Develop Bugs

Problems Formatting SD Card/Working In Phone

I seem to be having problems formatting my Sandisk 64GB MicroSDXC (Class 10) card in FAT32 & having it work in my AT&T Galaxy S3. The card comes preformatted in exFAT, and it works in the phone just fine that way. But, I heard it's best to format it in FAT32 due to some issues I saw about some people having some of their music files not show-up (if they have a rather large music collection, which I do - 85GB's worth!) in whatever music playing program they're using, so I'm attempting to format it with FAT32 to avoid that. Now, Windows 7 (x64) does NOT allow you to format drives via FAT32 (unless you go into DOS), so I've used a couple of different programs (Fast32Format, EASEUS PartiionMaster); I got a message on my Galaxy S3 saying my SD card was damaged or missing when I used Fast32Format); a bunch of services stopped working on the phone when I formatted it using EASEUS PartionMagic, and I even tried formatting it in NTFS (which I think that Android doesn't support) & got a message my SD card was blank and Android wouldn't even mount it!
What am I doing wrong? How can I format it in FAT32 and have it work in my Galaxy S3?!! Do I even really need to use FAT32 instead of exFAT?
Thanks,
Dennis

dmw_4814 said:
I seem to be having problems formatting my Sandisk 64GB MicroSDXC (Class 10) card in FAT32 & having it work in my AT&T Galaxy S3. The card comes preformatted in exFAT, and it works in the phone just fine that way. But, I heard it's best to format it in FAT32 due to some issues I saw about some people having some of their music files not show-up (if they have a rather large music collection, which I do - 85GB's worth!) in whatever music playing program they're using, so I'm attempting to format it with FAT32 to avoid that. Now, Windows 7 (x64) does NOT allow you to format drives via FAT32 (unless you go into DOS), so I've used a couple of different programs (Fast32Format, EASEUS PartiionMaster); I got a message on my Galaxy S3 saying my SD card was damaged or missing when I used Fast32Format); a bunch of services stopped working on the phone when I formatted it using EASEUS PartionMagic, and I even tried formatting it in NTFS (which I think that Android doesn't support) & got a message my SD card was blank and Android wouldn't even mount it!
What am I doing wrong? How can I format it in FAT32 and have it work in my Galaxy S3?!! Do I even really need to use FAT32 instead of exFAT?
Thanks,
Dennis
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EaseUS worked fine for me - the one thing that screwed me up the first time is when you tell it to format it, you also have to tell it to apply it. And hopefully the "Fast32" was autocorrect - you should just be using FAT32 - and I don't think I changed the block size. HTH

alacrify said:
EaseUS worked fine for me - the one thing that screwed me up the first time is when you tell it to format it, you also have to tell it to apply it. And hopefully the "Fast32" was autocorrect - you should just be using FAT32 - and I don't think I changed the block size. HTH
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I apologize for bringing up this old-ish thread, but I always see that every time someone makes a new thread, they get bombarded with "use the search feature", so uhh, I did .
I've got a Class 10 SanDisk Ultra 64GB MicroSD XC card, that refuses to work with my Galaxy S3. I've got CM10 on it, do you think that might be the issue? If so, how do you think I can rectify it (what format would work?)
I've used EaseUS to delete the partition, and recreate using FAT32, but no dice, still getting a "damaged card" notification. I can seemingly use the card fine on my PC and my Mac, but nothing on the phone.
Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated

Vaesar said:
I apologize for bringing up this old-ish thread, but I always see that every time someone makes a new thread, they get bombarded with "use the search feature", so uhh, I did .
I've got a Class 10 SanDisk Ultra 64GB MicroSD XC card, that refuses to work with my Galaxy S3. I've got CM10 on it, do you think that might be the issue? If so, how do you think I can rectify it (what format would work?)
I've used EaseUS to delete the partition, and recreate using FAT32, but no dice, still getting a "damaged card" notification. I can seemingly use the card fine on my PC and my Mac, but nothing on the phone.
Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated
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Click to collapse
Well, this is ominous given that I ordered this micoSD and it just shipped. I read lots of reviews on Amazon and those with S3 phones seemed to have no issues using card as is, although they didn't specify precisely which version of S3 they had. The S3 natively supports 64 GB, so I would think it would work out of the box, so to speak. A number of reviewers said they used this microSD in older phones that supposedly supported only up to 32 GB. They formatted in phone, getting something like 59 GB of usable space.
I'm using stock ROM with CWM on I747.

