for lost files. After scanning, preview the files before recovery.

Step 3: Recover Data from SD Card: Click "Recover" to restore the files, then choose a location to save them.

Part 3: 6 Proven ways to fix SD card won't format

Option A. Remove write protection

When write protection is enabled, the media storage is in read-only mode, and Windows cannot make any changes to the device. As a result, you are unable to format the SD card.

To provide users with a convenient way to write and protect their data when needed, many storage media manufacturers equip memory cards with small switches on the side of the device. For example, you may have unknowingly enabled write protection when you are inserting or removing an SD card into or from your phone or camera. In this case, turn the write protection back on.

Option B. Test on another device

Once your data is secure, isolate the problem first. If Windows can't format SD card, you don't know if the problem is on the SD card, in the card slot, or on the computer itself.

You should try another device to see if the problem is solved. For example, if your camera doesn't format your SD card, formatting it on a computer or mobile device might work. This way, you can immediately see where the problem is.

Option C. Scan for virus

The virus is always the panic thing you have to face in SD card formatting. If, unfortunately, your SD card gets infected with a virus, you are required to scan and remove the virus to recover proper functionality.

Here are the simple steps to use Windows Defender to scan for viruses and fix unable to format SD card issue:

Step 1: Press Windows + S to search for Windows security. Open the first result.

Step 2: Now click the virus and threat protection.

Step 3: Click the Scan option and select Full Scan. Click Scan Now.

4. Format SD card via Diskpart

Finally, if Windows still fails to format the SD card, you can use Diskpart to run the SD card clean command. The clean command replaces all sectors of the SD card with zero.

Here's how to use Diskpart to clean up your SD card to fix SD card won't format:

Step 1: Right-click Start and select Windows PowerShell.

Step 2: Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 3: Enter the list disk. Make a note of the disk number.

Step 4: Enter select disk 1. Replace 1 with your disk number. Press Enter.

Step 5: Type clean all. Press Enter.

After the cleanup is completed, format the SD card with the file system.

5. Format the SD card using the SD memory card formatted

The SD Association also has an official SD card formatter tool to help you format cards that are not well formatted with Windows built-in tools. Here's a quick overview of how to use this tool:

Download the SD Card Formatter tool from the SD Association website.

Step 1: Attach the SD card to the computer. Next, launch the SD card formatter tool.

Step 2: After that, you will see a drop-down list of available SD cards. Choose the SD card you like to format.

Step 3: Set the format options and the volume label of the SD card, and click the Format button to start formatting the memory card.?

6. Send it for manual repair

If the software cannot solve it, there may be a physical problem with the SD card. In such cases, it is better to send the card to a specialized repair service. They have the expertise and equipment to diagnose and repair hardware problems.

Bonus: How do I know if my SD card is broken?

How can I tell if my SD card is broken? In fact, the SD card can be corrupted in several ways, and if you can find this corruption at an early stage, you can solve the problem easily. The following list contains potential signs of a damaged SD card and showing problem SD card won't format:

• SD card not detected: SD card not detected: The message "No SD card detected" or the phenomenon that the device does not read the SD card is one of the most typical signs that the SD card is corrupted.
• Read/Write Issues: If your device can't read or transfer data from the SD card, it's most likely that the SD card is corrupted.
• Connectivity issues: Sometimes, you may not be able to link your SD card to other devices. In such cases, it is more likely that the SD card is corrupted. However, this may also be a problem with the SD card pin.
• Windows Format Error: The occurrence of a Windows Format Error is another sign that indicates that the SD card may be damaged, which means the card must be formatted before use.
• Poor performance: If the SD card is very slow to work when transferring files or doing something, then the card may be corrupted.

Conclusion

Once you understand the possible reasons why your SD card won't format, then first step is to protect your value able data. You can back up your files using your favourite software or cloud storage. For damaged or inaccessible cards, use a trusted data recovery tool like Tenorshare 4DDiG to restore files. Once the file is safe, you can try the methods related to why the SD card cannot be formatted. It is the best and most reliable tool compared to all the others we have tried. You can go ahead with Tenorshare 4DDiG peacefully; it is authorized by my whole tech team and me.

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