AOMEI Partition Assistant
Why Can’t I Format My SD Card to FAT32? How to Fix It?
Why can’t I format my SD card to FAT32? There are some possible reasons with corresponding fixes. Follow them to easily format SD card as FAT32 without limitations.
By Irene / Updated on June 24, 2024
User case: why can’t I format my SD card to FAT32?
I recently bought a 256GB SanDisk SD card, and I'm trying to use it in my dashcam. The issue is that it seems like the dashcam only reads SD cards formatted in FAT32. When I tried to format the card through Windows, I didn't even see an option for FAT32. My old 32GB SD card can be formatted to FAT32 without any problem. Is it just that the card's capacity is higher than 64GB, so it doesn't want to format to FAT32? Or could it be something else?
- Question from Reddit
When you format the SD card as FAT32, you may find the Windows system prevent you from doing so. In general case, you may receive the error message like “The disk is write protected” or “Windows was unable to complete the format”, or just like the Reddit post: there is not option for FAT32 format.
- “Why can’t I format my SD card to FAT32?” There are some common causes:
- The SD card is larger than 32GB.
- The SD card is set to read-only memory card.
- Your SD card is locked.
- Virus or malware on the SD card.
- Bad sectors on your SD card, you can use a SD card checker to scan and repair it.
- The partition that needs formatting to FAT32 is not the first primary partition on the removable disk.
- Windows fails to recognize or support the file system is RAW on your SD card.
- Now, it is time to fix “can't format SD card to fat32” issue. Before beginning, it is recommended to save the data on the SD card.
How to fix “can't format SD card as FAT32”?
According to the answers of “why can’t I format my SD card to FAT32?”, you can try these targeted methods to fix and format the card to the file system you need.
Fix 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant
If your situation is like the post from Reddit: use a 64GB, 128GB, 256GB or even larger SD card, you can’t format it to FAT32 once it over 32GB. However, AOMEI Partition Assistant allows you to do it. It has no size limitation, even you need to format a 2TB card as FAT32. Besides, it also allows you to convert NTFS to FAT32 without data loss.
You can free download it to fix “can't format SD card to fat32”:
AOMEI Partition AssistantThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Install and run it. Right-click the partition that needs to be formatted to FAT32 and choose “Format Partition”.
Step 2. It will pop up a small window, choose FAT32 among displayed file systems and click “OK”. You are allowed to change cluster size of this partition and add a partition label to it as well.
Step 3. Return to the main console and you can review the operation. Please click “Apply” > “Proceed” after confirmation.
If you find you accidentally lose important data, you can run the Recover Data feature to restore it. For more details, you can read this passage: How to Do SD Card Format Recovery With A Simple Solution?
Fix 2. Remove write protection from SD card
When you try to format an SD card and get the message "The disk is write-protected," you need to turn it from read-only to normal before you can format it. To get rid of write protection, make sure the SD card adapter's write-protection lock switch is set to "Unlock." You can try to clear readonly with Diskpart utility by following these steps if the SD card is not locked but you still can't format it:
Step 1. Press Windows + R at the same time, type “diskpart” and hit “Enter”.
Step 2. Type the following commands and every command comes with hitting “Enter “key.
▪ list disk (list all disk connected to the computer)
▪ select disk n, where n is the number of your SD card.
▪ attributes disk clear readonly
After readonly is cleared, you can type “exit” to close the window.
Or you can change System Registry value
Step 1. Input “regedit” in the Run box and hit “Enter”.
Step 2. Navigate to the path listed below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/StorageDevicePolicies
Step 3. Double click “WriteProtect” option and set the "Value data" to 0.
PS.: If there is no StorageDevicePolices folder under Control folder, you can right-click on “Control” and go to “New”>“Key”. Name it with StorageDevicePolicies and then open it. Then, right-click on the white space at the right-hand pane and navigate to “New”> DWORD (32-bit). Then, name it with WriteProtect and double-click on it to check the Value data.
Fix 3. Unlock SD Card physical switch
You cannot format SD card because it's locked so that only you can read from it. It needs to be turned off and tried again. Please follow the steps to unlock it and try to format it again. If you don't want to come through such a extra step, you can directly use AOMEI Partition Assistant to format it without unlocking.
Step 1. Take out your SD card. You should see a switch on the right or left side. To turn off write protection, push it down if it was up or up if it was down.
Step 2. Now open "File Explorer." Then choose "This PC" from the menu on the side.
Step 3. Click on your SD card and then select " Format."
Step 4. A new window will open. Select the "FAT32" option, and then click on "Start."
Now you should be able to format your SD card to FAT32 successfully. If you weren't able to, here's what you can do next.
Fix 4. Run anti-virus software to scan SD card
If the SD card has a virus on it, other programs won't be able to use it. Now you can use a different antivirus program to fully check the SD card and see if it is infected.
Conclusion
This article answered “why can’t I format my SD card to FAT32?” with reasons and fixes. After formatting SD card as FAT32, you can also use AOMEI Partition Assistant to clone, delete, resize, move, merge partitions, and so on. For Windows Server users, the software offers the Server edition.
