To manually format an SD card from Linux based or Raspian operating system in Raspberry Pi, you will need to boot your Raspberry Pi from a separate SD card. When the process completes successfully, you can use the SD card on your Raspberry Pi.
#HOW TO FORMAT SD CARD FAT32 INSTALL#
You can also download Raspberry Pi Imager from the official website’s installation files, move them to the SD card, and install them.Ģ: Once installed, run the Raspberry Pi Image application. You can install Raspberry Pi Imager from the terminal using the following command. You can use the Raspberry PI Imager to format the SD card by following these steps. Using Raspberry Pi Imager to format the SD card Errors do happen, and you should have the means to recover lost files.Always back up your files in a separate drive, a disk, computer, or cloud.Ensure you have a reliable power source before you begin the process.A slight mistake might lead to formatting the wrong disk and data loss. Exercise patient and care: You should follow the instructions carefully.A card with 32 Gb or higher is ideal for constant users of the Raspberry Pi.īefore you format your SD card, here are some tips and guidelines to follow to prevent data loss and ensure the process is a success. Therefore, if you have an SD card with a capacity higher than 32Gb, you will have to format it to FAT32 before using it on your Raspberry Pi.ĭepending on your storage size needs, you might find the 8Gb SD card installed in the Raspberry Pi insufficient. The Raspberry Pi’s bootloader is designed to read data from FAT16 and FAT32 cards. SDXC cards can hold data ranging from 64Gb to 1Tb and recently up to 2Tb. The other format is exFAT and is found in SD Extended Capacity (SDXC) cards. The FAT32 format is found in SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards and has capacities ranging from 4Gb to 32Gb. FAT16 SD cards have capacities ranging from 128Mb to 2Gb. The three major formats of SD cards currently available are FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT.