[Q] Mac Formatting of SD Card Renders the Card Unavailable - Droid Incredible Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I apologize if this has been covered but I tried a couple of searches of the forums and google and didn't get a definitive answer.
I was researching rooting, updating the ratio and installing froyo on my Incredible and started to gather up the files and test my setup. I ran into a problem before anything really got off the ground. In order to complete the above process correctly the SD card should be formatted in FAT32 so I hooked my incredible up to my mac and formated using disk utility. Once I format the sd card with my mac the incredible lists the sd card as unavailable under >settings>sd card and storage. I have also tried the newfs_msdos utility from the terminal and again no luck. I am hoping that someone with a deeper understanding can point me in a direction other than find a pc.
Thanks
KCRoach

kcroach said:
I apologize if this has been covered but I tried a couple of searches of the forums and google and didn't get a definitive answer.
I was researching rooting, updating the ratio and installing froyo on my Incredible and started to gather up the files and test my setup. I ran into a problem before anything really got off the ground. In order to complete the above process correctly the SD card should be formatted in FAT32 so I hooked my incredible up to my mac and formated using disk utility. Once I format the sd card with my mac the incredible lists the sd card as unavailable under >settings>sd card and storage. I have also tried the newfs_msdos utility from the terminal and again no luck. I am hoping that someone with a deeper understanding can point me in a direction other than find a pc.
Thanks
KCRoach
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you selected format did you choose FAT32? MAC use a Unix (journal file System) format by default.
It is much better to power down the phone pull the SDCard and place it in the the computer for formatting, the Incredible has 2 memory locations 1 8GB internal (non-removable) and the SDCard that you an remove, when you connect to a MAC both memory locations will be displayed.
You very lucky you did not format the the internal location.
Hope this helps

Try formatting it via the phone. Settings - phone storage - format SD card. You can do that in every Rom but cyanogen.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

couple weeks ago i played around with disk utility on my mac too and my card stopped being recognized, it finally took me turning the phone off, popping the card out, and pushing it back in and it came right up. might give it a try.

Ruben1123 said:
Try formatting it via the phone. Settings - phone storage - format SD card. You can do that in every Rom but cyanogen.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. This. I have a mac and I formatted my sdcard using disk utility to FAT32 and I have had no problems, but just format from the phone.

Are getting a 200mb partition and that's it or is it completely unrecognizable. Formatting it through the phone is the only way I've found to get rid of to clear that partition.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

oldman_58 said:
When you selected format did you choose FAT32? MAC use a Unix (journal file System) format by default.
It is much better to power down the phone pull the SDCard and place it in the the computer for formatting, the Incredible has 2 memory locations 1 8GB internal (non-removable) and the SDCard that you an remove, when you connect to a MAC both memory locations will be displayed.
You very lucky you did not format the the internal location.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I formated to the "MS-DOS" option using both utilities. The disk utility defaults to FAT32 and the other utility was specified as FAT32. The result is that after formatting the disk utility says that the device format is mac OS extended (journaled) and the volume is MS-Dos FAT32. I have tried both utilities while the sd card in the phone and the phone is connected and while the sd card is directly in a reader. I believe that while the sd card was in the reader, I may not have gotten the mac os extended formatting in the device but it still wasn't recognized by the phone.
I have formatted the card several times with the phone, to make it readable again after formatting with my mac. Unfortunately, I still have the stock 2.1 that the phone was shipped with and that formats the sd card to FAT16 not FAT32. I assume that if I buy are larger sd card the phone may bump it up to FAT32 but am just puzzled by the inability of phone to read the mac formatting of FAT32.
I have also tried turning the phone off and on after reinserting the sd card.
So, I guess, is there a way to force the phone to format into FAT32 rather than FAT16 from the settings.
Thanks
KCRoach

Download a utility called hirens boot cd. Burn the image and boot from it on a cd rom.this should give you a windows xp environment to properly format with among many other useful tools. I'm sure there is an easier way but I'm not that familiar with mac.
Hope this helps
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Related

