Steam Deck The 2.9gb SD card error. Possible solution.

Figuring out this strange error.

[@kwaddell2830]

Been at this all morning found your video and formatting we care with the steam deck worked first time on my 512 Samsung ad card. Thank you !!

[@paulwalker1687]

Thanks for your video. This bug is super weird. I was using my 256 GB card from my switch for the deck and it worked perfectly after simply formating. Today I got a 1 TB card and I had the same error it recognized 2.9 GB. Nothing worked, what people were suggesting online. I put back my 256 and suddenly I had the same error with 2.9 GB even tho it was working perfectly before. What made it even weirder is that my PC all of a sudden didn't recognize the 1TB too, like it didn't even show properly when 10 minutes ago it did. The solution for me was to put it in the switch, format there, put it out and into the steam deck, format on the deck and now it's working. Have no idea what this is but for everyone who doesn't own a Switch this is a nightmare. Anyway thanks for your video as you are the only perso who was helpful.

[@relicgamer2137]

It's definitely strange and I'm glad this helped you

[@RedHorseAdventures]

Hey, just wanted to thank you for this video, had a brand new Sandisk Ultra 1TB that was not detected in the windows computer, imac, or steam deck. Followed your directions, put it in the switch, it immediate popped up a format option, did that. Put it into the steam deck, went straight to the format option, it tested (forever as you said) then formatted and has all the space as it should. Much thanks, you nailed it and your video should be shared in steam deck forums.

[@relicgamer2137]

Thank you I appreciate it

[@doom3380]

Workied like a charm 😊 thank you beast 🔥

[@Jean_Pierre_Wehry]

This is still an ongoing issue. Just got a steam deck 256 GB and bought a Samsung 256 GB Micro sd because the internet said that's the fastest one in terms of read speed. Didn't format. I then bought a 128 GB SanDisk, it says repairing for a few minutes then says it's incompatible and to contact the manufacturer. They need to fix this issue soon. The ease of Micro SD expansion was one of the reasons I even decided to buy a Steam Deck in the first place.

[@relicgamer2137]

It's definitely a hit and miss. Since this video I've used PNY, SanDisk, Samsung and Amazon brand SD cards and haven't had the problem again. I think if you can format it off a PC to exfat it will see it and allow you to format it.

[@cqmotivation3942]

Holy shit.. this ACTUALLY worked for me. I tried watching soooo many videos. I was about ready to throw my whole SteamDeck in the trash - couldn’t download a single game. Now it formatted all 500g’s

[@relicgamer2137]

Glad it worked. It's a strange problem and since I did this video I personally haven't had the problem again. And I haven't had to with any other SD cards.

[@spike178]

512gb Samsung select SD on the new oled Steam Deck. Just formatted brand new SD card onto the Steam Deck had zero problems.

[@rickvasquez3709]

I'm having that same SD card ghosting issue. It happens mainly when I go to desktop mode and tinker their. 1st time it happened I had to completely nuke my SD card it could not be read at all. 2nd time I simply had to remove and reinsert the ss card.... But yea this seems like a very huge issue IMO and I wish they could issue some kinda communication on this

[@carbonio1450]

Just had the same problem, today i updated the software and it worked

[@joshjacquez923]

How’d u update the software?

[@cqmotivation3942]

I’m having this EXACT issue right now.. so unbelievably frustrating

[@cholito788]

i formated y sd card thru my switch and then poped it in and formatted on steam os and it worked!

[@justapassione5554]

I'm using SD extreme pro A2 class 256 GB and also got the same format error. Work well in desktop mode showing 250gb but when I try to format it on my Sony xz2, it doesn't even detected.

