AOMEI Partition Assistant
Fixed: Nintendo 3DS Could Not Detect SD Card 128GB
When the Nintendo 3DS could not detect SD card 128GB, you can follow our fixes. By formatting it or make some changes, you can quickly make the SD card be recognized by 3DS.
By Irene / Updated on July 10, 2024
Users case: The 3DS could not detect SD card 128GB
Hey there guys;
I've bought the card, and I've followed the guide in my other thread, but I can't seem to get it to show up on the 3DS? It gives me a 'cannot access card error'.
Have I missed something simple? Any other formatters I can try? Any ideas?
- Question from Reddit
The 3DS of Nintendo allows you to play your favorite games anywhere. But before enjoying it, you need to install the 3DS SD card, a kind of SD card that works with the 3DS. Sometimes, you may encounter the 3DS could not detect SD card 128GB or receive the error message “The SD Card couldn't be recognized. Please end the game and start again.”
At this time, you just read this post, it will share you with effective fixes, and they will apply to New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 2DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS.
How to fix Nintendo could not detect an SD card in 3DS?
Fix 1. Check your SD card
When the SD card couldn't be recognized by 3DS, the first step is to check if the card has bad sectors or is corrupted. To do so, it is advisable to use a reliable SD card checker, like AOMEI Partition Assistant. Unlike other tools, this software has no brand limitations. No matter if you are using SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston, Lexar, or others, it will scan the card and repair the error. This powerful tool will also help remove write-protected or RAW partitions on your SD card with easy steps.
You can connect it to any computer running Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11, and follow the steps to check and repair it.
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Download the freeware. Install and launch it. Click “Test” in the top toolbar, and choose “Disk Surface Test”.
Step 2. Tick Quick Check and click Start to check whether there are any bad sectors on the disk.
This is how to check disk errors on the SD card that couldn't be recognized by 3DS. If you want to check SD card partition error, you can right click a partition on the card->Advanced->Check Partition-> Choose a way to perform partition checking and click OK.
Fix 2. Update 3DS SD Card Driver
When you see the message "3DS could not access SD card" or "SD card couldn't be recognized by 3DS", you can update the SD card driver to fix this problem. To fix the error, follow these steps.
Step 1. Insert your memory SD card to a card reader and connect it to your PC. Next, open "Computer" and choose "System Properties".
Step 2. In the taskbar on the left, click "device manager" and next to "Universal Serial Bus controller" click "+ (plus)". Then you'll see a yellow exclamation mark.
Step 3. Right-click and choose "update driver software". Then click "Search automatically for driver software online"...
Wait until the process completes. Then, reconnect your SD card to your PC to see whether it can be detected or recognized.
Fix 3. Change 3DS SD Card reader
You might need to get a new SD card reader if your device can't read or find the 3DS SD cards. To change the 3DS SD card reader, do what's written below. (This shows how to change the Nintendo 3DS 2015 SD card reader).
Step 1. Unscrew the two 3mm Phillips #0 head screws along the top edge of the device.
Step 2. Open the device.
1. Pull the tabs on the top corners of the front faceplate outward and toward you.
2. The faceplate can be pulled up and out of the slots at the bottom of the box.
3. The back faceplate should be put aside.
Step 3. Next, put in a plastic tool for opening. After that, use the plastic opening tool to pull the battery up.
Step 4. Pull the SD card reader from the edge with two holes gently to free the tab at the top of the SD card reader.
Step 5. Gently pull the SD card reader up. Next, pull the SD card ribbon cable out of its slot on the motherboard.
Lastly, lift the SD card reader off of the bottom case. Put your 3DS SD card back in and try to connect it again to see if it works. If a different SD card reader doesn't work, it could mean that your 3DS needs to be fixed.
Fix 4. Format the card to the compatible file system
Another possible cause of "3DS could not detect SD card 128GB" is that, the 3DS usually works with SD cards that are formatted in FAT32. However, a lot of 128GB SD cards are already formatted in exFAT, but the 3DS doesn't work with that. That is to say, this problem can be fixed by formatting the card to the compatible file system, FAT32.
To format the SD card larger than 32GB, it is still recommended to use AOMEI Partition Assistant. If you run Windows built-in tools like Disk Management or CMD, you may only to find FAT32 Option Not Available error, or The volume is too big for FAT32 noticed. Thus, the AOMEI software can break the size limitations. You can format the 128GB, or even 1TB SD card to FAT32.
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Double-click the installation file and follow the prompts to install this software. Then, run it. In the main interface, right-click the hard drive partition and choose Format Partition.
PS.: If your HDD is unallocated, right-click it and choose Create Partition.
Step 2. Choose FAT32 and click OK to continue.
PS.: Here you can change the drive letter of this partition, assign a partition label to this partition or change its cluster size.
Step 3. Here you can preview that the HDD would be formatted with FAT32. Click Apply and Proceed to perform the pending operation.
Further reading: Recover lost games after formatting
If you suddenly encounter SD card couldn't be recognized in 3DS, and formatting it without any backup, don’t worry, AOMEI Partition Assistant can also help you restore the lost games and data. It supports recover 200+ types files, including programs, documents, emails, etc., from various data loss scenarios like formatting, accidental deletion, system crashes, and so on. By the way, it even supports recovering data from corrupted SD card and recovering deleted partition on SD card.
Step 1. In the main interface, click Recover > Recover Data from the top pane.
Step 2. Select the drive where the deleted data is stored and click Start Scan.
Step 3. When the scan finishes, all deleted files will be listed. Then, choose the target file you want to recover and click Recover.
Step 4. Here, select a path to save the recovered file.
Step 5. When the recovery is over, click OK to exit it.
Conclusion
The 4 easy fixes are effective for fixing Nintendo 3DS could not detect SD card 128GB. If you are sure your SD card is corrupted and cannot be fixed by these methods, you can replace a new one. To easy transfer the original data, AOMEI Partition Assistsant gives the Clone Disk feature for a quick micro SD card clone. For Windows Server users, you can choose its Server edition.
