In this article we will consider the question of what to do if the micro SD card cannot be formatted? This sometimes happens during the drive partitioning process. Most likely, this is due to technical damage or a malfunction of the memory card. In any case, before handing over the micro SD for repair, you should understand the reasons for the formatting error and try alternative ways solving the problem.
Sometimes it is not possible to format an SD card because the files downloaded to it are occupied by some process. This is because Windows does not allow you to delete such documents so as not to disrupt the system. In this case, formatting the memory card is possible through the console or the Diskpart command. For the first option you need to do the following:
- Press the key combination Win+R.
- In the window that opens, enter: diskmgmt.msc.
- In the Disk Management Manager that appears, find the required flash drive and click on it right click mouse and select “Format”.
- The Diskpart command is invoked via command line(Win+X). Next you need:
- In the input field write: diskpart.
- In the window that opens, enter: list disk. After this, a list of all drives will be available for viewing.
- Find the memory card, enter the command next to it: select disk 1.
- For the selected drive, enter the command: attributes disk clear readonly.
- To exit the service, you need to click Exit, then you can try to format the memory card of the DVR or any other gadget again.
Flashnul is an SD formatting utility that can test removable storage. You should work with it very carefully, since the application can damage information on other disks. You can format a flash card using Flashnul as follows:
- Unpack the archive with the program;
- On the command line, enter the path to the application. For example, if the utility was unpacked on drive D, then you need to enter: cd D:\\flashnul. After this, the user will be in the directory with the program folder and will have to identify the memory card;
- Write in the line: flashnul -p. Remember the letter indicating the flash drive;
- Enter the command: flashnul X: -F, where X is the letter corresponding to the card being formatted;
- Next, you need to run a controller error test using the flashnul X command: -l;
- After the work has been done, you can format the microSD memory card through the control console.
Drive recovery programs
If the OS asks you to format the flash drive before writing, then to solve the problem it is better to use software that will help save the data on it. Most apps are free or offer a trial period. Best programs to format microsd the following:
- D-Soft Flash Doctor. The utility helps to restore the drive and create an image of it for subsequent recording on a working disk. Intuitively clear interface will not cause any difficulties for the user.
- EzRecover. It will help if the memory card is not formatted or the information for it indicates that the capacity is 0 MB. The process is started by pressing the Recover button. It is able to recognize only a damaged drive and connect to it even if it is not detected by the operating system.
- JetFlash Recovery Tool. Program for formatting SD cards and USB drives. Has a standard set of tools. Designed for drives of only certain brands. Compatible with Windows 10 and older versions. The menu consists of 2 buttons - “Start” and “Exit”. Automatically selects best method carrying out markings taking into account the situation.
- MiniTool Partition Wizard. A universal tool for working with hard drives and removable media. With its help, you can divide a memory card into several logical drives. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a godsend for those who are interested in how to format flash on Android. The reason is that this utility is one of the few that supports the ext2,3,4 (Linux) file system.
- SD Formatter 4.0. Created specifically for those cases when flash drives on phones and cameras cannot be formatted. The program will also be useful when working with a drive connected via USB without an adapter or card reader. Supports Mac OS. Before formatting the card with this utility, you must install the driver. This program cannot be used to partition password-protected drives.
- Format USB Or Flash Drive Software. The application duplicates the functionality of the service built into Windows OS, but recognizes the drive even if it is not displayed in the “My Computer” section. It uses standard algorithms in its work. Partially Russified. Although it provides the opportunity to use it for free, it insists on purchasing a license.
Utilities with limited capabilities that may be useful in some cases:
- AlcorMP. Designed for formatting flash drives with Alcor controllers.
- Format Utility For Adata Flash Disk. Corrects errors on USB drives A-Data.
- Kingston Format Utility. Recovers flash drives from the same company.
To prevent the problem from arising in the future
Sometimes it is not possible to perform partitioning even on a new drive. This indicates a defective product. In this case, it is better to return it under warranty or exchange it with the seller.
If the user is faced with a problem when, after formatting the memory card on Android, the files are restored by themselves, then this sure sign that the drive has outlived its usefulness. No methods will help here.
To avoid problems with the memory card, you need to adhere to the following 2 rules:
- Use safe shutdown when removing a device with a flash drive.
- Do not pull out the drive during recording. This can damage not only the information, but also the flash drive itself.
If the memory card on your phone cannot be formatted, you first need to end it in the gadget settings, then turn off the device and remove the drive. Then you need to wipe the contacts with a dry cloth and blow out the SD slot on your smartphone.
