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Warning: Before proceeding, make a backup of any data you may want to keep.
Note: You may use other tools to accomplish the same tasks. I mention gparted
because it is reliable and easy to use.
Background: Phones and other devices usually use msdos
partition tables (not gpt
) with FAT32 or exFAT partitions. The issue is not necessarily how the partition is formatted, but how the drive is initialized.
Wipe the partition table with dd
:
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdx bs=1M count=1
Change /dev/sdx
as appropriate to refer to your card. I intentionally do not put /dev/sdb
in the command to avoid unintentionally damaging drives by copying and pasting.
Run gparted
. A message should pop up that says the drive needs to be initialized
(ie, the partition table need to be created). Pick the option that says msdos
.
Format the card to FAT32
using gparted
(right click and look for appropriate options). If it does not work, try formatting as exFAT
.
Run sync
and remove the card.
Note: Running sync
is unnecessary, but I like to run it in situations like this, just in case.
Check to see if the card now works with your phone. Then check if it works with other devices as intended.
If the card does not work, you may try formatting with exFAT
(step 3). No need to repeat wiping and initialization if the partition table or disk label type is msdos
or similar, not gpt
.
$ gnome-disks &
from the terminal (bash) ordisks
from the dash (Win+a, type 'disks' and click on it). Click on your SD-card and report back (change your post) what it tells about the card.