Issues formatting micro SD card

[RETNUH]

I'm trying to format a micro SD card. I have it hooked up to the computer by putting the micro SD in a micro SD adapter which I have in an SD to USB adapter.

It shows up just fine and everything. I click format(via right clicking the desktop icon) choose the filesystem(I choose the default FAT) and it gets past "Preparing", then almost as soon as it gets to "Formatting" I get an error.

Code: Select all

Error formatting volume

Error creating file system: helper exited with exit code 1: helper failed with:
Total number of sectors (3866488) not a multiple of sectors per track (62)!
Add mtools_skip_check=1 to your .mtoolsrc file to skip this test

mkfs.vfat 3.0.9 (31 Jan 2010)

It went OK in Gparted, but I couldn't name it as I wished there so I tried the regular format again and I got the same error. I tried again with a different name(this time the name didn't have spaces) and it worked. So apparently I can't name it with spaces in the name.

[SaintDanBert]

Most "media cards" -- of which SD and xSD are but one variant -- use the fat32 or vfat file system.
(Two different names for the same thing.) Here is what micro$oft has to say about it: About Fat32 File System. Another perspective on vfat or fat32 is found here Fat32 Resources.
Last but not least is Wikipedia on FATxx.

The "name" as you call it, is the "volume label." There are several tools to set the volume label on a file system. Each file system has their own way of doing things. In the case of fat32 or vfat,
a label must be letters(a-zA-Z) or digits(0-9) along with the dash "-" according to 8+3 filename rules. It is eleven(11) characters, [remember 8+3 names? 8+3=11] padded with trailing blanks. NOTE -- The MS-DOS and Windows environments are "case preserving" whereas linux and other *-nix are "case sensitive." This means that the win-dose world treats "ABC" and "abc" the same but stores whichever you type. This same is true for volume labels. It is up the the display programs to decide how to present a volume label. Many default to uppercase (common to MS-DOS and WinXX) or simply display what is stored as-is.

Cheers,
~~~ 0;-Dan

[SaintDanBert]

I recently needed to remake the micro-SD for my mobile phone. Using linux, all went well and I could read-write just fine. Sadly, the phone did not like the results. I used win-dose to (1)delete the partition, then (2) format as FAT32. The phone was happy. I have no idea what was the difference or what the phone was looking for. I'm reporting this as a warning and plea that someone knows and shares what is going on.

ASIDE -- I like to use volume labels like "uSDsomename" or "EXTsomename" or "TH-somename" (True M$ fat32 labels are eleven characters max.) Where "uSD" is micro-SD, "TH-" is thumb drive, and "EXT" is external USB or Firewire(tm) connected. I have made these labels with both win-dose and linux without trouble, but phones and camera seem to complain about linux-made file systems.

If this thread is solved, please mark it such with an edit of the original post subject line to include "[Solved]" or similar.

Bonne Chance,
~~~ 0;-Dan