Complete Step Guide to Format your SD Card for Better Performance

SD card are widely used on almost every device these days, that are used for different purposes and the level of capacity vary from one memory card to the other.

Initially, there is no reason for you formatting your SD Card, as they are functioning very well. As a matter of fact, as long you keep using it, one day it will be affected by virus.

Memory card affected by virus is not a crime and is common these days, there are different malware that affect SD card either online or off line.

There is a huge difference between erasing a memory card and formatting it, that most people don’t understand. It is a good rule to format your memory cards at least twice a year depending on how often they are used.

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Before you can use a SD card, though, it must be formatted to work with the systems you want. While most cards come pre-formatted, formatting your card before using it can give you a small performance increase, and is a quick way to clean out old, unused cards.

How To Format Your SD Card / Memory Card

When you are constantly using the card, you are going to gradually wear down its performance. Erasing all the photos does not help.

You need to format the SD card occasionally to start over with a fresh slate. It takes a little longer than erasing, but it is a great maintenance habit to get into. It is also very easy. Here are two different ways to do format memory card.

Method 1:  Using the window format tool

The first of the method we will discuss here to format SD card is using the window tool, this is present on every computer system. Here you don’t need to download any software before you will accomplish your mission.

Back up anything you want to save

Formatting your memory card will erase all of the data on it. Make sure that any pictures or other files that are currently stored on the card have been properly backed up to another location if you wish to save them. This is optional.

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Insert the card into a card reader

Sd card

Many laptops have card readers built-in, while most desktops do not. You can purchase USB card readers that simply need to be plugged into an available USB port.

Make sure that you are inserting the card into the right slot, as most SD card readers have different slots for the various types of memory cards.

Open up your devices

Open your device by Press ⊞ Win+E to open Windows Explorer. By default, it should take you to My Computer (Windows XP) Computer (Windows Vista & 7) This PC (Windows 8), which displays all of the connected drives.

If you don’t see this screen, use the navigation frame on the left or the address bar at the top of the window to reach it.SD Card

That is click on start ====> my computer to access your device. The Windows formatting tool is available on all versions of Windows.

Right-click on your SD card

You should see your memory card listed with the rest of your attached drives. When a memory card is inserted, it acts like any other removable storage device such as a USB drive or portable hard drive.SD Card

Make sure you are right-clicking on the correct card, or you may format the wrong drive and lose all the data right here.

Select “Format”

This will open the “Format Removable Disk” window. Here you can choose your formatting options before you start the format process.

Quick format – Check this box to speed up the formatting process. Almost all users will be able to choose this option without consequences.

File system – This is the structure of the memory card’s file system. If you are using a 32GB card or smaller, you can use the FAT32 file system to ensure that it works on both Windows and Mac.

If the card is 64GB or larger, you will need to format it as exFAT. Windows Vista and XP do not natively support exFAT, but it will work if your system is up to date.

Start the format to format memory card

Click the Start button to begin the formatting. Depending on the size of the card, the formatting process may take several moments.

Once it is complete, your card is ready to be used to store and transfer files.

Method 2: using your camera

Back up anything you want to save

Formatting your SD card will erase all of the data on it. Make sure that any pictures or other files that are currently stored on the card have been properly backed up to another location if you wish to save them.


Insert the card into your camera

If you use your memory card on your digital camera, it is advisable that you format it in the camera itself instead of using your computer.

This ensures that you get the most storage possible out of the card, as different cameras use slightly different formatting methods.

Your camera’s documentation will have the exact steps you need to take to format your card, but these steps will generally work with most cameras.

You should format the card in the camera even if the card came pre-formatted.

Formatting your SD card

You can format your memory cards with your camera. It is a personal preference. Every camera’s operation is different, but they all follow the same general structure.

Put the card in the camera, turn it on and switch it into playback mode. Open the menu and navigate to the option that allows you to format the card.

When you buy a new memory card, you should always format it in your camera before using it. This way, the cards system will be in sync with the camera, giving it a little boost in the efficiency department.

You should also do this when using a card that was working in another camera too.

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