SD card format error

[God mode]

I had a 400gb SanDisk ultra in my Switch which worked fine. I put it in the Deck and chose format. It took ages but when it had finished it said 2.9GB free of 2.9GB. I tried the format again and it says Format Error - The micro SD card failed validation tests and cannot be formatted. Contact your micro SD card manufacturer for support.
The card was fine till I put it in the Deck. It now can't be read by Switch or PC.
DiskGenius sees Partition(0) Linux Data partition 366.8GB If I try to read the card it says:
Error of partition formatting.(00000000) Unknown error.
Delete the partition and it shows free 366.8GB but then before I can format it, it changes back to Partition(0) Linux Data partition 366.8GB. This must have been done by the Deck as Switch doesn't use Linux.
I only have 1 other card a 512gb but it cost me £80 so I don't want it to be bricked like this one. Is there a correct way to format an SD on the Deck?

[PopinFRESH]

Callipos님이 먼저 게시:

Ok, my card came in exFAT format and Steam deck couldn't format it. I googled it and used a third party program (easus partition manager) to format it to ext4 directly from exfat on my Windows 10 computer. It took a while but less than an hour. Then, I put it in deck in game mode without restarting the deck and it recognized it.

I also definitely tried to format it twice on the deck, so, bricking either depends on the card or Steam might have fixed it with an update. My card is Lenovo 2TB.

What do you mean by bricking? Are you getting an error when trying to format it on your Steam Deck? If so which specific error are you getting?

Secondly, it is possible you may run into some edge-case issues just using the card formatted as ext4 like you've described. When you format it via Steam Deck using the option in Game mode it should wipe the partition table, create a GUID Partition Table (GPT), and format it with an ext4 filesystem with casefolding.

[Callipos]

I was reading the start of the thread. If you look at first page, some people were saying they bricked their cards. It means it becomes unusable/broken. I think my error said it cannot be formatted and I need to contact the manufacturer of the SD Card. I don't remember the exact message. What is casefolding?

[PopinFRESH]

Callipos님이 먼저 게시:

I was reading the start of the thread. If you look at first page, some people were saying they bricked their cards. It means it becomes unusable/broken. I think my error said it cannot be formatted and I need to contact the manufacturer of the SD Card. I don't remember the exact message. What is casefolding?

If the error message was this one then your card failed the f3probe validation and is either substantially damaged or more likely a fake card. f3probe tests the card to verify that it actually has the capacity that it is reporting to the operating system.

The microSD card failed validation tests and cannot be formatted. Contact your microSD card manufacturer for support.

If the error message was this one then you likely encountered a bug in the formatting system and trying again will usually resolve it.

We encountered an error while formatting your microSD card (2). Please try again or contact Steam Support.

Also, given your note that formatting the card took a long time that is another symptom of a fake card. Basically what a fraudulent card is doing is that it has a small amount of real flash memory, e.g. like 2GB or 8GB, and is programed to report that it is a larger capacity to the operating system. It will also retain the filesystem index but will just continuously overwrite the actual file data.

I'd recommend trying to format it again in Game mode and if it shows the first error then you can check it yourself by running f3probe on the card via the konsole (command line) or you can test it on windows using H2testw[h2testw.en.lo4d.com].

From your descriptions I'd wager you have a fake card and if possible I'd look at returning it and replacing it with a real card from a reputable brand and vendor/distributor.

[Callipos]

I don't know how to run f3probe on the deck but I'm running h2testw on it. It seems it will take quite a long time if it's not fake. It gives the first error message and it reverted the card back to exfat. Is Lenovo not a reputable brand?

If I'm reading it right, it shows 29 hours remaining on the test at about 23 gb tested.

[PopinFRESH]

Callipos님이 먼저 게시:

I don't know how to run f3probe on the deck but I'm running h2testw on it. It seems it will take quite a long time if it's not fake. It gives the first error message and it reverted the card back to exfat. Is Lenovo not a reputable brand?

If I'm reading it right, it shows 29 hours remaining on the test at about 23 gb tested.

reputable brand and vendor/distributor. There are a plethora of fakes such as ScanDisk as a fake brand name trying to be confused with SanDisk, etc. But the other issue is the vendor/distributor. Buying flash based devices on sites like Amazon, Wallmart, etc. which operate 3rd-party market places the amount of fake flash is rampant on them.

