Format SanDisk SD Card|How to Format SanDisk SD Card on Windows 10 and Mac

Why Do You Need to Format Sandisk SD Card

• You want to delete everything on the SD card
• SD card is damaged or corrupted and needs to be formatted.
• The improper use of SD cards, such as hot swapping, causes the problem and the need to format the SD card.
• SanDisk SD card gets infected with a virus.

It's easy to format SanDisk SD card for cameras or mobile devices. On this page, you will learn the full guide to format SanDisk SD card on Windows 10, Mac, or in the camera.

How to Format SanDisk SD Card on Windows 10 in 4 Simple Ways

You have several ways to format SanDisk SD card on Windows 10:

1. #1. Use SD Card Format Tool - EaseUS Partition Master
2. #2. Use Windows File Explorer
3. #3. Use Disk Management
4. #4. Use Command Prompt

1. How to Format SanDisk SD Card to FAT32 with EaseUS SD Card Format Tool

EaseUS Partition Master provides full-around disk partition solutions for both beginners and experts. You can use it to create, resize/move, merge, wipe, and format partitions.

Now, download this partition management program and follow the step-by-step guides to format SanDisk SD card with a simple click:

Step 1. Find your SD card and right-click the partition you want to format and choose "Format".

Step 2. Set a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "OK".

Step 3. Click "Yes" on the pop-up window to continue.

Step 4. Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button on the toolbar, then click "Apply" to start formatting your SD card.

In addition to these basic hard drive management features, EaseUS Partition Master still has many advanced functions, such as:

• Clone disk: clone an entire disk to another in the same disk layout without any data loss. You can even clone a larger HDD to a smaller SSD.
• Disk/Partition converter: Convert a logical partition to primary or primary partition to logical, FAT to NTFS partition, MBR disk to GPT, or GPT disk to MBR.
• Migrate OS: Transfer OS from HDD to SSD without reinstalling Windows
• The overall requirements of 3DS

2. Use Windows File Explorer to Format SanDisk SD Card

Step 1. Connect the SanDisk SD card to your computer with the SD card reader.

Step 2. Go to "This PC" and open Windows Explorer, right-click your SD card, and then choose "Format".

Step 3. Specify the file system and set a new label for your SD card. Click "Start" and "OK" to confirm the formatting.

Note: FAT32 for SD card within 64GB, exFAT for SD card over 64GB.

Related reading: Fix SanDisk SD Card Unable to Format

3. Use Disk Management to Format SanDisk Micro SD Card

Step 1. Insert your SanDisk SD card into a card reader and connect it to your computer.

Step 2. Right-click "This PC", choose "Manage", enter "Disk Management".

Step 3. Locate and right-click on your SanDisk SD card, choose "Format".

Step 4. Click "Yes" to continue, set a new label, file system - exFAT or FAT32 to the card. Then click "OK" to format your SanDisk SD card.

4. Use Diskpart in CMD to Format SanDisk SD Card 

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box in Windows 10. Right-click on it and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 2. In the command prompt, type diskpart and press "Enter".

Step 3. Type list disk to list all the available drives and press "Enter".

Step 4. Type select disk + disk number ( for example, select disk 2) to select the SanDisk SD card you want to format and press "Enter".

Step 5. Type list partition and press "Enter".

Step 6. Type select partition + volume number (or example, select partition 2) and press "Enter".

Step 7. Type format fs=fat32 (or format fs=exfat) and press "Enter" to format the drive with FAT32 or exFAT.

Related reading: How to remove SanDisk write protection

How to Format SanDisk SD card on Mac with Disk Utility

Mac has an inbuilt-in tool to help you format SanDisk Micro SD card. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Connect your SanDisk SD card to your Mac using a card reader.

Step 2. Open "Disk Utility".

Step 3. Select your SanDisk SD card. Choose "Erase" and select "Format".

Step 4. Enter SanDisk SD card name (optional). Choose a file system format. If your SanDisk SD card is 64GB or larger, choose exFAT. If it's 32GB or smaller, choose FAT32.

Step 5. You'll see a confirmation message: "Are you sure you want to erase the partition [your card name]?" Click "Erase".

How to Format SanDisk SD Card on Camera

Follow the steps below to format SanDisk SD card on the camera. 

Step 1. Turn off the camera and insert the SD card into the proper slot.

Step 2. Turn on the camera. Press the camera Menu button.

Step 3. Select the Setup menu and choose Format, Format Memory Card, or something similar.

Step 4. Select "OK" to start the format.

To Sum Up

We have demonstrated all the ways to format a SanDisk Micro SD card. You can format SanDisk  SD card to FAT32 or exFAT on Windows 10 in 4 ways via EaseUS SD card format tool, File Explorer, Windows Disk Management, and Diskpart command lines.

Simply apply the Disk Utility to format and erase the SanDisk SD card on Mac. You can also directly format SanDisk SD card on the camera. Now, it’s your turn to do it yourself.

FAQs About Format SanDisk SD Card

If you have more questions about formatting SanDisk SD cards, follow and find answers as listed below:

1. Do I need to format a new SanDisk Micro SD card?

It depends on where and how you would like to use the SanDisk micro SD card. If you plan to use the SD card on an Android phone, the answer is Yes, and you'll need to format the SD card as internal or portable storage on the phone.

If you simply want to use it to back up some casual data as a removable storage device or use the card on your camera, the answer would be no. Most SD cards are set with a proper file system format and created with a simple volume on them. You can directly use it to store files.

2. Why can't I format my SanDisk memory card?

The reasons why you can't format a SanDisk memory card could be various, and here is a list of possible reasons:

• SD card becomes RAW or corrupted.
• SD card is write-protected or locked.
• SD card gets virus infection or malware.
• SD card is not supported by the current OS.
• SD card is logically or physically damaged.

3. How do I format my SanDisk 128GB SD card?

• Connect the SanDisk 128GB SD card to your PC.
• Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click on the SD card volume and select "Format".
• Set a new file system to the SD card - NTFS, FAT32, or even exFAT, tick "Quick Format", and click "OK".