[SOLVED] Format SD card

[Peter Linu]

How do I format an SD card in FAT32? I have tried using Gparted but it will not recognise the card.

[all41]

How do I format an SD card in FAT32? I have tried using Gparted but it will not recognise the card.

Does it show using the Disks utility?

[Peter Linu]

Where is 'Disks Utility?

[all41]

It should be in your Menu.
Open the Menu and type disks to show

[redlined]

hi again Peter Linu!

I see you are being helped on this issue by all41, most excellent. You're in good hands.

I did want to mention, since you asked about SD card for Timeshift backups... if this is same SD card you are now getting help to format then I'd strongly urge you to use native Linux filesystem and format as Ext4

(not inferior FAT/32 formats. Timeshift will like it better, you bet!

[phd21]

Hi "Peter Linu",

Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux Mint and its excellent forum!

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

It would help to know more about your system setup. If you run "inxi -Fxzd" and "lsusb" from the console terminal prompt, highlight the results, copy and paste them back here, that should provide enough information.

How are you accessing (using) the microSD card with a USB adapter, in a laptop port, and what size is the miscroSD card?

* You can use the "USB stick formatter" in your menus for Fat32 (for smaller sizes), NTFS (for larger sizes), or Linux Ext4 (for larger sizes).

+1 You can use one of the Partition Managers like "gParted" to do this.

+1 for using the "Disks" application which is also in your menu, if not install "gnome-disk".

For backing up I would recommend using a large 1 terabyte or larger USB external drive like newer SSD (solid state drives) or regular HDD (hard disk drive) which would normally be faster than using a microSD card.

Hope this helps ...

[Peter Linu]

Code: Select all

peter@petelinu-Y50-70:~$ inxi -Fxzd
System:    Host: petelinu-Y50-70 Kernel: 4.15.0-38-generic x86_64
           bits: 64 gcc: 7.3.0
           Desktop: MATE 1.20.1 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu1)
           Distro: Linux Mint 19 Tara
Machine:   Device: laptop System: LENOVO product: 20378 v: Lenovo Y50-70 serial: N/A
           Mobo: LENOVO model: Lenovo Y50-70 v: 31900058WIN serial: N/A
           UEFI: LENOVO v: 9ECN33WW(V1.16) date: 11/10/2014
Battery    BAT1: charge: 47.1 Wh 99.9% condition: 47.1/54.8 Wh (86%)
           model: LENOVO PABAS0241231 status: Full
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-4710HQ (-MT-MCP-) 
           arch: Haswell rev.3 cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 19951
           clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 815 MHz 2: 1615 MHz 3: 1422 MHz
           4: 1416 MHz 5: 2088 MHz 6: 1430 MHz 7: 1752 MHz 8: 1442 MHz
Graphics:  Card-1: Intel 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: NVIDIA GM107M [GeForce GTX 860M] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 )
           drivers: modesetting,nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 2560x1440@59.99hz
           OpenGL: renderer: GeForce GTX 860M/PCIe/SSE2
           version: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.77 Direct Render: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Def. Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Card-2 Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:03.0
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.15.0-38-generic
Network:   Card-1: Intel Wireless 3160 driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 08:00.0
           IF: wlp8s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCIE Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 3000 bus-ID: 09:00.0
           IF: enp9s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2000.4GB (3.3% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: WDC_WD10SPCX size: 1000.2GB
           ID-2: USB /dev/sdb model: Expansion size: 1000.2GB
           Optical-1: /dev/sr0 model: N/A
           rev: N/A dev-links: cdrom,cdrw,dvd,dvdrw
           Features: speed: 24x multisession: yes
           audio: yes dvd: yes rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: N/A
Partition: ID-1: / size: 916G used: 39G (5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 50.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 0.0:43C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 241 Uptime: 43 min Memory: 2592.3/15949.2MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.3.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.4.191) inxi: 2.3.56

[Peter Linu]

Code: Select all

peter@petelinu-Y50-70:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8008 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 05e3:0617 Genesys Logic, Inc. 
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 007: ID 0bc2:2322 Seagate RSS LLC 
Bus 003 Device 006: ID 8087:07dc Intel Corp. 
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 5986:055e Acer, Inc 
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 0e8d:1836 MediaTek Inc. Samsung SE-S084 Super WriteMaster Slim External DVD writer
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 05e3:0610 Genesys Logic, Inc. 4-port hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c077 Logitech, Inc. M105 Optical Mouse
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
peter@petelinu-Y50-70:~$

[Peter Linu]

Neither GParted nor USB stick formatter recognise my 32Gb SD card.

[Peter Linu]

From info on various answers on this page and other places, I am persuaded NOT to use the SD card for Timeshift backups. I am already using a 1Tb USB drive formatted as ext4 for that purpose.