Lastly there are a lot of counterfeit products as well. For example you will find on 3rd party market places like eBay some 64GB Lenovo microSD cards, but Lenovo doesn't make a 64GB model. They are all fake cards, in fact if I recall correctly I don't believe Lenovo makes any microSD cards and they just resell SanDisk. If you look at Lenovo's website they don't list any Lenovo branded microSD cards that I could find. The same is true with Huawei, they do not make flash memory storage at all yet there are a plethora of counterfeit Huawei microSD cards listed online.

General rule that if it seems too good to be true it probably is applies. If you're finding a 1TB microSD card for $50 you're likely getting scammed.

[Callipos]

The packaging looks fine. The name also does. However, the package doesn't have the size of the disk written anywhere. It is only written on the card. The vendor sent me a bill only with the installment difference, not the full price and the vendor doesn't show on the website anymore. Also, the card I bought says out of stock.

I gave up on h2testw. I'm not waiting a day for this test and I'm not tech-savvy to run f3probe anywhere. If Steam deck is already using f3probe, there is no reason to see it for myself. I contacted the website for a return.

[DocHolliday]

Mitaul님이 먼저 게시:

iArtur님이 먼저 게시:

I can confirm this solution also worked for me! God bless you! :)

I also confirm that the "Restart" is the key!

My switch was able to format my 1 rn card but I still get an error when I put it in my deck.

[PopinFRESH]

TheTronnnnnnn님이 먼저 게시:

Mitaul님이 먼저 게시:

I also confirm that the "Restart" is the key!

My switch was able to format my 1 rn card but I still get an error when I put it in my deck.

Which error?

If the error message was this one then your card failed the f3probe validation and is either substantially damaged or more likely a fake card. f3probe tests the card to verify that it actually has the capacity that it is reporting to the operating system.

The microSD card failed validation tests and cannot be formatted. Contact your microSD card manufacturer for support.

If the error message was this one then you likely encountered a bug in the formatting system and trying again will usually resolve it.

We encountered an error while formatting your microSD card (2). Please try again or contact Steam Support.

You can also run h2testw on your PC to test the card and verify if it is a fake or very damaged card.

[lionoxz]

I think I might have got a fix.
I've been going nuts reading people's suggestion, going back and forth. Fully bricking one SD card, so I had to buy another
I tried the switch method-nope
formatting on pc ext,fat32 and ext4- nope
Formatting on steam and even force format using the dev
even using AOMEI tried all the formatting options available for something-nothing
Watching countless YouTube videos, I was ready to quit or buy another SD card
but then I used AOMEI one last time formatted to fat32 and used the converter to NTFS
I had no idea it would work, but it did!! Huge weights off my chest. If this works for someone else, give it a shot NTFS just works no need to format it afterwards on steam OS

[PopinFRESH]

lionoxz님이 먼저 게시:

I think I might have got a fix.
I've been going nuts reading people's suggestion, going back and forth. Fully bricking one SD card, so I had to buy another
I tried the switch method-nope
formatting on pc ext,fat32 and ext4- nope
Formatting on steam and even force format using the dev
even using AOMEI tried all the formatting options available for something-nothing
Watching countless YouTube videos, I was ready to quit or buy another SD card
but then I used AOMEI one last time formatted to fat32 and used the converter to NTFS
I had no idea it would work, but it did!! Huge weights off my chest. If this works for someone else, give it a shot NTFS just works no need to format it afterwards on steam OS

Did you happen to run H2testw or f3probe on it before you did all this?

People getting the validation error above and just jumping through hoops to manually format it are setting themselves up for failure.

If you got that error you most likely have a fake card; or a substantially damaged one

[EdBoi]

Just putting in what worked for me.

First I had a 1 tb Sandisk Extreme. Tried putting it in, error, retried, error again.
Tried the Switch method, Aoimei, KDE, to change to ExFat, NTSF, and EX4, still no format.
At that point I just gave up on that card.

