1. The document describes how to format an SD card with the FAT32 filesystem using Mageia Control Center (MCC) in Mageia Linux. 2. MCC is used to manage disk partitions, where the SD card will be detected as a new partition like sdb or sdc. 3. The existing partition on the SD card must be deleted and a new partition created with the maximum size and formatted to FAT32.

1. Requirements and some description
1. To follow direction step by step you need to have personal
computer with Mageia Linux installed. This presentation was
created with Mageia 3. If you use different Mageia version, it
may be different. Some different Linux OSs may have similar
tools but you need to figure out how to use them.
2. The card used in this presentation was 8G big. Basically,
you may use any size card to format.
3. This presentation was created with a single purpose: to
have a single partition on SD card and format it with FAT
filesystem. If you need to do something else, you need to
find out what to do.

2. Formatting SD card in Mageia linux
This presentation gives an example of formatting SD card
with FAT (FAT32) filesystem.
There are three variations discussed:
1. Card is already formatted with FAT filesystem – slides
## 11-14.
2. Card is formatted with different (not FAT) filesystem –
slides ## 17-26 .
3. Card doesn’t have formatted partition (it has an empty
space). The situation may happen in real life. In this
presentation the situation is included in variation #2 – slides
## 21-26.

3. Mageia Control Center (MCC)
We need to use Mageia Control
Center (MCC) to format SD card.
MCC is bundle of configuration tools
created with the aim of making the
system's configuration easier.
Common way to start MCC is clicking
on Drakconf icon. Current oversized
picture is on right.
An image location may be different
depending on Desktop Environment
(DE) or window manager (WM) in use.

4. Starting MCC - Mageia Control Center
An image on next page shows how to start MCC in
WindowMaker window manager.
WindowMaker isn’t well known but it is common on Mageia
distribution media. You should pay attention to picture and
follow the path (Applications --> Tools --> System Tools -->
Mageia Control Center) to start MCC in different DE or WM.
The best known Mageia DE are KDE, GNOME and LXDE.
Window Maker is WM available for direct installation from
most distribution media.

5. Starting MCC in WindowMaker

6. MCC root priority -Query
MCC is very powerful. You
can easy damage your
system if you don’t now
what you are doing.
Mageia asks you about
root password in order to
work with MCC.
Enter the password and
press OK to go to a next
step.

7. MCC default screen
By default, MCC is
opening Software
Management section.

8. MCC: Manage disk partitions
You need to click on
Local Disks section and
then click on Manage
disk partitions.

9. MCC: Manage disk partitions - waiting
It may take a while for
Mageia to figure out your
system partitions. You
may have waiting screen
for a while.

10. MCC: Manage disk partition – an example
This is an example of simple partitoning
scheme. This computer has dual boot
system – Windows (~/windows) and Linux
(/) - and two more partitions – swap and
one more ext4 formatted partition.
Pay attention! This is just an example.
Actual formatting was done on a computer
with complicated partitioning scheme.

11. Partitioning - SD card used
This 8G SD card will be
formatted in Mageia
Linux OS.
Pay attention! The size
of the card – 8G - will not
be shown in Linux OSs.
It’ll be shown as 7.2G or
7381MB in this
presentation.

12. MCC: Manage disk partition – with SD card
inserted
If you install SD card into
the slot and run MCC:
Manage disk partitions,
you could see a new sdb
tab (compare with slide
#10).
We then assume that SD
card is sdb in MCC

13. MCC: Manage disk partitions – SD details
Click on sdb tab gives a
basic information about
SD card. The 8G disk
(SD card) has 7.2G size
on this screenshot.

14. MCC: Manage disk partitions - SD partition details
Click on partition itself
(circled red) gives you
more details about
partition. For example,
this card is already
formatted with FAT
(FAT32) filesystem type.

15. MCC: Manage disk partitions - formatting
An example on slides #11-14 had shown SD card already
having FAT32 partition.
There are variety of reason the card partition may have
different filesystem type.
Slides #16-26 show how to delete existing partition and
format it with FAT32 file system type.

16. MCC: Manage disk partition without SD card
installed
MCC: Manage disk partition opens the
very first partition by default (sda over
here). It displays Read carefully
warning. If you click Continue and
Done you will return to MCC: Local
disk screen (see slide #8).
Pay attention! This part of presentation
is performed on a different computer.
The computer has complicated
partitioning scheme.

17. MCC: Manage disk partitions, default with SD
card
When you ran MCC: Manage disk partition
with SD card installed, you could see
additional tab appears (sdc on this image,
compare with previous slide). This shoud be
SD card you just installed. You need to click
Continue and sdc to go to next step.
Pay attention! The partition may have
different name when you perform this step. A
simple comparison of this and previous
images is the way to find out what name is
given to a new card.

18. MCC: Manage disk patritions, default SD card
Simple click on sdc tab
gives you basic
information about
partition and suggestion
to click on partition itself.

19. MCC: Manage disk partitions, unmount SD card
After clicking sdc tab and partition
itself, you can see partition filesystem
and option to Unmount it.
You need to click Unmount in order to
delete and format SD card partitions.
Pay attention! A single partition with
non FAT filesystem is used for
presentation purposes only. It could be
many partitions and many different
filesystems on each partition.

20. MCC: Manage disk partitions – SD partition isn’t
FAT
After unmounting card,
you still can see partition
filesystem type but menu
on a left has changed.
You need to click Delete
to go to next step.

21. MCC: Manage disk partitions – SD partition
deleted
Now, you have just
empty space after SD
card partition was
deleted.

22. MCC: Manage disk partitions - create
A click on empty partition
(circled red) gives you
an option to create a
new partition.

23. MCC: Manage disk partition - create a new
partition
A click on Create opens
a window Create a new
partition. Default size
and filesystem type may
vary but you need to
change them to
maximum size and FAT
filesystem.

24. MCC: Manage disk partitions – setting partition
details
You have to set size to
maximum.
Pay attention! 7381 MB is the
biggest possible size for SD
card used for this presentation.
Click on Filesystem type bar
lets you choose FAT32.

25. MCC: Manage disk partition - format
You need to format just
created partition with
FAT 32 filesystem.
You have to make sure
you see the next screen
– formatting warning.

26. MCC: Manage disk partition – formatting warning
Actual formatting will
start after clicking OK
button on Read Carefully
warning.

27. MCC: Manage disk partition – SD card partition
formatted