Before formatting a memory card on Android using third party programs, you need to first try marking through the gadget settings. If the error repeats, you should try using another flash drive in the process. If the problem persists, this indicates that the phone is faulty.
It's no secret that you can format a USB drive or hard drive using the tools built into Windows - just right-click on the corresponding drive and select context menu"Format" item. But what can this really do? system utility, and what is she capable of? If a bad sector is detected on the disk, the format procedure will not show you any notification about this, leaving the cluster available for writing along with good areas.
So that you have maximum formatting options, we will tell you which alternative low level formatting program hard drive and USB devices currently available on the market is the best in its class, and what features are built into it.
Important: before using any of these applications, copy all data from a flash drive or corresponding logical drive to a safe place, since when working with utilities, all information can be destroyed and irretrievably lost.
JetFlash Recovery Tool
A proprietary utility from Transcend. An excellent choice for owners of USB devices from this brand, as well as devices from ADATA. Using JetFlash Recovery Tool, you can not only format flash drives, but also recover data on them. It will be especially useful if your flash drive contains unreadable sectors, it takes a long time for the computer to detect it, or information cannot be written to it. The utility is incredibly easy to use, and even a child can master it. There are only two buttons available on the start screen: to start the recovery procedure and to exit.
The interface is absolutely intuitive and clear. The disadvantages include the lack of a Russian-language interface and support for USB drives of other brands. Not long ago, Transcend recently posted an alternative software product on its official website JetFlash Online Recovery, based on cloud service. We recommend you try it too.
HP Drive Key Boot Utility
A convenient and functional program for cleaning a flash drive with bad sectors. Allows you to format flash drives from SanDisk, Transcend and Kingston. Three file systems are supported: FAT32, NTFS and FAT. It is worth noting that using the first of the file systems mentioned, it is possible to wipe a device larger than 32 GB, which, in fact, exceeds the FAT32 threshold. The main advantage of HP Drive Key Boot is its interface. All program options are concentrated in one window, and all operations can be performed without literally leaving it.
It is possible to create bootable flash drives based on the OS distribution using only the included tools. The application is portable, so you can use it on any PC without installation (simply copying the folder from executable file and libraries). The disadvantages of the utility include the lack of HDD/SSD support and the ability to fix system errors. In addition to this, on Windows Vista/7/8.1/10, the presented data formatting program is available to work only in compatibility mode. For modern operating systems, the development company has created an alternative product called HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. All HP Drive Key Boot functionality has been successfully transferred here.
USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Official page USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Powerful, fully featured and free program for formatting flash drives from any manufacturer, as well as resuscitating them in case of broken clusters. There is support for all modern operating systems from Microsoft (Win 8/10). Using the program is incredibly convenient: insert a flash drive, select it in the list of devices at the top, indicate the desired file system and enter the drive label just below. What's especially convenient is that error correction and formatting functions are clearly separated. So, you can scan a USB device for bad or unreadable sectors and fix them, just by checking the appropriate boxes. additional options and clicking the Check Disk button. A separate button includes the process of clearing a USB drive from its contents without the possibility of recovery (quick and low-level formatting is available).
Another distinctive feature of the USB Disk Storage Format Tool is the maintenance of a detailed log of all operations, which will give you full information about the actions performed by the utility. What’s especially impressive is that you can format any memory card (SD, Compact Flash, SDXC, SDHC, etc.) using the tools built into the application. Among the minor shortcomings are the inability to create bootable disks and the lack of Russian localization, but given the functionality built into the application, these disadvantages are practically leveled out.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
Official page HDD Low Level Format Tool
Basic program for low-level formatting of HDD/SSD and flash media. The design is very unpretentious and simple. To start the format procedure, you should choose what exactly you will work with: a flash drive or a hard drive. After this, by switching between tabs, you can perform a quick (deleting information about the drive in the corresponding partition and clearing the MBR record) or full formatting.
What distinguishes the application from all others is that in the presented software solution There is an option to get SMART, but this is only relevant for screws. By the way, you can work with HDD, SSD and other devices connected via any interface (FIREWIRE, IDE, SAS, SCSI, SATA). You can clear data not only on flash drives, but also on memory cards of any format from MemoryStick to MMC. There is support for the latest OS. In fact, the only limitation software product– this is a limited data processing speed (50 Mb/sec), but essentially, the advantages and functionality of the application more than cover this shortcoming.