[@relicgamer2137]

I've wondered if this has something to do with the read speeds of the cards but you are using a better performing card. Some older cards with slow read speeds don't work at all for me. I had 2 PNY cards and the 1st one the deck didn't recognize was there. So I returned it thinking it was faulty. 2nd one did the same thing then I tried putting it in my switch and it showed it there so I formatted it. Then placed it in my deck and it recognized it was there. Last thing I would try because it happened to me with several cards is it would not show it there. I would remove it and put it back in several times and then eventually it recognized it. Not sure why this is happening. But it's done this with different brands and sizes of cards. Some it would previously work then when I installed it it would take several trys. I hope that helps.

[@itsmesneky2413]

Thank you!

[@officialradaq]

I am sorry, I never had this issue but maybe it’s just the micro sd card? The steam deck doesn’t use exfat or fat32 like the switch does. The switch is formatting the micro sd card as exfat, the steam deck then has to format the microsd card in its own format.

[@relicgamer2137]

yeah never heard about it till it happened to me and it was doing it to 2 cards. and the only way around it was to format the cards off my switch then the deck would recognize it. evidently it's been happening to quite a few people that it's been brought up in forums. and all are showing the same 2.9gb error

[@cheekyphuzz_thegod8558]

Dude, I have this EXACT same problem. I’ve done everything you did as well and nothing. Hopefully Valve rolls out an update fixing this issue

[@wilfredomendez2901]

im having the same problem with a 1tb card

[@pip4696]

Make sure there are no files at all on the card at all, then try. Mine wouldn't format with old folders on the card. Odd, but once removed it formatted first go

[@relicgamer2137]

Yeah I tried that. Because the sd card was new out of the box then formatted still no go.

[@Hanzoadam]

Is a bit weird tried the Whole switch thing then put the 512gb sandisk Ultra in tried to format didn't work, went down to storage and there it was showing 468.2GB Im just going to stick with it, am going to download some stuff now see how I get on

[@relicgamer2137]

It's how all these storage devices work. I recently installed a 1tb ssd into my deck and it reads 852gb they never are the size they claim. 468 sounds right

[@gp63]

I'm now part of the 'Deck reads my Sandisk Extreme A2 1tb card as 2.9gb' club. Love my Deck but Valve is well aware of this issue with cards and need to fix this instead of leaving it to the community to resolve.

[@relicgamer2137]

I keep wondering if this problem is more about the card than the deck. Because some cards work fine others don't. No matter the brand. It's almost as if the way the card has been formatted makes it unreadable to the deck. And in tell you format it properly it works. It also doesn't matter what brand either. It's a hit and miss. I do know if a card is older and has the old read speeds the deck doesn't like those. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. But I do agree if people are still having this problem valve needs to address it. Hope you get it sorted

[@gp63]

Yeah, its weird. I bought that card exclusively for the Deck and asides from a few occasions of it randomly unmounting itself, it's worked fine. At least for now my main storage is a 1TB NVME( upgraded from the 64gb stock storage) and I mostly play smaller Indie titles and emulate 3rd to 6th gen stuff, so I'm good on that front for the time being while I figure out the SD card situation.

[@relicgamer2137]

@@gp63 I just bought a new sp 1tb card I'll report it it's good or bad.

[@wyheee]

I got 1024gb sd card that my Steam Deck refuses to read, writes or formats. It keeps giving me error message no matter what. I tried format it from desktop mode, windows and switch. Yet, nothing worked for me. 😢 I’m stuck with my original 256gb internal storage 😓

[@relicgamer2137]

Is it a name brand card? It's definitely strange. I've had a few cards that didn't work. But mostly because they were older and the read speeds were too slow and were not compatible with the Deck. I can't confirm it but some have cards that are off brand but even though they show up and work on their PC they might be too slow for them to work with the deck

[@krisadams7100]

Mine says the same thing 2.9 gigs. On two different brand new SD cards. On the premium SanDisk 1tb and on the amazonbasics 1tb. Two different cards exact same error. Both cards filled with games not tampered with brand new cards. The first card I reformatted and it works I lost all my games. It happened again I'm not trying to reformat and lose all my games again. I have got to find the answer. Help anyone. I wish I would have got the two terabyte SSD. I invested in 4 *1tb cards.

