How to Reformat an SD Card on a Mac
A Secure Digital (SD) card provides solid state memory storage just like that of an external hard drive, minus any moving parts. An SD card that has been formatted for use on a digital camera will not work as efficiently on a Mac. You can reformat the SD card into a Mac-compatible format using an included formatting program that comes with the OS X operating system. The procedure is straightforward and will not take more than a couple of minutes.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Insert the SD card into the slot on the SD memory card reader. Plug the SD memory card reader's USB cable into a USB port on the Mac.
-
2
Double-click on the "Applications" folder to open its window. Scroll down to the "Utilities" folder, double-click on the "Utilities" folder to open its window. Scroll down to the "Disk Utility" program. Double-click on the Disk Utility program to launch it.
-
-
3
Wait for the icon of the SD card to appear in the left column of the Disk Utility program's main screen. Click once on the icon of the SD card.
-
4
Select the "Erase" tab at the top of the Disk Utility program's main screen. Select "Mac OS Extended" from the "Format" drop-down menu in the middle of the screen. Name the SD card (optional) in the "Name" column that is above "Format."
-
5
Click the "Erase" button at the lower right corner of the window. Click the "Erase" button on the pop-up confirmation window.
-
6
Wait as a progress bar appears at the bottom of the Disk Utility program's main screen and fills in from left to right.
-
7
Click the "Eject" button at the top of the Disk Utility program's main screen to eject the SD card. Quit the Disk Utility program.
-
8
Remove the SD card from the slot on the SD memory card reader. Remove the SD memory card reader's USB cable out of the Mac's USB port.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Reformatting a memory card will erase all of the card's data.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit SD Card Toolbox image by Ron-Heidelberg from Fotolia.com
