I've been trying to format my SD card after a failed Linux Mint installation on my Surface Pro. After some updates, Mint wouldn't boot, so I decided to format the card to reinstall. However, every time I format it, it says "successful," but the partitions reappear immediately, and I can still see all the files. I'm looking for a solid way to format the card properly so I can use it again. I've already attempted formatting with GParted, sudo dd, wipefs, and a few random tools on Windows, but nothing's working. Any ideas?
4 Answers
It sounds like your SD card might be defective. If you're getting issues like this after trying multiple tools, it could be a sign that the card is failing. Unfortunately, SD cards aren't built for heavy usage over time, and once problems start cropping up, it's often hard to get them back to working condition without risking your data.
I've had a similar issue with SD cards that appear writeable but are actually in a read-only state. I could delete files or even partitions, but as soon as I rebooted or reinserted the card, all the data returned. You might want to consider the same possibility; sometimes cards just fail that way.
Did you create a new partition table? I suggest doing that with GParted, but it seems like you might have tried already. Sometimes the system just reverts back to old partitions when it detects them. Keep an eye out for any strange behavior after you try this.
Have you tried using the command `blkdiscard -f /dev/mmcblk0`? Just make sure you check the device name before running it. It might help clear out any residual data from the card before you attempt to format it again.
Yeah, I created a new partition table with GParted, and everything seemed fine, but afterward it just reverted right back, showing the old 100 MB EFI and 256 GB partitions again. I can also still mount the drive and view all the files that it was supposed to erase.