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What If SD Card Showing Wrong Size?

Wondershare Recoverit Authors

Jan 15, 2024 • Filed to: SD Card Solutions • Proven solutions

"I have an 8GB SD card for my digital camera, but it shows the wrong capacity only about 100MB. Just now, when I wanted to copy some pictures to the SD card, my camera said there is not enough storage memory. Then I realized that my 8GB SD card only shows 100MB capacity. Can you tell me what's wrong and how to fix the problem?"

SD or micro SD card if shows a wrong size i.e. it shows larger data saving capacity than it actually can, it will surely show an error. If you see an error like a micro SD card showing the wrong size, then you are using the expansion card. There are other reasons too due to which the SD card shows the wrong size. Those reasons along with the appropriate solutions are mentioned below in the article. Check for the reason that is causing an error on your device and choose a viable solution from the ones listed below.

Part 1. Why does the SD card show the wrong size?

Before targeting the right solution for the SD card showing the wrong size, you should know about the actual reason behind the problem. Here are some of the possible reasons mentioned that shows up the error.

An expansion card is a type of SD card that that shows larger storage capacity than it actually can. It may be dying to some illegal software running for the SD card. To avoid these expansion cards, it's viable to use the copyrighted one.

Using a single SD card for multiple devices or inserting the card to any device affected with the virus, the SD will be affected and start showing up the wrong storage size. Only a strong anti-virus can then resolve the problem and rehabilitate the normal functioning of the SD card.

Compatibility is the next factor that counts. In case of incompatibility of any reader or host device, it would be difficult to read the larger SDHC and SDXC cards. To cope up with this challenge, the device will repartition the SD card to a size that is compatible for reading easily. Hence leading to error i.e. micro SD card showing the wrong size. Moreover, the invisible shadow files and improper formatting can also lead to this wrong size issue.


Part 2. How to solve the 'SD card showing wrong size' issue?

Check for the reasons mentioned above and look for the one causing a micro SD card showing the wrong size error on your device. Once you get to know about the reason, the next step is to approach the solution to fix it. The following are some of the solutions that can help rule out the error i.e. micro SD card showing the wrong size.

Method 1: Format SD card back to original storage size in camera/phone/pc

The first and foremost solution is to format the SD card. This will rehabilitate the card to its normal size as any new partitioning will be deleted. Before running a format, do back up the data on some other location. The following are the steps to carry out the format process.

Step 1: Start with clicking on My Computer in the main menu and then select the option of Manage

Step 2: In the Manage menu, select Disk Management popping under the option of Device Manager.

Step 3: Click on the SD card and select the option of Format in the drop menu

format sd card to normal size in camera phone pc 1

Step 4: Once formatted, rename the card and reset it to either NTFS or Fat32 versions. Your SD card will be restored to the original size.

Method 2: Use Disk part to format SD memory card

If formatting alone has not served the purpose to resolve the error i.e. SD card showing the wrong size, then using the Disk part to format the SD is the next reliable option. Here are the steps to follow the procedure.

Step 1: Start with typing the command in the search box of your PC on the main screen. Once written correctly, click on it to run it as an administrator.

Step 2: A dialogue box will appear on the screen, in the command wizard, type Diskpart and click Enter

Step 3: Next step is to list disk to list all the available drives and press Enter to continue.

Step 4: Now select the right disk along with the disk number to locate the SD card that is destined to be formatted. Once the right SD card appears in an option on the screen, select the one and click Enter.

Step 5: In the command prompt, type Clean and press Enter to continue.

Step 6: Nextly, Type to create a partition on the formatted SD card and click Enter.

Step 7: In the command box, type format fs=ntfs (or format fs=exfat) and press "Enter" to format the drive with NTFS or exFAT.

Step 8: By the end, type assigns letter=drive letter (for example, assign letter=E) to assign a drive letter and press Enter to complete the process.

format sd card with disk part 1

Method 3: Format SD card in Windows Disk Manager

If the two of the above methods do not work for you, then here is another formatting option via windows disk management. The windows disk management is a build-in tool that mages the disk on the computer. It can also be used for formatting the storage devices. Here are the steps to format the SD card with the windows disk manager.

Step 1: Start the process by clicking on My Computer and next select Management in options.

Step 2: In the management option menu, click on Disk Management.

Step 3: In the disk management menu, the SD card will appear. Click on the SD card and select the option of Format.

format sd card with windows disk management 1

Step 4: In format, option choose the Perform a Quick Format and select the appropriate allocation unit size.

format sd card with windows disk management 2

Once the targeted format action is completed, the SD card will restore to its original normal size.

Tips: If your SD card faces with corrupted or damaged problem after formatting, then you can read the guide here about SD Card Repair.

Part 3. Recover lost data from SD card showing the wrong size with Recoverit Data Recovery

Once you are done with restoring your SD card to its normal size with an error of micro SD card showing the wrong size, the next step is to recover for any lost data due to the formatting of the SD card. When it is about data recovery, only a single solution is all that you need. It is Recoverit data recovery. This third party application software is apt to provide you with a complete recovery of lost or deleted data from your SD card. Here is the stepwise process:

Step 1: Launch the software i.e. download and install on your device and see if the SD card is connected to the PC.

Step 2: Select the micro SD card from the menu outlook. Once selected, press start to continue.

computer data recovery

Step 3: The recovery software will run a scan on the memory card for recovering the data i.e. the deleted data (media)

scanning lost data

Step 4: Once the process of scanning is completed, a preview of recovered data will appear on the screen. Now select the data you need to recover and press recover.

preview recovered file

Step 5: The last step is to save the recovered data. Select the location and save the recovered file.

Video Tutorial on How to Fix SD Card Not Detected / Showing Up / Recognized? [Windows 10/8/7]

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