[Q] Formating SD card to start fresh

Ive tried to search the forums but cant seem to find the answer.
I wonder if I can safe format my sd card without ruining my DHD
I wonder what happens when SD card is upgraded to a higher capacity one. Is there a way to migrate existing data? Not sure what filesystem it uses either...
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
you can do this on your DHD, go to setting, SD & phone storage, unmount SD card and then you have option to format sdcard. this will fully wipe sdcard and format to fat32 filesystem.
you can format from pc as well, just unmount sdcard, right click on sdcard from pc ,an this you the format option, again format to fat32. only thing is on windows if you have a sd-ext partiton (ext3 or ext4) on sdcard,windows does not see it and won't format this partiton
and the no problem with saving your files on to pc,then formatting and putting those files back on again.
That sounds great. Data migration via PC should be easy. Here I was suspecting they'd somehow lock the content on the SD card.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Nah, they could not risk the case that if one's SD breaks, it would break the whole device

[Q] need help restoring partition

hi,
i might have screwed up idk.
i have a rooted htc desire uscc. CDMA.
i attempted to install latest nightly build of cm_vision_full-23.zip. installation aborted. i attempted wiping, and it still said installation aborted. i attempted a sd card partition of 1024mb and swap size of 128mb. now i cant see any of my restore points. i have a 8gb card now it only reads 6.32gb. is there a hidden partition now? how do i read it? can i get to the restore files and restore (i did do a backup before doing anything, but i dont see those files now, they would be on the "missing" partition i think)
how do i get there? or am i just screwed? how do i get my full 8gb space back?
clockworkmod installed.
Partitioning will format the sd so all your files are probably gone. Also the reason you see only 6.XGb of space is because you have two other partitions using that space. In Windows you can't see the ext partition (i believe) but in linux you will see the card is still 8Gb. Depending on how important your data is you can try to recover it or just boot in to recovery, mount the sd and copy a rom to it.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
ok. i can live with losing some of the data on the phone that i had on there. i need to restore it back to 8gb and just do a factory reset. what are the steps in doing that? do i just format the card in linux or something? i would like to remove the partition i created, and get it back to 8gb one partition.
Isn't all your data on the sd card gone as well?
If yes and you still don't really mind best thing is to find a card reader and connect it to a Linux machine (can be live cd or vm), then use whatever disk manage program is available and format the hole card as fat(32).
You might be also able to do this from the memory settings if your phone will boot, but i'm not sure if that only formats the fat partition or the hole card.
yeah its probably gone. im just curious what software would i be using to try and recover the data? if thats possible id like to give that a shot. if not, its not a big deal. i attempted to use "get data back for fat 32" but it doesn't see the other partition.
hm i have the phone connected to vm linux and its showing the mass storage as 6.8gb. i dont see any options to format it or change it to 8gb. what am i missing?
You need to run (or install) GParted
installed and ran gpart. i still only see 6.34gb as a single contiguous partition. theres nothing else i can change, or allocate. its as if i shrunk 8gb sd card to 6.34gb. whered the missing space go? gpart says 6.34gb is unallocated. it doesnt see any more space. all options are greyed out. cant resize, move, unmount, etc.
update: i went to a local target and bought a 8gb sd card with a generic usb card reader. i put the new card in my phone and formatted it via OS. it shows 7.60gb aval space. and 128mb internal space. when i put the old card into the reader i was then able to see all the partitions via windows 7. so, fwiw, you have to use a card reader to see the partitions on a sd card in windows 7.

Help, my 16gb card shows as 1gb after a crash in a middle of partitioning with gpart