It still remains that I have a 32Gb SD card that I want to format as FAT32 so I can transfer music to the computers of several friends who have Macs and Linux Mint O/Ss.

[phd21]

Hi "Peter Linu"

How are you accessing (using) the microSD card with a USB adapter, or in a built-in microSD laptop port? Do you have the microSD card inserted properly? Have you ever used this microSD card before?

I do not see anything wrong with the results of the "inxi -Fxzd" console terminal command, so that is a good thing.

With the miscroSD card connected, run the command below and paste the results back here.

Code: Select all

lsblk -a

[Peter Linu]

Where is 'Disks Utility?

Dear all41 and others,
After all the to-ing and fro-ing, can I therefore assume that although this laptop has a card reader slot that it does NOT have a card reader inside?

It seems like the only plausible answer!
Peter Linu

[Peter Linu]

Code: Select all

peter@petelinu-Y50-70:~$ lsblk -a
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0    7:0    0         0 loop 
loop1    7:1    0         0 loop 
loop2    7:2    0         0 loop 
loop3    7:3    0         0 loop 
loop4    7:4    0         0 loop 
loop5    7:5    0         0 loop 
loop6    7:6    0         0 loop 
loop7    7:7    0         0 loop 
sda      8:0    0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─sda1   8:1    0   512M  0 part /boot/efi
└─sda2   8:2    0   931G  0 part /
sdb      8:16   0 931.5G  0 disk /media/peter/Timeshift
sr0     11:0    1  1024M  0 rom  
peter@petelinu-Y50-70:~$

[phd21]

Hi "Peter Linu",

Where is 'Disks Utility?

It should be in your menus, if not go into "Synaptic Package Manager (SPM)" search for "gnome-disk" and install it.

Unfortunately, your microSD card is not showing up anywhere.

Things to consider:

- check Bios for anything related to microSD and make sure it is enabled (on)

- It could be that Linux is not recognizing your laptop's microSD controller, so consider upgrading the Linux Kernel above 4.15. I am using 4.18.16 now. Always reboot afterward. To update the Linux Kernel try the Mint Update manager, or "Ukuu", or download and manually install the deb files.

Ukuu Makes it Easy to Install Mainline Linux Kernels on Ubuntu - OMG! Ubuntu!
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/02/uku ... nel-ubuntu

How to Install Linux Kernel 4.18 in Ubuntu, Linux Mint - UbuntuHandbook
http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/201 ... inux-mint/


- Try another microSD card if you have one even from a phone or camera, etc... to see if it is recognized. It could be a bad microSD card.

- I have a 32gb microSD card that shows up as 29gb, and I use a low-cost "microSD to USB adapter" from Amazon.com to access it which works great.

Amazon.com: microsd to usb adapters - always read descriptions and user comments, use USB 3.x if you have USB 3.x ports versus USB v2.x
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... sb+adapter


Note: Do not use passive USB hubs that do not have their own power supply.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Hope this helps ...

[all41]

Where is 'Disks Utility?

Dear all41 and others,
After all the to-ing and fro-ing, can I therefore assume that although this laptop has a card reader slot that it does NOT have a card reader inside?

It seems like the only plausible answer!
Peter Linu

Hi Peter,
I have seen card reader slots with bent pins--more likely to be this than no/defective card reader electronics, or as phd21 mentions it could be a bad sd card. Trying that card in another system will erase that question mark. If ok in a different system then a usb card reader may work for you.

[Peter Linu]

Hi Everyone,
I purchased an external card reader and firstly formatted it in Windows to FAT32. I tested it by copying files to and from. It all worked perfectly.
I then used the external reader hub to connect to the Mint computer. It worked flawlessly too.

Whether the laptop's SD port is broken or as I suspect, not even there, is really of no interest now that I have the external hub.

So thanks for your help.

Peter Linu

[phd21]

Hi "Peter Linu",

You are welcome from all of us that replied...

Hey, that is good that it is not the microSD card, but too bad the laptop's slot is not working. But, having the "USB?" external card reader makes it easy to connect to everything else that you have and that your friends or anyone else have.

You can try using the Linux formatting options on the SD card, so that you know that formatting in Linux works well and then try it both Linux and MS Windows computers.

[all41]

Hi Everyone,
I purchased an external card reader and firstly formatted it in Windows to FAT32. I tested it by copying files to and from. It all worked perfectly.
I then used the external reader hub to connect to the Mint computer. It worked flawlessly too.

Whether the laptop's SD port is broken or as I suspect, not even there, is really of no interest now that I have the external hub.

So thanks for your help.

Peter Linu

fwiw is you have good vision + access to magnification peep down into that sd slot to observe the pins.
That may answer the remaining question.
Good that you have it sorted now, so
Cheers