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Help Re-Format SD Card

C

cmus

Newbie
Nokia 4.2 running Android 11

I fitted an sd card and (by accident) formatted it as internal drive. I have not added any apps or photos since I did it, all I have done is downloaded a Google offline map.

How do I change the format of the sd card so that it can be used for portable storage (external) which I can then use to add files via a pc?

Is anything lost or broken by doing a simple re-format?
 
you will loose some data, but you just need to go back into your phone and re-format the card. settings>storage>format sd card or something to that effect as i do not have your phone.
 
When I come to format the SD it says set up and gives two options -

1. Use for extra storage
2. Use for portable storage

Is it possible to have both?
I want to save photos, maps etc on th sd card but then also add music files via a usb cable connected to laptop.
 
You can only do what you want when the card is formatted as removable. And no, you can't have both.
 
It is formatted as portable (removable) but I still can't do what I want - both store photos etc and add for example music files from my pc. So can you suggest how I can do the latter?
 
If you use a USB cable between the phone and PC (with the phone unlocked) you should see the storage showing up as one large folder (as the phone now sees the card and internal storage as one thing). You might need to settings --> Connected devices --> USB and tap on File Transfer. That's it in Vanilla Android, your menus may be different.
 
cmus said:
It is formatted as portable (removable) but I still can't do what I want - both store photos etc and add for example music files from my pc. So can you suggest how I can do the latter?
Click to expand...
You can move stuff from phone to card using a file browser.

For photos taken with the phone the question is whether the camera app has a setting that allows you to choose where photos are stored? My last 3 phones haven't had SD cards, so I've no insight into how common such a setting is these days. Of course you can still move photos to the card after you have taken them, any decent Gallery app will still find them.

For maps it will depend on what map app you use. For example, OSMAND allows you to choose where offline maps are stored, whereas if Google Maps has such a setting it's well hidden (but may be different on a phone with a microSD card?). And I think that's the general rule: what data of that sort you can store on the card will depend on the app and whether the developer has chosen to give you the choice.

The real point of formatting as internal is to allow you to store apps and their internal data on the card. That requires formatting the card the same way as the internal storage is formatted (there are access control features that the elderly and basic fat32 doesn't support) and encrypting the card (same as the internal storage is encrypted), and that's what stops another device from reading the card. I can't see any reason in principle you wouldn't be able to copy stuff to an internal-formatted card from a PC via USB (because you can copy stuff to the actual internal storage that way), but as I've never formatted a card that way I've not encountered any of the quirks of that system myself.

Whatever you do, one golden rule: anything important you put on the card should be backed-up somewhere other than the phone. This is true for stuff on the phone too (if the phone is lost/stolen/broken beyond use those important photos are gone unless you have a backup), but even more so with microSD cards because they are less reliable than the phone storage. Of course if the card is formatted as portable it's possible to use file recovery software, but some card faults will defeat that (I have had that experience). So never trust either the card or the phone with the only copy of something that's important to you, but especially don't trust a microSD card.
 
Easy way to backup photos id to use Google Photos. You can chose to back up on WiFi only or use mobile data.
 
Davdi said:
If you use a USB cable between the phone and PC (with the phone unlocked) you should see the storage showing up as one large folder (as the phone now sees the card and internal storage as one thing). You might need to settings --> Connected devices --> USB and tap on File Transfer. That's it in Vanilla Android, your menus may be different.
Click to expand...
That works, thanks it's Android terminology which is confusing. The Nokia is stock, unadulterated Android.
 
Hadron said:
You can move stuff from phone to card using a file browser.

For photos taken with the phone the question is whether the camera app has a setting that allows you to choose where photos are stored? My last 3 phones haven't had SD cards, so I've no insight into how common such a setting is these days. Of course you can still move photos to the card after you have taken them, any decent Gallery app will still find them.

For maps it will depend on what map app you use. For example, OSMAND allows you to choose where offline maps are stored, whereas if Google Maps has such a setting it's well hidden (but may be different on a phone with a microSD card?). And I think that's the general rule: what data of that sort you can store on the card will depend on the app and whether the developer has chosen to give you the choice.

The real point of formatting as internal is to allow you to store apps and their internal data on the card. That requires formatting the card the same way as the internal storage is formatted (there are access control features that the elderly and basic fat32 doesn't support) and encrypting the card (same as the internal storage is encrypted), and that's what stops another device from reading the card. I can't see any reason in principle you wouldn't be able to copy stuff to an internal-formatted card from a PC via USB (because you can copy stuff to the actual internal storage that way), but as I've never formatted a card that way I've not encountered any of the quirks of that system myself.

Whatever you do, one golden rule: anything important you put on the card should be backed-up somewhere other than the phone. This is true for stuff on the phone too (if the phone is lost/stolen/broken beyond use those important photos are gone unless you have a backup), but even more so with microSD cards because they are less reliable than the phone storage. Of course if the card is formatted as portable it's possible to use file recovery software, but some card faults will defeat that (I have had that experience). So never trust either the card or the phone with the only copy of something that's important to you, but especially don't trust a microSD card.
Click to expand...
 
It's Android terminology which is confusing. The Nokia is stock, unadulterated Android. If you format as internal it cannot be used as portable storage. The consensus seems to be NEVER format as internal storage. Once it is formatted as internal it cannot connect via USB. I have gone for portable storage and the pc recognises it via USB and I can transfer files either way. That's all I wanted. Google maps and photos can be instructed to store on the SD card.
 
A bit late. I did back up the data, then re-formatted the card as portable and it's fine now. It seems some people think that once it is initially formatted for internal, you are screwed and it cannot be changed to portable otherwise Android in messed up.

I have now done it all and it seems ok. It connect to the PC and I have transferred all the backed up files back to the sd card and they all work.
 
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