cm10
it is an cm10 issue

mrky said:
it is an cm10 issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A more complete response...its a known issue with AOSP based JB ROM's. This is pulled from the AOKP FAQ, since it is an AOSP based ROM as well this should help you out.
Will my 64 gb sd card work? Except it works fine with a 64GB card. http://rootzwiki.com/topic/28124-doe...card-standard/ The SGSIII is the first phone to support exfatl, but the support is Kernel based, some people are having trouble with the replacement kernels and exfat support. The solution is to force it to format in FAT32. http://www.online-tech-tips.com/comp...ive-to-fat-32/ I know, because I've done it. --- Don't respond without actually doing research. I have no problem spoon feeding information, especially when the information you put out there can increase misinformation. The SGSII also supports a 64GB card as well. http://androidforums.com/samsung-gal...ing-sgsii.html naturefreak85l;
EDIT - Apparently the links are dead, but there a many methods to choose from to format and SD in FAT32.

Cyanogen ROM says damaged SD card

I just flashed cyanogen nightly.
And it says damaged SD card..... does it need to be a certain format or something?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

It can't be exFAT which is what samsung stock roms use for large sd cards. FAT32 works fine though.

You'll have to format it with the phone or another utility which can format it in FAT32 as the previous poster alluded to. There's a couple of utilities on the net for this - can't remember which one I used but I did the backup of the data and format on my windows machine and it worked well.
the exFAT is apparently proprietary or licensed by Samsung and can't be included in an open source based ROM like CM10.

ronin4740 said:
You'll have to format it with the phone or another utility which can format it in FAT32 as the previous poster alluded to. There's a couple of utilities on the net for this - can't remember which one I used but I did the backup of the data and format on my windows machine and it worked well.
the exFAT is apparently proprietary or licensed by Samsung and can't be included in an open source based ROM like CM10.
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Click to collapse
will fat32 work when you go back to a stock rom though, ive been having some similar issues...i formatted my card to exfat and realized it wasnt working on the hellfire rom... so went back to fat32, and it reads the card fine now, however im having issues transfering files frome internal memory to external, furthermore i cant put files from pc onto external, but i can put them onto internal just fine. i dont know if the card is damaged or wtf. anyway, im on the new hellfire build.

Error: Can't Mount external SD card!

I just bought a 64GB micro sdxc card..brand new....when I try to do ANYTHING in the lates 6.02.03 recovery, I get this error....Everything worked before I put this card in...Windows CAN access it with phone plugged in etc. I formatted it from exfat to fat 32 using Easeus Partition manager, flashed CWM and same error...so I flashed CWM to the latest (6.02.03) and same problem. I am running Wicked Rom, and have had no probs until the card was replaced, and so I did some Google searches that lead me down the path of formatting...which I had already done..but nothing...Can anyone throw me a bone here?...Im not sure what else it could be...One post said maybe the rom didnt support it?...but to me that doesnt mke sense..Thanks in Advance...Larry..P.S..I also formatted it with the option in settings on the phone which it worked fine etc...but same thing...maybe the CWM doesnt support it?..if so...maybe a link to an older one?...Im almost sure that I had the same version on my 32G card as well..

Dirtylarry11 said:
I just bought a 64GB micro sdxc card..brand new....when I try to do ANYTHING in the lates 6.02.03 recovery, I get this error....Everything worked before I put this card in...Windows CAN access it with phone plugged in etc. I formatted it from exfat to fat 32 using Easeus Partition manager, flashed CWM and same error...so I flashed CWM to the latest (6.02.03) and same problem. I am running Wicked Rom, and have had no probs until the card was replaced, and so I did some Google searches that lead me down the path of formatting...which I had already done..but nothing...Can anyone throw me a bone here?...Im not sure what else it could be...One post said maybe the rom didnt support it?...but to me that doesnt mke sense..Thanks in Advance...Larry..P.S..I also formatted it with the option in settings on the phone which it worked fine etc...but same thing...maybe the CWM doesnt support it?..if so...maybe a link to an older one?...Im almost sure that I had the same version on my 32G card as well..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely someone has a 64 gb card that is functioning for these purposes?