[@relicgamer2137]

I bought a 1tb ssd off eBay and installed it. I have been using a couple of different SD cards, different brands and haven't had this issue again. I've used Samsung, PNY, and SanDisk. The only cards I've used that gave me issues more recently were those older cards with slower read speeds. It's possible that some cards are not performing as well as they claim. I can't say for certainty but it's definitely worth looking into. I know the basic cards are at the max speed the Deck can read. But it's possible we all should be getting better performing cards. Especially when using larger capacities. Again I can't say this is the problem. But I've seen cards say they read up to 100mb a sec but in reality are much lower. Either because its just that one card. Now this happens with faster cards but the margin is still showing higher speeds.

[@carlosjossethozunaalvarez5486]

If anyone knows of any method, please let me know.

[@zubzero304050]

bought a 1tb sd card and it wasn't working at first the format kept failing but I took it out and put in another sd card formated it and it worked so I pulled that one out and then put back the 1tb sd card and it just worked I have no idea why or how I didn't touch any other settings but if it works it works I guess

[@relicgamer2137]

When I swap SD cards sometimes it won't register the card there. Even though it's one I've actually used before and have games stored on. I realized it doesn't always see it so I just have to insert it again.

[@christianb3883]

was using a 512gb Micro sd for my switch. I've barely been on the switch, so i formatted it on the switch, plugged it into my SD. it was reading it fine, downloaded games onto it. was playing games that were downloaded onto the sd card. the next day my library says "install" i was confused so i went to storage. sdcard was gone. took it out, put it back in. says 2.9gb 😑

[@relicgamer2137]

The only thing I can suggest is to try pulling out the SD card and putting it back. I've had a few cards that didn't want to read and I had to do this repeatedly and on my son's deck he had the same problem. Also just to be on the safe side double check make sure you're up to date on your updates

[@redtrobot7240]

Got a new SanDisk 512gb to upgrade from the last micro SD I had that was only 64. Been trying all the workarounds and nothings worked so far. Gonna try formatting on the switch again or I've also heard people being successful from messing around with KDE in desktop mode Edit: still hasn't worked with all the work around a tried all kinds of micro SD and nothing working. Any help is appreciated

[@relicgamer2137]

So let me ask you this, when you are in the settings under storage is it showing a card is present? Because I've had cards that I previously used on it and when swapping them out for other ones it did show it as if it didn't recognize it was there. I had to put it in a couple of times and it finally showed up as being there.

[@redtrobot7240]

@@relicgamer2137 Yeah it shows its present and when I open the sd in desktop mode it shows it has the full storage. Just whenever I go to format it it fails. I've got a Samsung microsd coming hopefully i'll have more luck with that

[@relicgamer2137]

@@redtrobot7240 that's strange. Usually only notice issues with older cards but this one stumps me sorry

[@redtrobot7240]

@@relicgamer2137 just slotted the Samsung Pro Micro SD and it worked just fine not sure why it was having issues with the SanDisk

[@relicgamer2137]

@@redtrobot7240 sorry for the late response but thanks for the information

[@kosar9967]

But i dont have Switch, what is the good option for me?

[@relicgamer2137]

I've noticed when a card that did work but then didn't that if I reinsert it a couple of times it will register. Also make sure you have updated your Deck and restart it then try again. You may have to reformat it off a PC if possible.

