SD Card Not Detected

[Muffin Maan]

I just got a Steam Deck as a gift and can't seem to get the SD card to read. I have tried every micro SD card that I have which range from Sandisk Extreme to Samsung EVO Pro to random micro SDs from years ago. None them show up in KDE or are able to be formatted in game mode. I have have tested the cards in other devices and tried formatting them to fat32 and other file systems before inserting them into my Deck. None of these attempts have helped.

When I contacted support, they initially blamed SanDisk for the issues. After providing pics of a Samsung card also having issues, support has replied saying they are "investigating the issue and will get back to me". Is this normal? In the support ticket, I even asked for the cost to replace the SD card reader. I would just like the SD card reader to work. Is this "investigation" a normal step in the process? And, if so, how long does it generally take? I'm generally happy with the 256gb of built in storage, but I asked for the Deck with the plan to use SD cards to hold extra games and have more storage for on the go gaming.

[pictorialspace]

I had a problem with it recognizing sd in Game Mode. I shut it down, removed card, booted up and inserted the card and it popped up.

[Muffin Maan]

I've done multiple variations of that. Including switching to beta channel and back, factory resetting the device, and trying in desktop mode. I can get the card to show up with a usb-c card reader, but the built-reader doesn't seem to work.

[Jâbbérwôkkï]

If it was rec'd before, just not now you may try inserting in a pc, hitting start run disc management, look to bottom of the drive list where sd card is & delete partition then create a new one using exfat file system it should be rec'd by the deck again it may make you reformat it in the deck after this upon insertion but it should be fine. Unless you got a bum sd card for some reason

[Muffin Maan]

I tried to delete the partition with windows as well as the partition manager in desktop mode with a usb card reader. After creating a new partition, the built in card reader still fails to find anything when I insert it. I'm 99% sure at this point that the card reader is defective, but I'm not sure how long it will take for Valve to decide that it is.

[knoxvilles_joker]

you will need to boot to desktop mode with the sd card installed

launch konsole app

fdisk -l
and
mount /dev/sd/card /path/to/mount/file/system

umount /dev/sd/card /path/to/mount/file/system

also I have seen linux be real persnickity when it comes to removable cards. It is a boat load better than it has been in decades past (yes I am old) but often times there is a hangup somewhere in the file system or the auto mounting systems.

And as stated shutdown remove card, turn on, shut down, insert card, turn on. which will force it to scan the card again. It has something to do with some of the automatic mounting stuff and has been a long standing issue with linux and removable hot swap volumes...

[rqwertwylker]

For what it's worth, doesn't seem to be a Linux only issue. I reformatted my deck and installed Windows 11. Not dual boot (there's no Steam OS installed). And after working fine for a while, the SD card reader just stops working. Connecting through a USB-C hub still works. Assuming it's a driver issue for the direct mounted SD reader.

[Muffin Maan]

I ended up getting an RMA after my conversation with support.

[happyally1]

For anyone reading this thread, I had an issue with my Deck no longer recognizing my SanDisk 512 GB Ultra card. It recognized it but it would stop recognizing it randomly, sometimes mid-game.

I tried reformatting the card on the Deck but it failed a couple of times. When I took the card out and put it back in, the Deck could no longer recognize it. I popped the card in my PC and it wasn't recognized there either. I thought the card was bricked and was about to start an RMA with SanDisk.

I came across a thread that advised to stick the SD card in a Nintendo Switch. I did and the Switch recognized the card! The Switch reformatted the card successfully. But my Steam Deck didn't recognize it still. So I put it in my PC and that recognized it! I deleted the partitions and repartitioned an exFAT partition. It still wasn't detected by the Deck.

I was beginning to think the problem was the Deck SD card reader in the Deck so I put the SD card in the Deck that is normally in my Switch. The Deck recognized that one.

I put the first SD card back in right after and it was detected all of a sudden! Guys, I have no idea why that worked. But the Deck reformatted the card successfully and I'm currently installing games to the card as I type this.

Is the Nintendo Switch magic?

[SPRAY N' PRAY]

Originally posted by rqwertwylker:

For what it's worth, doesn't seem to be a Linux only issue. I reformatted my deck and installed Windows 11. Not dual boot (there's no Steam OS installed). And after working fine for a while, the SD card reader just stops working. Connecting through a USB-C hub still works. Assuming it's a driver issue for the direct mounted SD reader.

Late as F, lol but do you regret going to windows 11 on the deck? Do you find its better than the steam OS?