Mac Applications for SD Card Formatting:
The formatting SD card on Mac is easy. All thanks to the in-built Disk Utility application. It leads to the deletion of all the saved content on the SD card, including the protected files, and more. Once Mac completes the formatting, new directories, and file systems are created and the performance of SD cards like its functioning and speed also improves with it.
How to Format SD Card on Mac
Various reasons are there for which a user wants to format an SD card on Mac:
- For quickly removing all information
- To reuse the SD card
- Permanently deleting data before selling or disposing of it
- Format it to a new file system
- For solving errors, crashes, virus issues, or other troublesome issues
After formatting, none of the files are left on the SD card. So it is recommended to take back up before initiating the formatting of the SD card. This helps in restoring essential files to the SD card.
Part 2- How to Format SD Card on Mac Safely
Some of the Mac systems have an in-built SD card slot; here you can directly insert the SD card to access it from Mac. If the SD card slot is missing in your Mac, then you can also use a USB card reader. For micro SD cards use an SD adapter cartridge to put the card into the slot of Mac. Once you are ready with your SD card for formatting, follow these easy steps to format and make it reusable.
- Step 1- Connect SD card with Mac
Insert the card into the SD card slot or connect it with a USB card reader.
- Step 2- Open Disk Utility
Disk utility is in-built in Mac. Use the spotlight or follow the following path to reach “Disk Utility” Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
- Step 3- Locate SD Card
Find your SD card from the left sidebar of Disk Utility. It shows the Mac’s internal as well as external drives. You can see your SD card in the external section. If your card is never formatted before it shows up as “Untitled” or “No Name.”
While selecting the SD card, double-check that you are choosing the right driver from the list. Click on it to view the storage space and ensure that your inserted SD card’s SD matches the one that is showing up. If you see some mismatch then probably you have selected the wrong drive. Carefully make the selection again in this case.
- Step 4- Click on Erase Tab
Select the “Erase” label located at the top in the menu bar of Disk Utility. When you click on it a pop-up will appear to warn you that you are going to delete all the files saved on your card.
- Step 5- Write SD Card Name
Name the SD card as shown in the image below and select the format of the file system. The ExFat format is generally compatible with SD cards.
It’s not mandatory to name the SD card here; you can leave it as “No Name” or “Untitled.” Naming it will only act as a convenience to you at a later stage when you view it in “Finder” or while importing things.
The file system here is dependent on the size of the card. Like if its storage capacity is 64GB or more than that, select ExFat and if it’s 32 GB or lesser then select FAT32.
- Step 6- Click Erase
After naming and selecting the format of the SD card, click on the button displaying “Erase.”
- Step 7: Click Done When “Erase” Completes
When the formatting completes a message saying the process is complete, displayed on the screen.
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Once the format completes, the SD card is visible in the Disk Utility drive list and also in the Finder menu. Eject the SD card and use it in your device.