How to Format Corrupted SD Card on Mac [Without Data Loss]

As one of the most common portable storage tools, SD cards are very popular among users. But it's not uncommon for SD cards to become corrupted. Many Mac users feedback that after inserting the SD card into the Mac, the system prompts that the data in the corrupted SD card cannot be accessed.

If you are also unfortunate enough to encounter this situation, don't worry; this article will teach you how to format a corrupted SD card on a Mac and get it back to normal use.

However, before fixing the SD card corrupted issue by formatting it, you should restore the stored data if it's informative. Read on to learn how to format a corrupted SD card on a Mac without losing data.

Recover Stored Data on the Corrupted SD Card via Software

The SD card stores a lot of essential data, which is why many users are reluctant to format their SD cards after they have been corrupted. In this case, it's suggested to use software to perform SD card recovery on Mac before formatting it. We recommend you use the professional and trusted data recovery tool EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro to recover data from corrupted SD cards first.

As one of the best SD card recovery software for Mac, the EaseUS SD card recovery software can fix corrupted SD cards on Mac under different situations, including the SD card becoming RAW status.

It can recover data from a RAW SD card on a Mac. To make the operation of this user-friendly SD card data recovery tool clearer, here are steps to refer to:

Step 1. Select the SD card

• Correctly connect your memory card to your Mac. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.
• Go to "SD Card Recovery", find your Canon/Nikon/Go Pro/DJI/Sony SD card, and click "Search for lost files".

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your SD card to avoid further data loss. After backing up the SD card, the software can recover data from your SD card backup, and you can remove the SD card and use it again.

Step 2. Filter lost SD card data

After the scan, all files will be presented in the left panel in the scan results. Find wanted photos, videos, and other files.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

Preview the SD card data and select the wanted files. Then, click the "Recover" button. Don't save the recoverable files to the SD card itself in case of data overwriting.

After recovering the stored data from the corrupted SD card on your Mac and saving the recovered data in a safe storage location, you can format the corrupted SD card to make it work normally.

Share this article as it's informative, and help others learn how to format a corrupted SD card on a Mac without losing data.

Format a Corrupted SD Card on a Mac Using Disk Utility

Formatting an SD card or any other external or internal hard drive on a Mac will use a built-in program called Disk Utility. Here are the steps to format a corrupted SD card on a Mac using Disk Utility:

Step 1. Connect the corrupted SD card to your Mac, and open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities.

Step 2. Find the SD card on Mac in the left list in the Disk Utility window. Select the corrupted SD card, and click the "Erase" button at the top menu.

Step 3. Set a new name and file format for the SD card as you want (ExFAT vs Mac OS Extended).

Step 4. Click on the "Erase" button again to confirm the formatting process.

Step 5. Wait for the format process to finish, and check if the corrupted SD card is fixed.

When you insert an SD card into a card reader and connect it to your Mac, you'll find "External Storage Device > SD Card" in the Finder or Disk Utility. However, sometimes, the SD card does not show up in Finder, and its stored files will not show up. In this case, read this guide to fix this error.

Format a Corrupted SD Card on a Mac Using Terminal

Apart from using Disk Utility to format a corrupted SD card, you can use the Terminal command to format the corrupted SD card. Follow the steps below to format a disk using Terminal on a Mac:

Step 1. Connect the corrupted SD card to your Mac, and open Terminal.

Step 2. Type diskutil list to view the device list, and select the corrupted SD card.

Step 3. Enter the command to format the corrupted SD card on Mac using Terminal:

Conclusion

This article introduces two effective ways to format the corrupted SD card on a Mac and reminds users to recover the stored data on the corrupted SD card before formatting it. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro is one of the best SD card data recovery software that can recover data from a corrupted SD card. Install it on your Mac, and never worry about losing data anymore!

Format a Corrupted SD Card on a Mac FAQs

Here are questions people also ask when they search for how to format a corrupted SD card on a Mac:

1. How do I format my SD card on my Mac without losing data?

Formatting an SD card will erase stored data on it. If you want to format it without losing data, you should back up the stored data or use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac Pro to recover data on the SD card before formatting it.

2. How do I fix a corrupted SD card on my Mac without formatting?

Step 1. Insert the corrupted SD card with a card reader into your Mac.

Step 2. Open Terminal on your Mac, and type diskutil list​​​​​​.

Step 3. Type diskutil repairDisk /dev/disk2. Note that you should replace "disk2" with the corrupted card information that is displayed on your Mac.

Step 4. Type Y to start the repair.