Help formatting an SD card for Android device on Ubuntu

Support & Help Requests
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#1

This is a tad OT, but I don’t know where else to turn. I want to format an sd card for an Android 6.1 device on Ubuntu-Mate. Why, weeell - I just purchased a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10" tablet the other day. The unfortunate thing is that the formatting wizard exits with an error after some time, regardless of whether I try to format the 128 GB sd card for contiguous (RAID?) use or as an sd card that can be shared between various devices when moving data from one device to another.

Normally I would use the Lenovo Forums, but they are so glitchy that when I log in, I keep getting prompted to log in, even when the website recognizes that I am already logged in. So, I can’t get to post anything there.

When I look at the sd card using “Disks” in Ubuntu, there are two partitions. One that is 17 MB and one that is 126 GB. The Android device doesn’t recognize the sd card after formatting, and the partition types are not recognized in “Disks”. The sd card is unformatable in its current state in either “Disks” or Gparted. However, I can delete the partitions and then get it reformatted as one 128 GB FAT partition by using a Chromebook I have, but neither Ubuntu, Android nor Windows recognize the sd card until the Chromebook formats the card.

Now that the card is recognizable by all devices again, I would like to format the sd card in Ubuntu, to the expectations of my tablet, so that I can get it to work despite the fact that the size of the card may not be otherwise supported by the device. I assume that it would need to be formatted in the same sized partitions that I found the sd card had after the failed formatting on my tablet.

Any ideas?

Oh how I yearn for a tablet with a desktop Ubuntu system on it!!!

BTW, the error I get when trying to format the sd card on my tablet is a java error referring to a time out that has exceeded the expected time limit.

#2

I’m sorry, I did not quite understand this part. Is something preventing you from formatting the card in Chromebook?

Ext4 would be my choice, but if you need to access the card in Windows as well, choose FAT32. It works everywhere, even macOS can read it. The only downside is that it’s not a journaled filesystem, so you need to remember to use the “safe removal” option of the OS to unmount the card before removing it - if such option is available.

If you are planning on doing it in Linux, Gparted is a good, reliable tool. If there are partitions on the disk, you can remove them in Gparted, then create one partition of 128GB and format that to FAT32.

Some guidance here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Format-a-Hard-Drive-Using-Ubuntu#Using_GParted_sub

#3

Thanks for your reply. I was just describing the process that I had to go through to get the sd card to reformat properly.

My problem is two fold:

  1. What filesystem does my Android device need for the SD card to be preformatted so that it will accept the card without trying to reformat it after booting?

  2. Are both of the partitions the same or does the small partition need a special configuration (for example) similar to the Secure Boot partition when partitioned and configured manually?

#4

I see no use for other partitions if the card is going to be used for data storage only (sharing data between devices). Just one partition and that’s it. FAT32, as I said before.

One important thing though: have you checked for system updates? Settings -> About tablet -> System updates.

I bought a Lenovo tablet for my stepdad for Xmas and spent almost an hour downloading update after update after update… But it’s essential to keep Android devices up to date for security, bug fixes etc. (ie. larger SD card formats get support via system updates).

#5

Hello globetrotterdk, android only recognizes fat32 files, if formatting in another file system you will not use the sd card,

#6

If you have Ubuntu Mate 16.04, install Mintstick on your computer, try to format the sd card, greetings …

#7

Sorry, I forget to mention that my Chromebook automatically formats the SD card as FAT32. So why does my tablet’s system insist on formatting it before using the card, and why does it insist on formatting the card in two unrecognizable partitions? I have experimented with a 32GB SD card, which formats fine without error, but again from one FAT32 partition to two unknown partition filesystems.

#8

OK, the SD card seems to be working now with FAT32 as the file system for a “removable” SD card. I have been fiddling with this most of the day and evening… I think I must have tried to again setup the SD card as internal memory when I thought that I was setting it up for removable use :sunglasses:

I have found out that the file system used for internal storage is an encrypted ext. 4 file system.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

#9

It’s always about the “little things”. Glad you got it working and thank you for the info regarding internal / removable storage!

#10

I’m glad you solved it, regards …