MiniTool Partition Wizard Free is the best program for low-level formatting HDD/SSD, and more
Official page MiniTool Partition Wizard Free
Perhaps this is the most expanded and developed project, both in terms of functionality and usability. As for the available functions, their variety and number are simply beyond expectations. In addition to basic operations with individual HDD and flash partitions (full disk partitioning, checking for errors, setting a label, changing the name letter, converting from one file system to another), there are also unique opportunities inherent only to this product. This includes migrating the installed OS to another HDD/SSD, copying the contents of disks/individual partitions to another drive, a data recovery wizard, and a host of other functions. As with most commercial paid applications, all operations can be performed both through the graphical menu and using the visual panel, which contains the lion's share of functionality.
You can work with both single screws and RAID arrays. Among other programs for low-level hard formatting MiniTool Partition Wizard disk stands out for its high speed, high-quality design and active support from developers, thanks to which the utility runs without problems in . An excellent candidate for the must-have category, both for ordinary users and administrators.
In this collection, we tried to find out which program for low-level formatting of a hard drive, as well as removable USB drives, is the most relevant on this moment. All products presented are absolutely free and do not require the purchase of a license. We hope that depending on your tasks, you will be able to choose the best product for you as an alternative software, available in Windows by default.
Yesterday I helped a friend delete unnecessary information from her computer, it came to a point removable media, in particular memory cards and flash drives. And I encountered a situation where, when I tried to erase files from a microSD for a smartphone, the microSD card was not formatted and an error was displayed: “The disk is write-protected.” In the article I will describe the methods I used to fix the problem, maybe they will help some of you.
How I unlocked the memory card
Disk management
Using the hot keys Win + R, open “Run” and enter the command diskmgmt.msc. In the list of volumes, look for the connected external media information and right-click on it. And then, as shown in the screenshot below, and in the context menu that pops up, select “Format”.
Using diskpart to format an SD card
In the search for “Start” we write cmd.exe, this command will open the command line. Enter “diskpart” (without quotes). Using the keyboard, type list disk.
We find our SD in the table and recognize it by size.
Now we use clean.
The data will be deleted within a short amount of time.
Next, be sure to create a partition, enter create partition primary, then select partition to select it and active, when performing activation. In conclusion, we use format fs=ntfs, -full or format fs=NTFS QUICK, - quick formatting of microSD.
In turn, I want to note that the reception is the best!
Command line
In my case, the work was carried out in Windows 10 safe mode, but I think that the option described below will be relevant in later versions.
Open the command line, it can be found by opening “Start”, where we enter – format e:
Where “E”, respectively, is the volume letter.
What to do if MicroSD is write protected
Changing disk properties
Go to “My Computer”, right-click on the icon of the microSD card that cannot be formatted, go to “Properties”. We are interested in the “Access” tab, where we need to go to the “Advanced Settings” section.
In the window that opens, check the box “Open general access" and save the changes. Then in a standard way format.
You can remove protection in the Windows Registry Editor
Using the hot buttons Win + R, by the way, you yourself can create for yourself exactly those that will be more convenient for you to work with, and enter regedit. In the thread
In WriteProtect we change the value from 1 to 0.
If it is not there, then you need to create a DWORD(32-bit) parameter if the operating system is 32-bit or DWORD(64-bit) by clicking on free space on the right side of the screen.
Changing the file system
If you cannot copy files from a MicroSD over 4 GB, then the issue may be due to the file system limit - replace FAT 32 with NTFS.
After such manipulations everything should work out.
Diskmgmt.msc utility
This action also applies to flash drives.
Let's launch the application.
In the window we look, for example, for our flash drive
Using the mouse we perform actions.
How to remove write protection using the policy editor
- In “Run” we use gpedit.msc
- Computer Configuration - “Administrative Templates” - “System” - “Access to Removable Storage Devices”.
- And turn off " Removable drives: Deny reading."
What to do when none of the options suits you
- Apparently there is a problem in the memory itself.
- Scan your PC for viruses.
- The problem often occurs due to installed programs for creating virtual drives, such as Alcohol 120%, DAEMON Tools, Virtual CD, Virtual CloneDrive and their analogues.
- The point is in flash drive or SD firmware (use proprietary software, such as Hp disk format tool or HDD low level format, which is often available on the media or can be downloaded from the official website).
To the entry "The microSD card cannot be formatted. The disk is write protected" 8 comments
Thanks for the advice, but I have the following similar problem. I have a 64 GB flash drive formatted in NTFS. I transfer information (movies, music, photos, etc.) from one computer (with Win XP Pro OS) to another computer (with Win 7 OS) - and almost always the flash drive becomes unreadable, uncopiable - with the message - remove the write protection. This can only be corrected by formatting the flash drive, but then all the information on the flash drive is lost. One computer is located more than 50 km from another; it is not possible to send information over the Internet. Afterwards, the newly formatted flash drive works fine. By the way, I noticed that it behaves this way only when I transfer information from Win XP Pro to Win 7, but not the other way around.
