Many players may get headaches as a result of the Steam Deck SD card format error. This article will explain why this problem arises as well as how to resolve it on your device.
The Steam Deck, a handheld gaming device developed by Valve Corporation, has garnered immense attention in the gaming community. With its powerful hardware and the ability to run PC games seamlessly, the Steam Deck has become a favorite choice for gamers worldwide.
However, when some users wish to use a larger SD card after formatting on Steam Deck, they receive the notice like “Format Error - The micro SD card failed validation tests and cannot be formatted. Contact your micro SD card manufacturer for support.” The SD card can well work on other device, then how does this occur?
In fact, the error is caused by file system.
The Steam Deck operates on the LINUX platform and utilizes the ext4 partition standard, which is specifically designed for compatibility with UNIX file and folder permissions. This file system is not supported by Windows or Nintendo systems.
Also, it is important to note that if your SD card has encountered physical damage, such as overheating or severe impact, certain components on its PCB may be permanently harmed. In such cases, sending it in for repair is the only option. However, if you are certain that your SD card has not suffered physical damage, you can attempt the troubleshooting method outlined below to resolve the issue.
If your SD card is well-working, then to fix Steam Deck SD card format error, you can try to reformat the target SD card.
Step 1. Format the SD card initially using the Switch.
Step 2. Stick the card in the steam deck
Step 3. Then, you must restart the deck completely.
Step 4. Go straight into Settings and format the SD card again.
You can also use third-party drive formatter to have a try because Windows built-in tools don’t support ext4 format.
Free Download
AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard can free format drive to Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS. So this tool will help you easily fix Steam Deck SD card format errors like Steam Deck format SD card stuck on testing and Steam Deck format SD card greyed out.
Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right-click a partition of the disk you want to format and select Format Partition.
Step 2. Choose Ext4 in the File System list and click OK. If you want to format to Ext3 in Windows 10/8/7, you can choose Ext3 instead.
https://www.diskpart.com/screenshot/en/std/format-partition/format-ntfs-to-ext4/choose-ext4.png
Step 3.Click Apply and then Proceed to start the formatting process.
https://www.diskpart.com/screenshot/en/std/format-partition/format-ntfs-to-ext4/apply.png