Dirtylarry11 said:
Surely someone has a 64 gb card that is functioning for these purposes?
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Click to collapse
I had similar issue before but I got it solved by formatting to FAT32 using this program: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm
The issue I had was not because the ROM didn't support it, it was the kernel that didn't support it. I don't know if you're having similar issue or not, but if you're willing to experiment, you might try that if your ROM didn't have the stock kernel in it.
Good luck

Works in other phones?
Does it work in another phone?

[Q] External SD Card Won't Mount in Custom Rom (Beanstalk)

I'm having the worst time finding a solution to this, and it's backwards from everyone else's problems that I'm finding.
For the first time, I decided to Root/Flash my phone to a custom ROM via CWM and Beanstalk. Everything went smooth. But now while in the Android OS I am completely unable to mount my 64GB External SD which was fully functional in Stock.
To clarify (and what's backwards from everyone else's problems apparently) is that in CWM I CAN see/mount the External drive and browse files on it. It's only once Android boots that the External SD fails to mount. I've Reset/Reloaded the ROM, as well as CWM, and the result is always the same. I've even tried a different version of CWM (Philz Touch: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=38298833). Works great, but the Recovery loader isn't the problem...it's always within Android itself that it vanishes.
I've also, via CWM, wiped every cache there was. The two things I have not done are formatting the Internal and External SD's.
The only solutions I have found in the forums/online are people who have reformatted their external SD's to Fat32 instead of extFAT, and I'm willing to give it a shot, but thought I'd check here first.
I scoured through all 110+ pages of the Beanstalk ROM forum (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=38298833) and no one apparently is having this problem, so I'm not about to blame the dev.
Any thoughts/help is greatly appreciated!

fat32 is the way to go; all problems solved..

wase4711 said:
fat32 is the way to go; all problems solved..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This^^^^^^^^^^......
Format the card ....to FAT32....
And wase deserves a thanks...g
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium HD app

:highfive:

Does the FAT32 let you keep files bigger than 4gb? I have a 64gb, and use most of it for HD movies for my kids. (Brave, Nemo, etc.)

nope it doesnt...but most of us just use a program that takes those files and converts them to a smaller size type...handbrake is what I use, and it takes a 8 gig mkv file and knocks it down to under a gig...much smarter idea...and, on a 5 inch screen, you cant tell any difference in quality..

fix
I could swear I saw an EXFAT fix for Beanstalk a few days ago, somewhere on here....run a search. I will check my history.

some kernels allow for exfat use, but, not all of them do, so why bother with it; just go fat 32, make those movies smaller, and this problem is no longer a problem, no matter what rom/kernel you decide to use..

wase4711 said:
some kernels allow for exfat use, but, not all of them do, so why bother with it; just go fat 32, make those movies smaller, and this problem is no longer a problem, no matter what rom/kernel you decide to use..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I'm annoyed that if have to move everything to my computer... Then back to the SD to format it. Its the only thing keeping me from dual booting.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 4

well, you should back up the contents of your sd card to your computer anyways, so this is a good time to do that..

Thanks for the feedback - greatly appreciated.
I formatted my SD card to FAT32, but did it in recovery mode on the phone, turning on "Mount USB" mode - and did it through the phone via my PC and a USB cable.
After I did this, now CWM/Touch can no longer mount the card, and Beanstalk ROM still can't see it. However, I'm getting a different message now - something about the SD card "being empty". If I try to formatted it via Beanstalk while booted into android, nothing happens.
After some reading, people have advised using an SD Reader - and formatting the SD card via the Reader connected to a PC. I don't have a reader yet (I'll grab one shortly) but thought I'd ask first - whether the SD card is formatted FAT32 while in the phone, or done via an SD Reader, does it matter? Is there a real difference in how the SD card is formatted between these two scenario's?
I saw this on Phiz Touch CWM recovery loader: "All external sdcard issues: first format in PC with primary partition, tons of people are formatting as logical and come cry". So what I'm assuming is that somehow the SD Reader via the PC creates a "Primary" partition whereas if it's formatted via the phone and a USB cable, maybe it formats it as a Logical?
Thanks again for the help - once I get this all sorted out I'll be sure to post back with my solution for anyone else struggling.