Good evening! How similar everything is! In Linux, format a flash drive with the command: sudo mkfs.vfat -F32 -I -v /dev/sdb, and in FREEBSD there is a similar command: sudo newfs_msdos -F32 /dev/da0.
I've been fiddling with this problem for half a day and all these tips haven't worked. I started looking for a proprietary utility for the memory controller and the memory itself and still found it and is now formatting it with its help. To determine the data on the flash drive, I used the ChipGenius v4.00.0807 utility (it was only able to see, other similar utilities do not see the flash drive). The recovery took 1 hour 15 minutes. , you can wait, the flash drive is completely alive.
What I like about flash drives from Transcend is their reasonable prices and the program for “repairing” flash drives, which is downloaded into each media. ChipGenius good program, has also helped out more than once, but she doesn’t communicate with all manufacturers.
I often use: JetFlash Recovery Tool, MPTool, USB Flash Drive Recovery.
And it’s best to try searching, as you do correctly, on the official websites of the product.
ChipGenius is a program for determining the controller and memory type, and then you need to look for a proprietary utility for flashing the controller and formatting the memory. There may also be nuances, you need to try old and new versions of programs, for example, this helped me old version program, the new one did not want to work with the flash drive, although everything was determined and the required memory was set, but the START button was not available. You can change some things in the programs, you can even hardcode your name, change the operating mode LED indicator. The available languages were: Chinese and English. The job description in PDF is in Chinese, but can be found in English and with Russian tips on what to do.
Today I tried ChipGenius. Live and learn! Great program. Thank you, Vladimir!
Please Sergey! It never hurts to try something new.
In this regard, I am only “FOR”. Something interesting comes up, let me know. ;)
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Upon attempt complete removal files from MicroSD cards, the user may encounter a “Windows cannot complete formatting” notification. Why you can’t format a MicroSD memory card and how to deal with this problem, read this manual.
Why Windows Can't Complete Formatting
Most likely, the “SD card will not format” problem is not caused by a problem with the memory card itself, so it can be resolved using Windows components. You can also find a lot of programs for working with drives on the Internet.
Advice! Perhaps the memory card has write protection, which prevents the user from making any changes. To remove protection, read these instructions.
What to do if you can’t format a flash drive
To fix the problem, we will go in two ways: we will use the capabilities of Windows 10 itself or we will turn to third-party software.
To open the required utility:
If the flash drive is not write-protected and data deletion fails, the cause may be an unknown process operating system. There is no desire to understand what kind of process this is? then move on to the next point.
Command line
Third party programs
The utility can handle the task of formatting not only MicroSD, but also flash drives. In general, a simple and free program can fix errors on a memory card while saving the data or further formatting the MicroSD.
The Flashnul utility can also help with diagnosing and eliminating errors when checking flash drives.
Unfortunately, the official websites of these programs are not advertised (or there are none), so when downloading from third-party resources, check the installation .exe files for viruses (Dr.Web CureIt! can help you).
A memory card is a convenient way to store information that allows you to save up to 128 gigabytes of data. However, there are times when the drive needs to be formatted and standard means they can't always cope with this. In this article we will look at a list of programs for formatting memory cards.
The first program in this list is SDFormatter. According to the developers themselves, the program, unlike Windows tools, gives maximum optimization SD cards. Plus, there are some settings that allow you to slightly adjust the formatting to your liking.
RecoverRx
Transcend's RecoveRx utility is not too different from the previous one. The only thing I would like to have in the program is more fine adjustments. But there is data recovery if it is lost in the event of a memory card failure, which gives the program a small plus.
AutoFormat Tool
This utility has only one function, but it does it quite well. Yes, the process takes a little longer than usual, but it's worth it. And considering that it was developed by the famous company Transcend, this gives it a little more credibility, even despite the lack of other functionality.
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Another quite popular tool for working with USB and MicroSD drives. The program also has formatting with a little customization. In addition, there is also additional functionality, for example, an error scanner on a flash drive. And in general, the program is great for formatting a flash drive that won’t open or freezes.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
This software is more suitable for HDD drives, as can be seen even from the name. However, the program can also cope with simple drives. The program has three formatting modes:
- Conditional low-level;
- Fast;
- Complete.
Each of them differs in the duration of the process and the quality of mashing.