How to Use an SD Card as Internal Storage in Windows 11/10?

"Hello, have you ever encountered issues with a new SD card not being usable for data storage in Windows 11/10/8/7? How can I mount an SD card in Windows 11/10 and use it as a local drive or internal storage to save files?"

An unmounted SD card, USB drive, or any other device may not function as local storage on your PC or laptop. So, how can you quickly get an SD card installed as permanent storage on your Windows PC? Don't worry! Just follow the methods provided here to use an SD card as internal storage in Windows 11/10 and start saving your files on it.

The Easiest Way - Use Free Partition Manager to Treat SD Card as Internal Storage in Windows 11/10

Manual Method - Mount SD Card in Windows 11/10

We recommend the first option because it's free and feature-rich. The manual method works too, but it's a few more steps. We'll explore the full guides in the next section.

The Easiest Way to Use an SD Card as Internal Storage in Windows 11/10 with Free Partition Manager

One way to quickly and automatically use an SD card as permanent storage or a local drive on a Windows PC is to format and mount the SD card as internal storage safely using professional partition management software.

You can download and install a free partition manager, and then use it to format the SD card as NTFS in Windows 11/10 with simple steps. After that, you can create a folder on drive C and mount the SD card to the folder created on drive C so that you can use the SD card as permanent storage and save files on it like a local drive.

Download this free software:

1. Format your SD card to the NTFS file system.

Step 1: Right-click the partition on your SD card that you want to format and select “Format…”

Step 2: Set a new label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size for the selected partition, then click “OK”.

Step 3: Click "Yes" in the dialog box to continue.

Click the “Run 1 Task” button in the toolbar, then click “Apply” to begin formatting the SD card.

Further reading: Boot Windows from SD Card

Create a folder in your C drive

Step 1: Open File Explorer and navigate to the C drive.

(Step 2) Right-click there and create a new folder, which you should name “SD card.”

3. Install an SD Card in Windows 11/10

Step 1: Press Windows + R, and then click Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click on the SD card and select Change drive letter and paths...

Step 3: Click “Add” > “Mount” in the newly created empty NTFS folder > “Browse” > find your SD card folder and click “OK.”

In addition to mounting SD cards or other USB devices, Partition Master also provides you with an all-in-one solution for Windows PC disk and partition management, such as:

• Resize/Move partitions (the Professional version allows you to move space from D drive to C drive), create, format, delete and merge partitions
• Copy and clone an entire disk to another, even if the target partition is smaller than the source
• Convert a logical partition to primary or primary to logical, FAT to NTFS partition, convert MBR disk to GPT, or convert GPT to MBR disk
• Completely wipe all data on a hard drive to prevent information leakage or recovery

Manual Method – Install SD Card on Windows 11/10

You could also try manually installing the SD card on Windows 11/10 by following these steps.

Step 1: Format the SD card as NTFS

• Update and install the latest Windows drivers
• Connect the unmounted SD card to a computer running Windows 11/10 using a card reader
• Open "This PC" > Right-click on the SD card > "Format"
• Select the NTFS file system, then click "OK" to confirm

Step 2. Create the Mount Point

• Open File Explorer, then navigate to the C: drive. > Create a new folder and name it “SD Card.”

Step 3: Install the SD card

• Search for diskmgmt in the search bar and open "Disk Management". • Right-click on the installed SD card and select "Change drive letter and paths..." • Click "Add", choose "Mount in the following empty NTFS folder", then click "Browse". • Navigate to C:SD Card, then click "OK".

Step 4. Add the SD card to the Library

1. Open "Libraries" > Click on "Documents" 2. Click on "Manage" at the top of the window > In the "Document Library Locations" window, click "Add" 3. Navigate to C:\SD Card, then click on the "Documents" folder > "Include Folder" 4. Right-click on the added folder and select "Set as Default Save Location" to set the SD card as the default save location for data. 5. Repeat this process for other libraries.

After that, you can use the mounted SD card as a permanent storage device in Windows 11/10 and save files on it. If you like this tutorial, please share it with more people using the social buttons below.

Conclusions

This page covers two of the most common methods to help you mount an SD card as internal storage in Windows 11/10. You can use either of these methods to manage any removable storage device on your Windows desktop or laptop.

As you can see, the Partition Master tool lets you easily mount an SD card on Windows 11/10 with just a few clicks, without any hassle or complicated operations. Additionally, it offers you numerous free disk/partition management options to resize, clone, convert, delete partitions, and organize your hard drive for improved system performance. If you're looking for a professional partition management tool, don't miss out on this one.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Using an SD Card as Internal Storage in Windows 11/10

If you have any other questions about using an SD card as storage for your PC, you can ask them here.

**1. How can I use my micro SD card as internal storage in Windows 11/10?** To use your micro SD card as internal storage on Windows 11 or 10, you can format it as a "fixed" volume and set it up as a "Storage Space." Follow these steps: 1. **Insert the micro SD card**: Place the micro SD card into your computer's SD card reader. 2. **Open Disk Management**: Press `Win + X` keys, then select "Disk Management." 3. **Check disk status**: In the Disk Management window, locate your micro SD card. Make sure it doesn't have a drive letter assigned and is not formatted. 4. **Initialize the disk**: Right-click the micro SD card, choose "Initialize Disk," and then select the "MBR" partition style. 5. **Create a new simple volume**: Right-click the "Unallocated" space, select "New Simple Volume," and follow the wizard to format it, assign a drive letter, and choose the "NTFS" file system. 6. **Enable Storage Spaces (optional)**: For better performance and data redundancy, you can create a Storage Space. Open "Control Panel" > "All Control Panel Items" > "Storage Spaces," then follow the instructions to create a new storage pool and virtual disk using your micro SD card. 7. **Set it as "Always Inserted"**: Go to "Settings" > "System" > "Storage," scroll down, and click "Change where new content is saved." In the "New apps will save to" section, select your micro SD card. 8. **Move installed apps**: Back in the storage settings, click "More storage settings" > "Move apps," and choose the apps you want to move to the micro SD card. Please note that this may shorten the lifespan of your micro SD card due to increased read and write operations, which can be more stressful for flash-based devices. Additionally, not all applications can be moved to external storage.

To use a Micro SD card as internal storage in Windows 11/10, you need to first format the SD card to NTFS, create a partition on the SD card, and then mount the SD card in Disk Management.

2. Can I use an SD card as internal storage on my laptop?

Yes, most larger Windows laptops do have a Micro SD card slot. You can simply insert the SD card into the laptop and leave it there. Or you can take specific steps to use the SD card as built-in memory for your laptop.

3. Should I use my SD card for portable or internal storage?

If you frequently switch cards, use portable storage to transfer content between devices, and don't download many large apps, go with external storage. If your device's built-in storage is always full and you want to use an SD card to expand the storage of your PC or laptop, opt for internal storage.

4. How do I mount my SD card as a disk drive?

There are two ways to use an SD card as internal storage on Windows 10. You can either mount the SD card easily on Windows 10 with a partition manager tool with just a few clicks, or format and mount the SD card manually through Disk Management.