Hello,
My rom(iNsertCoin) has crashed today for an unknown reason, and entered nonstop bootloops.
I have tried to reflash the iNsertcoin zip but it didnt work for some reason, also it told me it cant mount the sd-ext (I am using ra-desire 2.0.0).
I have turned the phone off, and when I returned home I put my A-Data 16gb Class 10 Microsd (which was bought from newegg, so it cant be fake) in my card reader, and I started to partition the card like this: 1gb ext4, 300mb ext4, 100mb linux-swap, rest to fat32.
all of a sudden the program just crashed and from that point it tells me the card has 1gb unallocated space, in windows 7 it keeps asking me to format the card but it never succeeds, and it says the card uses raw file system.
I have tried chkdsk, and it told me its not available for raw filesystems.
I have also tried a number of programs, the HP partition tool, SDFormatter, nothing really helped.
Also, I tried using diskpart -> clean all command on the card but it keeps giving me weird error messages but usually it tells me its not ready, and it looks like the card is not responsive, although the pc recongized it.
I have tried doing this from a number of computers, another W7 computer and a XP computer. nothing worked.
I cant allocate space in gparted, and it tells me to create a partition table, and when I try that, the program just hangs.
Oh yeah, and I tried to put the microsd card into an adapter and put it in my dad's dslr and tried to format it, but there was an error.
Have I killed my microsd card? :/
hfg666 said:
Hello,
My rom(iNsertCoin) has crashed today for an unknown reason, and entered nonstop bootloops.
I have tried to reflash the iNsertcoin zip but it didnt work for some reason, also it told me it cant mount the sd-ext (I am using ra-desire 2.0.0).
I have turned the phone off, and when I returned home I put my A-Data 16gb Class 10 Microsd (which was bought from newegg, so it cant be fake) in my card reader, and I started to partition the card like this: 1gb ext4, 300mb ext4, 100mb linux-swap, rest to fat32.
all of a sudden the program just crashed and from that point it tells me the card has 1gb unallocated space, in windows 7 it keeps asking me to format the card but it never succeeds, and it says the card uses raw file system.
I have tried chkdsk, and it told me its not available for raw filesystems.
I have also tried a number of programs, the HP partition tool, SDFormatter, nothing really helped.
Also, I tried using diskpart -> clean all command on the card but it keeps giving me weird error messages but usually it tells me its not ready, and it looks like the card is not responsive, although the pc recongized it.
I have tried doing this from a number of computers, another W7 computer and a XP computer. nothing worked.
I cant allocate space in gparted, and it tells me to create a partition table, and when I try that, the program just hangs.
Oh yeah, and I tried to put the microsd card into an adapter and put it in my dad's dslr and tried to format it, but there was an error.
Have I killed my microsd card? :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try using androids built in sd card format tool. settigns, sd card storage, unmount sd card, then format. try flashing clockworkmod recovery and using there builtin format ooptions,, if still no go, u mayb have friemd your sd card. by the way, u sjould always use your fat32 as your 1st rive and never 2nd or 3rd. im quite sure u makes your pc read the drives in the order u created them.
LINKSLOVESANDROID said:
try using androids built in sd card format tool. settigns, sd card storage, unmount sd card, then format. try flashing clockworkmod recovery and using there builtin format ooptions,, if still no go, u mayb have friemd your sd card. by the way, u sjould always use your fat32 as your 1st rive and never 2nd or 3rd. im quite sure u makes your pc read the drives in the order u created them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I have already tried to format it from the phone, and then recovery. didnt work.
and i made my fat32 as my first drive i just listed it last..
well I have sent it to A-Data today, in taiwan, and I'm hoping I will get a replacement card soon.

Closed.

I figured out the problem.
ogfrier said:
i just recently used mini tool partition wizard to wipe all the partitions off my SD card and now that i did that my sd card isnt recognized on my computer. it shows up on partition wizard and ive tried about everything i can think of but it wont show up. and i even switched SD cards and it still wont, and ive tried different usb ports and different usb cords. so im not sure if i did something wrong in partition wizard or what, all i did was wipe partitions and delete partitions on my sd card. it mounts on my phone and it says "blank SD card" and when i click the notification it pops up and says format SD card and i go ahead and format it. im getting pretty irritated to be honest and i feel like ive went through every option i can think of ive restarted the laptop ive rebooted my phone i even flashed a old backup of my old SD card ive factory reset and all so im completely lost, so if anyone can offer any advice its greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are u saying u changed the sd card on ur phone and the new one didn't show up either when u enabled mass storage..??
did u try using a card reader..??
are you used card reader for partitoning?
Put the card in a card reader.
Then open minitool.
Right click on the top slab where your memory card is shown and select delete partition.
Apply.
Now you will have unallocated space.
Create new partition, fat32 and primary.
Apply. I guess that would solve it.
Well I figured it out. I had to go to disk manager on my laptop and change the removable disk name and the file it shows up under. Thank you guys though, and no I wasn't using a card reader. I was just trying to wipe my partitions then create a bigger one so I can have more internal storage if that makes sense.
Sent from my Marvelc using Tapatalk

