


Using Mac Command Line to Format SD Cards Right in the middle of these is the “Erase” option.Ĭlick on “Erase.” Once you do, a popup screen will appear. (Here it says 64.18 GB, which is correct.)Īt the top of the screen you’ll find a set of buttons.

The storage capacity on the right hand of the screen is accurate.The words “Secure Digital” are under the name.You can make sure you’re clicking on the SD card by checking to see that: If your SD card is brand new, it’ll probably say “UNTITLED” or “NO NAME.” It’s doubly important to make sure you select the correct drive at this stafe, as you don’t want to accidentally format (and erase!!) anything else. Your Mac’s internal drive will be listed under “Fusion Drive”) as well as an external section with any USB or other connected drives. Once you’re in Disk Utility, you’ll see all your connected drives in the left sidebar. An SD Card will have the words “Secure Digital” under its name. Make sure to choose your SD card, not another drive. Here’s our ultimate guide to formatting memory cards. (EXFAT for SD cards over 64GB MS-DOS FAT if it’s 32GB or smaller.) Choose the appropriate file system format.Navigate to the top menu bar and click Erase.Alternatively, you can find it in the Utilities folder inside the Mac Applications folder. Navigate to the Disk Utility app via Spotlight (by typing “Disk Utility” into the search box).Insert your SD card into your Mac using its SD card slot or an SD card reader.Here’s the quick way to format an SD or MicroSD card on a Mac: Make sure to copy and save any important data before formatting. Note: Formatting your SD card will erase everything that’s on it. In this article, I’ll first offer the quickest way to format an SD card on your Mac, then take you through it step by step.įrom there we’ll take a look at some free software you can use and how to use the Command Line in Terminal. If your device doesn’t have a format option, however, using your Mac is the next thing. If you know what device you’ll be using the SD card, it’s best to format it with that device. It’s also useful when you want to gift someone one of your old SD cards, but want to make sure it’s been wiped of all your old files. Regular (re)formatting keeps your SD card operating at its best and helps to keep the files from becoming corrupt. That’s why it’s important to make sure your memory cards are formatted correctly and ready to go! We all know what’s like to have taken off for a shoot and found that we either forgot our SD card or it’s not working properly. SD cards are something most of us can’t do without in today’s photography world.