Got a 256 Sandisk Pro
Formatted it to EX4 with Aoimei on my PC
Put it in Steam Deck, not recognized, no card icon at the top
Took it out, put it back in, card shows up in storage
No formatting on Steam Deck at all.

Maybe my first card was a dud, but I would try formatting to EX4 and skip the formatting on the Steam Deck. Hope this helps.

[PopinFRESH]

EdBoi님이 먼저 게시:

Just putting in what worked for me.

First I had a 1 tb Sandisk Extreme. Tried putting it in, error, retried, error again.
Tried the Switch method, Aoimei, KDE, to change to ExFat, NTSF, and EX4, still no format.
At that point I just gave up on that card.

Got a 256 Sandisk Pro
Formatted it to EX4 with Aoimei on my PC
Put it in Steam Deck, not recognized, no card icon at the top
Took it out, put it back in, card shows up in storage
No formatting on Steam Deck at all.

Maybe my first card was a dud, but I would try formatting to EX4 and skip the formatting on the Steam Deck. Hope this helps.

You likely had fake cards and are just bypassing the f3probe that the Steam Deck format in game mode runs to verify that the microSD card actually has the space it is reporting to the OS. I'd recommend reformatting it through Steam Deck and letting it actually validate the flash storage.

You can check your 1TB on a Windows PC if you have one using H2testw which is similar to f3probe and will actually verify the flash storage on the SD card.

[johnchimpo]

I fought the idea that my card was counterfeit for a dozen hours - troubleshooting, formatting, etc. etc. Until I saw someone mention these get sold on Amazon. Once I looked at the seller profile (recently created with no reviews) I was starting to be convince. I ran H2testw on windows and it failed after only 500MB. Unfortunate this happens, but I know what to look out for now.

[The Swag Patrol]

I got two Steam Deck OLEDs to upgrade from my family's two regular Steam Decks. When moving over the SD cards, I had this same issue where neither system would format the old SD cards... even though they worked perfectly fine in the old Steam Decks. This solution from Htimez2 on Reddit fixed the issue for me:

"
1. Switch to Desktop
2. Launch KDE Partition Manager
3. Unmount SD card
4. Remove all partitions
5. Click on "New Partition Table" and select MS-Dos
6. Apply
7. Go back to SteamOS mode
8. Go to to Settings -> System
9. Format SD Card -> Format

​The above list is what fixed my issue, in case others wanted to try it."

This worked for both cards/Steam Decks. Really a shame Valve hasn't fixed this yet and we have to do this workaround.

And LOL at all the people trying to tell us we have fake SD cards. How stupid do you think we are? This issue is obviously on Valve, and they should really get to fixing it

[PopinFRESH]

The Swag Patrol님이 먼저 게시:

I got two Steam Deck OLEDs to upgrade from my family's two regular Steam Decks. When moving over the SD cards, I had this same issue where neither system would format the old SD cards... even though they worked perfectly fine in the old Steam Decks. This solution from Htimez2 on Reddit fixed the issue for me:

"
1. Switch to Desktop
2. Launch KDE Partition Manager
3. Unmount SD card
4. Remove all partitions
5. Click on "New Partition Table" and select MS-Dos
6. Apply
7. Go back to SteamOS mode
8. Go to to Settings -> System
9. Format SD Card -> Format

​The above list is what fixed my issue, in case others wanted to try it."

This worked for both cards/Steam Decks. Really a shame Valve hasn't fixed this yet and we have to do this workaround.

And LOL at all the people trying to tell us we have fake SD cards. How stupid do you think we are? This issue is obviously on Valve, and they should really get to fixing it

Cool story hanz, you had a similar but different issue. The discussion in this tread was in regards to getting an error when trying to format in Gamemode

The microSD card failed validation tests and cannot be formatted. Contact your microSD card manufacturer for support.

Which is due to the microSD card failing F3 probe. If you think everyones cards were just not working because of an issue "obviously on Valve"; then you didn't bother to read the thread where people have manually validated it by either running f3probe manually or running h2testw on another Windows machine to test their microSD cards.

So... LOL at your ignorance of the amount of fraudulent flash devices.

EDIT:
Also not to mention all of you posting about this and completely ignoring the marked solution by Lostgoat (Valve engineer) in regards to having other issues formating microSD cards....