CWM + My EXT SD CARD = No Fun

Well I have a new version of CWM Mod, and apparently when you format the sd-card, it no longer formats the inner sd card but your external sd card. I was really pissed as I lost all my data I had saved, but it also managed to screw up my sd card. Neither of my computers recognize my SD Card and I have no idea how I can go about restoring it. My phone can detect the sd card but it will say its corrupt randomly. So I'm guessing CWM formatted the card in a really screwed up way. Any suggestions brahs?
I'll even try to mount the sd card on CWM but it wont be able to mount it. It's a shame to waste a 32 gig sd card like this
Have you tried to format through the phone storage? Menu/settings/storage/format
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
mrbmg said:
Have you tried to format through the phone storage? Menu/settings/storage/format
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only gives me the option to mount or unmount the SD card
How old is the SD card? This phone is know for eating up the 32 GB cards. I had one for less than 3 weeks and it did the same. I use trwp but there is a thread about cards and our misfortunes with the 32 GB.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Make sure you card is not in exfat. CWM will not read cards in exfat, I had the same problem. If it is you are going to need to format it to fat 32. Most 32gigs sd cards and higher come in exfat now. You are most likey going to have to do it on the computer also it cant be done from CWM.
Mateoftw said:
Well I have a new version of CWM Mod, and apparently when you format the sd-card, it no longer formats the inner sd card but your external sd card. I was really pissed as I lost all my data I had saved, but it also managed to screw up my sd card. Neither of my computers recognize my SD Card and I have no idea how I can go about restoring it. My phone can detect the sd card but it will say its corrupt randomly. So I'm guessing CWM formatted the card in a really screwed up way. Any suggestions brahs?
I'll even try to mount the sd card on CWM but it wont be able to mount it. It's a shame to waste a 32 gig sd card like this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aoe316 said:
Make sure you card is not in exfat. CWM will not read cards in exfat, I had the same problem. If it is you are going to need to format it to fat 32. Most 32gigs sd cards and higher come in exfat now. You are most likey going to have to do it on the computer also it cant be done from CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but my computer won't even detect the SD Card. It was fine and dandy up until yesterday when I hit format on CWM on the SD Card thinking I was formatting the internal storage (since it's labelled /sdcard) but it formatted the actual SD. Windows won't detect my Micro SD and neither will my Mac. However if I put the SD card into my phone and connect via USB, it shows up.
Mateoftw said:
Yes but my computer won't even detect the SD Card. It was fine and dandy up until yesterday when I hit format on CWM on the SD Card thinking I was formatting the internal storage (since it's labelled /sdcard) but it formatted the actual SD. Windows won't detect my Micro SD and neither will my Mac. However if I put the SD card into my phone and connect via USB, it shows up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You pressed format /sdcard, and it formatted your extsd? That's a pretty serious bug, so thanks for the heads up. What version of CWM are you running?
Op. I did the same thing a long time ago. I have gotten into the habbit of removing the sd card when I am formatting with a custom recovery. I also back up the sd to my pc and reformat the sd when changing roms. A bit off topic but I also wipe system before flashing a new rom. So far I have avoided many of the issues mentioned day after day. Maybe I am lucky but my wierd habits have been successful so far.
jcbofkc said:
Op. I did the same thing a long time ago. I have gotten into the habbit of removing the sd card when I am formatting with a custom recovery. I also back up the sd to my pc and reformat the sd when changing roms. A bit off topic but I also wipe system before flashing a new rom. So far I have avoided many of the issues mentioned day after day. Maybe I am lucky but my wierd habits have been successful so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you manage to fix the problem though? Not to be rude but I'm looking for solutions towards this specific situation, not advice on what to do next time :crying: :crying: :crying: :crying:
Aerowinder said:
You pressed format /sdcard, and it formatted your extsd? That's a pretty serious bug, so thanks for the heads up. What version of CWM are you running?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5.8 something. It's weird because it allows for both internal and external SD use. When you backup the first open is to save to external then its internal. First version of CWM i've ever used with such an option.
For anyone wondering about a solution, I used an android 2.3 device which actually has a format option for the SD card and now my computers recognize it again. Life is good
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

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