[@NikoHeijboer]

Same problem here, makes me mad... My friend has another Steam Deck and he can format the same SD card fine. Seems something's wrong with a lot of Deck's

[@relicgamer2137]

Most of my problems were associated with the card itself. Either the card was actually too old or top slow in read speeds. Or in this case the card wasn't being seen. So the reformat on the switch helped. But in other situations just putting the SD card back in a couple of times fixed it. For whatever reason somehow it doesn't actually see the card. Older cards regardless of their size of it has slower read speeds it won't accept it. Also I've been hearing a lot of people using the cheaper knockoff SD cards the non name brand ones. If by chance you're using any of those they may have storage on them but they don't read fast enough to work on the deck. Stick with SanDisk, PNY, Samsung, Lexar. There is a few others. But anything else won't work

[@d4n0wnz]

Having the issue with a brand new samsung evo

[@AbKQ8]

I restarted my steam deck and did format and did format

[@ahmedfarhan1714]

Guys, format it using a gopro, it works on the first try

[@relicgamer2137]

That's cool thanks for letting us know

[@brandys45]

Thanks! It does work but I can share that you dont necesary need a switch to format the SD card. In a PC go to computer management Storage> Disk Management and you will find the removable disk with the unallocated or not partitioned storage, just format that storage and put it on the Steam Deck restart and it works like a charm

[@relicgamer2137]

That's great to hear. I'll try that in the future if it happens again

[@conosebostonma8212]

friend my sd card reader is damaged help how to repair it

[@relicgamer2137]

You probably will be best to send it to valve for repair.

[@65guel]

mine is not formatting even on the switch…

[@relicgamer2137]

I had one PNY not work and returned it the 2nd one did the same and the switch format is what ultimately fixed it. I don't know why it's doing that but it could be the brand or that particular card. Sorry I don't know why this is happening

[@rohidulhoque5547]

Omg I am having the same problem am using xiaomi 1tb pro plush sd card it says error please contract the Manufacture.

[@relicgamer2137]

That's probably because you're not using a name brand memory card. Nearly all those cards are never good. Also if the card doesn't run at least at a 100gb per second it won't work. I've got one scandisc that's older that won't work

[@rohidulhoque5547]

@@relicgamer2137 that’s what I thought then I brought micro SD extreme pro 1TB A2 V30 XC1 that also did not worked it says the same thing. But I have not done all that fomat with the switch and stick the in the steam deck and then restart the steam deck completely. I will do all this tomorrow wish me luck pal. Thank you for your support.

[@josebacha6927]

Hi from argentina, my friend i have the same problem i buy i sd new kingston 256 gigas and nothing i cant format i try wiht my switch but nothing the steam deck says error PLEASE HELP thanks

[@relicgamer2137]

Did the switch recognize the memory card? Was it reading the size it says it is?

[@josebacha6927]

@@relicgamer2137 yea the Switch recognize but today not

[@relicgamer2137]

@@josebacha6927 my experience with these affordable SD cards is that they are not what they say they are. 3 things are often the problem with these cards. 1 they are defective 2 they have far small storage than they claim 3 they have the storage but run at such a slow read and write speed the devices like the Deck os switch won't be compatible. I've got 1 older SanDisk 64gb that won't work because it's too slow. So that card you have may work with a digital camera but not for video game data transfers. I learned my lesson a long time ago to stick with name brands like SanDisk, Samsung,Lexar, and PNY which the PNY is what I use. Anything else is likely not going to work because the companies that make them don't stick to strict quality control practices. Hope that helps. Thanks for subbing

[@gibarel]

@@relicgamer2137 I just got a sandisk 512gb that my deck cant format because "the micro sd card failed validation test", i formated it fine on my pc (but there it shows 500 gb instead of 512, so that might be it?). the forums said to run test to see if it has actually the store it claims and that its the issue (i'm doint that right now) but i'm pretty sure its normal to have a few gbs less (the 64 gb deck has about 44 gb usable after all). if that doesnt work im just going to try mounting manually on the deck.

[@MrGuinero14]

you need to have windows installed??

[@relicgamer2137]

No, I don't have windows on my deck

[@SerjStar]

Great now i have to buy a switch for fuck sake

[@relicgamer2137]

You might contact valve to see what solutions they have. Also try different SD cards. I have been using multiple brands since this video and not one has recreated this problem

[@SerjStar]

@@relicgamer2137 I'm gonna return both the card and SD

[@plopplop2777]

same steam deck is on drugs