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Error 'File system formatter failed': Can't partition microSD card on Mac

I want to make three partitions on my microSD card for a Raspberry Pi: two 0.3GB partitions and one 7.3 GB partition. However, Disk Utility failed to partition my microSD card with the error reading "File system formatter failed." I'm using FAT32. Is the partition size too small?

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iBoysoft author Jenny Zeng

Jenny Zeng

Answered on Monday, April 29, 2024

If you receive the error that says file system formatter failed when partitioning a microSD card on Mac, use the diskutil command in Terminal to partition your disk.

  1. Open Terminal from the Applications > Utilities folder.
  2. List all your disks connected to your Mac and note down the disk identifier of your microSD card (e.g., disk2).diskutil list
  3. Partition your microSD card with the command below. (Remember to replace disk2 with your disk identifier.)diskutil partitiondisk /dev/disk2 3 MBR "ms-dos fat32" P1 0.3G "ms-dos fat32" P2 0.3G ms-dos P3 R
  4. Exit Terminal and check the partitions.

Also read:

What to Do If You Can't Partition SD Card/USB Drive/Hard Drive on Mac?

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