format it in your computer for fat 32, then throw it in the phone.
when you bought it, it should have had a larger sd "holder" that you can use to format it on your computer, assuming you have one, or a sd card reader is built into your computer.
Sometimes I have had issues formatting my cards in my phone; I have used my camera, and my computer successfully, but the phone formatting can be iffy, so do it on a pc, and you wont have any issues. Format it as fat32, and use the default allocation size, if that comes up in the formatting dialog on your pc

You're the man - I feel like I at least owe you a coke for your timely responses.
Oddly enough, I think I cleaned house a while back and chucked every single adapter card I had - trust me...I just went through every box/bin/desk I owned trying to find one. So yeah, learned myself a lesson right there.
I do have a camera - maybe I'll give that a shot in the meantime and see if that does any better.

I wanted to post a follow-up with my status.
I grabbed a USB card reader (the kind you can put Micro SD's or standard SD's into, then plug them into the PC like a USB stick), used one of the recommended FAT32 formatting programs, and viola! Everything is fixed and the SD is working as designed.
Big thanks to wase4711 for the insight and help! I'm totally excited about trying other ROM's, now that I have that issue ironed out.
Kudos!

glad to see it worked for u..

[Q] 64Gb memory cards

So after research before I post I found out thet the 64 cards use exfat and android does not support that, rather it supports fat32, after trying different software I cannot get it to work in my phone (sgs 4) running wicked rom. I have tried to format it several times and it will work in my camera just not phone so the card is fine. Is there a easy way and hopefully free way to get a 64gb card to work in our phone, as this would be a one time use. So any help is welcome, fyi I tried ease use partition master free, and also what came with win8 but windows pushes ntfs or exfat, no option to run fat32, one more thing there is no issues losing files the card is blank.
Thanks Rob

Try fat32 format: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4

robandcathy said:
So after research before I post I found out thet the 64 cards use exfat and android does not support that, rather it supports fat32, after trying different software I cannot get it to work in my phone (sgs 4) running wicked rom. I have tried to format it several times and it will work in my camera just not phone so the card is fine. Is there a easy way and hopefully free way to get a 64gb card to work in our phone, as this would be a one time use. So any help is welcome, fyi I tried ease use partition master free, and also what came with win8 but windows pushes ntfs or exfat, no option to run fat32, one more thing there is no issues losing files the card is blank.
Thanks Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of the box the S4 support exFat.
I have a 64GB card exFAT format running in Infamous S4 ROM but with Infamous kernel. You'll need to find a T-mobile base kernel for your ROM. If you want to format to FAT32 there's a lot of free program to do it.

Thanks for the help. One other question, I remember with my s2 and even s3 (at first) kernals were separate from roms now it seems you cant find a stand alone kernals. I just looked at forum and everything is rom/kernel combo, so I guess it would be hard to run infamous kernel with a wicked rom. Both are great but I just have a liking to the wicked (rom) at the moment. Kernal is to far back end for me to know the difference from one to another. Although I I had infamous a while back, before sd card.

1) Install a Linux distribution to your computer.
2) Run Gparted.
3) Format SD card to Fat32.

robandcathy said:
Thanks for the help. One other question, I remember with my s2 and even s3 (at first) kernals were separate from roms now it seems you cant find a stand alone kernals. I just looked at forum and everything is rom/kernel combo, so I guess it would be hard to run infamous kernel with a wicked rom. Both are great but I just have a liking to the wicked (rom) at the moment. Kernal is to far back end for me to know the difference from one to another. Although I I had infamous a while back, before sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kernels are in the Original Development section along with a few other AOSP ROMs.

crawler9 said:
Try fat32 format: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4
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Click to collapse
+1 on this. I don't know why everyone seems to think formatting in FAT32 is bad. We all ran FAT32 on our 64GB hard drives back in the day. Even if you have a ROM/Kernel that will read exFat, FAT32 is a better choice for compatibility with recoveries and with other devices.