How to Fix the Problem of SanDisk SD Card Not Formatting

If your SanDisk SD card won't format, you're not alone. The most common reason for this issue is file system corruption, often caused by excessive use of the card across multiple devices. To resolve this problem, you can try the solutions outlined in this article, which offer a range of potential fixes for formatting your SanDisk SD card.

Quick Navigation: Part 1. Possible Reasons for SanDisk SD Card Not Formatting; Part 2. Five Possible Solutions to Fix Unable to Format SanDisk SD Card; Part 3. How to Retrieve Files from SanDisk SD Card That Cann't Be Formatted

Part 1. Possible Reasons for SanDisk SD Card Not Formatting

Your SanDisk micro SD card may be formatted to change its purpose, but it cannot be formatted due to file system corruption, which is often used in Android, digital cameras, and other devices. You can use it to store photos on your digital camera, or for other purposes.

When your SD card suddenly stops responding or functioning as it did yesterday, you may feel frustrated, especially if you didn't take a backup of its contents. A "SD card not formatted" error message will pop up each time you try to access the card's contents, and this can happen due to various reasons, including the card being not formatted, corrupted data, or issues with the card's physical structure.

SanDisk SD card failed to mount properly
You removed the SD card in an inappropriate manner
Frequent use in different devices caused file system corruption
Virus or malware attack
Damage to the chipset

Part 2. Five Possible Solutions to Fix Unable to Format SanDisk SD Card

Method 1: Formatting the SD Card Using Windows Disk Management

To fix the SanDisk SD format error using Windows Disk Management, you can follow these steps: Open the Disk Management utility, select the SanDisk SD card, right-click on it, and choose "Format." This will erase all data on the card, so be sure to back up any important files first.

To access the Windows Disk Management tool, right-click the Windows button on your computer and select the "Disk Management" option from the context menu.
Insert the micro SD card into the computer's SD card slot or a USB SD card reader. Open the "This PC" or "Computer" window, and locate the micro SD card.
To fix a SanDisk micro SD card that cannot be formatted, you can try the following: In the format property window, select the file system type, such as NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT. You can then choose to format the card in either the quick or regular format option and press "OK" to proceed. This should resolve the issue.

If your hard drive shows 0 bytes, it may be due to a corrupted file system or a failing hard drive. In such cases, running a disk check or a file system check can help identify and fix the issue.

Method 2: Using Diskpart to Clean SD Card to Format

To resolve the SanDisk card not formatting error, you can use the Diskpart feature in Windows. You can clean the SD card and then try to format it. To do this, follow these steps:

To launch the command prompt, press the Windows key and the R key simultaneously on your keyboard. This will open the Run dialog box, and you can type "cmd" in the text field, then press Enter to open the Command Prompt.
To list the available drives on your computer, open the command screen and type "diskpart" to enter the Diskpart command-line utility. Then, type "list disk" to display a list of all the available drives on your computer, including internal and external drives.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
To clean the SD card, simply type "clean" and press Enter. This will initiate the cleaning utility, which will erase all data on the card. Please ensure you have backed up the card's contents before proceeding, as this process will completely remove all data.
To create a partition on the SD card, enter "create partition primary". This will help you create a partition for the SD card. Finally, enter "format fs=ntfs or format fs=fat32" to format the SD card to the required file system.

sandisk micro sd card cannot be formatted

Method 3: Change Letter and Path to Allow Windows to Identify the SD Card

The "SanDisk not formatted error" can occur when the system can't identify the drive letter or designated path. To resolve this, you can change the drive letter and path to make Windows recognize the SD card, following the steps below.

To access the SanDisk micro SD card, connect it to your computer. Next, right-click on the Windows symbol and select "Disk Management" from the context menu, allowing you to view and manage the card's storage.
Identify the SD card and right-click on the same. Choose the "Change Drive Letter or Path" feature.
You can select a new letter for the SD card and click "OK" to confirm the change in the drive letter.

Method 4: Disable Write Protection for Cannot Format SanDisk SD Card

To resolve the issue of SanDisk unable to format due to write protection, first, check if the physical switch on the SD card is in the write-protected position. If it is, simply toggle the switch to the other position to disable write protection. If the issue persists, it's likely caused by software, and you can try using a third-party software or a command prompt to remove the write protection. However, be cautious when using these methods as they can potentially cause data loss. It's always recommended to create a backup of your data before attempting to remove write protection. If you're still unable to format the SanDisk SD card, it may be a hardware issue and you should consider consulting a professional for further assistance.

To launch the command prompt, simultaneously press the Windows and R keys on your keyboard. This will open the Run dialog box. In the text field, type "list disk" and press Enter.
To select the SanDisk SD card, use the drive letter, for example, drive 1, and enter "select disk 1" in the command line, then press Enter.
Enter "attributes disk clear read-only" and hit the "Enter" key.

The process will remove the writing attributes and protection of the SD card.

Method 5: Check for Bad Sectors and Repair the Same

If your SanDisk micro SD card has bad sectors that are not visible, you can't format it normally. To fix it, you need to use the command prompt to remove the bad sectors first. This involves checking how many bad sectors are on the card and then repairing them. Once the bad sectors are removed, you can format the card and reuse it.

Press the Windows key + R keys together to open the Run dialog box, which will open a command prompt window.
In the command prompt screen, enter the instruction: chkdsk E: /f /r /x.

Please replace the letter E with the SD card drive letter, which is S.

If you choose any of the options to format the SanDisk micro SD card, you will erase its contents. If you don't have a backup of the data, you'll lose it. To avoid this, it's crucial to recover the files on the card before proceeding with any format option to resolve the SanDisk micro SD format error.

Part 3. How to Retrieve Files from SanDisk SD Card That Cann't Be Formatted

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You can recover files deleted by pressing the Delete or Delete + Shift keys, as well as retrieve data from hidden or lost partitions of a hard drive.
Data recovery software can help recover lost data from a disk that was improperly shut down. This can include files that were deleted or corrupted during the shutdown process. The software works by scanning the disk for any remaining data and attempting to recover it.
Data recovery software for Mac or Windows PC helps in retrieving contents from drives that display the file system as RAW. This software can recover data from damaged or corrupted drives, restoring access to important files and folders.
You can also extract contents from storage devices that have been corrupted due to virus attacks.

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Guide for Restore Data from SanDisk SD Card After Formatted

Install Data Recovery Software

Qiling SanDisk recovery software is available for trial and can be downloaded and installed on a computer. To recover files from an SD card using Qiling, ensure a connection is established between the computer and the SD card, and then follow the software's steps to retrieve the files.

Select the SanDisk SD card

Select the SanDisk SD card from the list of partitions and click the "Scan" button to start scanning the card.

Preview and Recover Formatted SanDisk Card

The scan time depends on the file format selected and the size of the SanDisk SD card. Once complete, Qiling displays recoverable files in a new screen, arranged by file type. You can preview a file's content to mark important ones and click "Recover" to save them on your computer.