How to Format/Partition SD Card to 4096 Bytes per Cluster on Mac | 3D Printer Firmware Flash (2023)

In this video, I take you step-by-step through how to format your SD card so you can flash the firmware on your 3D printer using a Mac. One important aspect of formatting the SD card is to set the card to 4096 bytes per cluster (this is particularly important for flashing the LCD screen of some 3D printers). By default, Disk Utility reformats some SD cards to a cluster size incompatible with some 3D printers. Using the steps in this video, you should be able to format your SD card to work with your 3D printer, with no additional software required.
I learned how to do this from this Reddit post by TellowKrinkle:
/ how_to_change_allocati...
Give TellowKrinkle an upvote if this video helped you!
SD CARD FORMAT STEPS
1. login to your Mac with an Administrative Account
2. reformat the SD card using Disk Utility to MS-DOS (FAT)
3. use Terminal to set the partition to 4096 bytes/cluster
LCD FIRMWARE FLASH/UPDATE STEPS
1. add the DWIN file to the SD card
2. turn the 3D printer OFF
3. put the SD card into the LCD screen
4. turn the 3D printer ON
5. the flash should occur
LCD shows numbers (001, 002, 003) = flash successful
LCD shows all 0s (000) = retry
6. turn the 3D printer OFF
7. remove the SD card from the 3D printer
8. plug the SD card back into your Mac
9. remove the DWIN file from the SD card
**DO NOT REFORMAT THE SD CARD**
3D PRINTER FIRMWARE FLASH/UPDATE STEPS
1. add the .bin file to the SD card
2. ensure the 3D printer is OFF
3. insert the SD card into the printer
4. turn the printer ON
5. the flash should occur
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[@1multiwolfi]

big thanks man, you saved me 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@madebyjwillis]

Happy to help!

[@DustinLaneProductions]

my screen turned white and it's blank after my screen firmware updated.... it's still on it. What happened?

[@djencode]

Thanks so much for this, basically saved my buttocks!

[@madebyjwillis]

Happy that it worked for you!

[@fixedbyjoe]

*forward slash, not backward. Thanks though - really helpful video!

[@madebyjwillis]

Thanks!

[@TALINBAC]

Awesome!!! 👍🏾 Thank U!!!🙏🏾

[@madebyjwillis]

You bet!

[@trumpet95]

thanks

[@DroneDrummer]

Thank you for putting up this video. I'm still having issues with it saying there is an extra tft file on the drive. I read online that Apple ( of course ) adds extra files to the drive and that's what causing my issue. Message reads: They system detects multiple tft files, can not be upgraded. please remove the extra tft files. There are some . files in there from Apple and I have deleted them but still says the same thing. Man what happened to Apple. Used to be that everything worked with them. Ball has been dropped over there is is rolling away.

[@madebyjwillis]

Dang yeah I didn’t haven’t that issue - hope you figure it out!

[@JoeBleeps]

Thank you for this. Saved me hours of frustration!

[@madebyjwillis]

No problem!

[@Billyjeenyus1849]

I got much farther with your awesome video, thank you Joe. I'm following the Ender notes in the most recent files, and they note to add three folders, however upon doing so I keep getting an error or too many tft files, so nothing updates. I've tried deleting the Private folder and/or the TJC_SET folder, each with a tft file in them, but then no flashing occurs. Ideas? Thanks

[@madebyjwillis]

Yeah not sure about that - hope you figure it out!

[@enriquetabora4399]

Thanks. Life saver

[@madebyjwillis]

No problem!

[@Bastelsaal]

Thank you very much, saved me a lot of time! 🙂

[@madebyjwillis]

Awesome! Glad to hear it!

[@meeshelly9157]

newbie here - I did exactly as you instructed in the video - my screen did not flash with the numbers after the LCD update - and I also did the firmware update - the problem I have is, the screen has a lot of menus that I am not used to, the icons did not change on the lcd screen either - it will not home, none of the functions are working on it. when you say if the flash doesn't occur, then do it again. what does that mean? does that mean format the sd card again and then download the DWIN file again and do it all over again? I need help

[@madebyjwillis]

There are other problems that can occur outside of the bytes/cluster issue (this is one of the many different issues). This is simply what worked for my situation - as far as next steps, I would make sure you’re using the correct DWIN and .bin combination as there are many and need to be consistent for the board to be able to function with the screen. It’s hard to give additional advice since there are so many variables

[@meeshelly9157]

@@madebyjwillis thanks for the reply - I appreciate it

[@madebyjwillis]

Hope you get it figured out!

[@minusmartin]

I got an ender 5 plus with the sonic tablet thing for 60 bucks because the guy said he bricked the printer by putting the wrong firmware. I couldn't get it to work at all but you just did it!! thank you so much man, subscribed and liked!

[@madebyjwillis]

That’s awesome! Great to hear! Thanks for the feedback and best of luck with your Ender!

[@minusmartin]

@@madebyjwillis i spoke a bit too soon but i’m on the right track. it runs the update, goes through a little slideshow of all the different screens, back to the update where it says END! i power off, remove the SD, power on, and it stays at the splash screen with a striped bar at the bottom and the fan runs loud.

[@minusmartin]

@@madebyjwillis any idea what to do next? it won’t load the bin file on the other slot since it’s not booting up. can’t connect to the computer either because it isn’t recognized

[@madebyjwillis]

Not sure but make sure you’re updating the LCD to the compatible firmware as well - I had issues with that before. It’s in a separate SD card slot.

[@davidfarreh6697]

Amazing. Best help that I could find on the internet. Why do both Creality and Apple make things so hard.

[@madebyjwillis]

Thank you! Took me a little while to figure it out, so I wanted to try and make it easier for others!

[@7ossamelsayed346]

on win you can do that with just one click

[@madebyjwillis]

@@7ossamelsayed346 wish it was the same for Mac!

[@OlegMilshtein]

life saver. thanks a lot

[@madebyjwillis]

Glad it helped!

[@clarkmcdermith3906]

Thank you!!! This helped me.

[@madebyjwillis]

Awesome!