Micro SD Card and Win 32 Disk Imager

[mikerho]

I’m using a Samsung 32GB EVO MicroSD HC I, and I used SD Formatter to format it using Full Erase and no Size Adjustment.

When finished, it showed 29.8GB.

It shows up in Windows Explorer as 31,991,955,456 bytes.

Everything great so far, right?

I then used Win32 Disk Imager to burn “2016-03-18-raspbian-jessie.img” to the card. It took a while @ 15 to 16 mb/s.

Program stated a successful write. However, Windows Explorer now shows a disk size of 62,857,216 bytes (around 60 MB).

The SD card boots the RPi just fine and the Pi works, but in the file manager, it shows “113.8 MiB (Total: 3.6 GiB).

I have tried the format/imaging procedure with a couple of other disks with similar results.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

[rpdom]

This is perfectly normal.

The card gets divided up into different parts (partitions). The first (small) part is the bit that contains the initial boot files. There is another larger part that contains all the Raspbian Linux files.

Windows refuses to acknowledge the existence of anything other that the first partition on an SD card, so it only shows the first small area.

[mikerho]

This is perfectly normal.

The card gets divided up into different parts (partitions). The first (small) part is the bit that contains the initial boot files. There is another larger part that contains all the Raspbian Linux files.

Windows refuses to acknowledge the existence of anything other that the first partition on an SD card, so it only shows the first small area.

Hi rpdom,

Thank you for your reply. However, how am I to account for the “113.8 MiB (Total: 3.6 GiB). showing in the Raspbian file manager? (I should have ~ 32 GiB).

Another thing: when I choose Go, then Devices in the Raspbian File Manager, I am shown 2 items: 1). File System and 2). 0000.

When inspecting "Properties" of both of these, Total size of files AND Size on disk, both = 0 bytes. Am I missing something, or is there a problem with the Win32 Disk Imager application?

[rurwin]

This image written to the SD card is of a 4GB filesystem, so when you boot it for the first time, that is all it can see.

Then you run raspi-config either from the command line "sudo raspi-config" or from the GUI. One of the first options it gives you is to expand the filesystem to cover the whole SD card. Do that, reboot, and you'll have the space you expect.

[B.Goode]

how am I to account for the “113.8 MiB (Total: 3.6 GiB). showing in the Raspbian file manager? (I should have ~ 32 GiB).

That is the size of the root filesystem that you installed from the 2016-03-18-raspbian-jessie.img file. (Carefully crafted to fit within the confines of a 4Gb SD card.)

When you first booted into the gui you were probably presented with the raspi-config configuration tool?

The first option there is: Expand Filesystem Ensures that all of the SD card storage is available to the OS

That's what you need. You can re-run the utility again from the gui menu or by typing sudo raspi-config into an LXTerminal session.

(This is a regurgitation of information already posted in this forum, here: viewtopic.php?f=91&t=83372&p=651745#p664906

[Posted a few seconds after the similar reply from the Moderator. Not intended as a deliberate repetition, but I'm not going to delete it.]

[rpdom]

Thank you for your reply. However, how am I to account for the “113.8 MiB (Total: 3.6 GiB). showing in the Raspbian file manager? (I should have ~ 32 GiB).

That's because the installed image is deliberately small to ft on most SD cards.

You now need to expand your root file system to fill the rest of the card. This can be easily done by using the Raspberry Pi Configuration utility on the desktop and selecting the first option (Expand file system), or you can use LXterminal and "sudo raspi-config" and choose the first option. After that has finished you will be prompted to reboot and then you will havethe full capacity available.

[jahboater]

I’m using a Samsung 32GB EVO MicroSD HC I, and I used SD Formatter to format it using Full Erase and no Size Adjustment.

To save time in the future, and reduce SD card wear, you do NOT need to format the card first.
WinDiskImager writes a complete raw disk image, below the partition level. Any existing partitions and data are overwritten.

[mikerho]

This image written to the SD card is of a 4GB filesystem, so when you boot it for the first time, that is all it can see.

Then you run raspi-config either from the command line "sudo raspi-config" or from the GUI. One of the first options it gives you is to expand the filesystem to cover the whole SD card. Do that, reboot, and you'll have the space you expect.

Hi rurwin,

Thank you so much! That worked.