How to clean up completely SD-Xiaomi map: secure ways and data recovery

SD-card in smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO Over time, it turns into a digital attic: here and duplicate photos from the DCIM, and the app cache in the folder Android/data, And there are mysterious files with the.nomedia extension, but it's not always safe to just delete everything through a conductor, and there are tails in the form of hidden folders, fragmented data slows down, and sometimes the map is not recognized by the device at all — 5 Proven cleaning methods, including formatting through MIUI, recovery and PC, as well as instructions for recovering accidentally deleted files.

It's important to understand that cleaning and formatting are not the same thing: Cleaning involves deleting individual files or folders, whereas formatting erases the entire file system and recreates it. The latter is more efficient, but requires backup. We'll discuss both options, and we'll also explain how to avoid common mistakes - for example, why the card is not readable on the phone after formatting on a PC (spoiler: this is a problem with the NTFS vs FAT32 file system).

1 Preparation: What to do before cleaning SD-map

Before you click "Delete All", follow 3 mandatory steps, which can lead to loss of important data or even damage to the memory card.

• 📁 Create a backup. Move all files from SD-Maps on PC or cloud (e.g. Google Drive or Mi Cloud) Pay special attention to folders: DCIM/Camera — photo; WhatsApp/Media — messenger media; Android/data — save games (such as Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile).
• 🔍 Check the map for errors. MIUI Go to Settings. → Memory. → SD-map → If the system finds the damaged sectors, the cleanup could make the problem worse.
• 🔋 Charge your phone at least 50%. Interrupting the formatting process due to battery discharge often causes the card to become unreadable.

If you use SD-The card as internal memory (Adoptable Storage in Android), cleaning through standard methods may not be available, in which case you will first have to mount the card in the settings or reset the phone to factory settings.

⚠️ Attention: If SD-The card is used as internal memory, formatting it through a PC or third-party utilities (for example, SD Formatter will cause a complete loss of access to the phone, the system will stop booting, in which case only cleaning through the phone will be required. MIUI recovery.

Method 2: Cleaning through MIUI settings (without formatting)

This method is suitable if you want to delete only unnecessary files without erasing the entire card.It is secure and does not require a PC connection.

1. Open the Files app (the folder icon on the desktop).
2. At the top of the screen, select a tab SD-map (or external memory).
3. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Select.
4. Check boxes for unnecessary files or folders. Use filters for convenience: 📸 Like, → Images/Video – to clean up media; 📄 By size. → Large files to find “heavy” documents; 🕒 By date. → Older ones to delete files older than a year.

Delete

For deep cleaning (such as removing the app cache), go to Settings → Memory. → SD-map → Clean. Here, the system will show how much space the temporary files take up and prompt them to delete.

Outdated screenshots in Pictures/Screenshots | folder

Cash of games Android/obb|

Duplicate photos (use Gallery app → Management → Duplicates) |

Downloads from messengers in Telegram/Telegram Images or WhatsApp/Media-->

If after cleaning the free space has not increased, check the folder.thumbnails - it stores thumbnails of images that can take up to 1-2 GB. It can only be deleted with root rights or through a PC.

Method 2: Complete formatting via MIUI

Formatting erases all data and restores the file system of the card, which helps if:

• 🐢 The card works slowly (long copying files, hanging);
• 🚫 The phone is making a mistake «SD-map damaged»;
• 🔄 You want to change the file system (for example, from exFAT to exFAT). FAT32).

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory. → SD-map.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Storage Settings.
3. Tap Format (or Clean, depending on the version of MIUI).
4. Select a file system: FAT32 is compatible with all devices but does not support >4GB files; exFAT is for >4GB files (e.g. 4K video), but may not be readable on older devices.

Confirm the action and wait until the completion (can take up to 5-10 minutes).

⚠️ Attention: If yours SD-The card is formatted as internal memory, the "Format" option in the settings will not be available. In this case, use method 4 (via recovery).

Method 3: Formatting via PC (for cards not readable by phone)

If Xiaomi can't see SD-If you have a card or a "damaged" error, try formatting it with a computer, you'll need a card reader (or a microSD adapter).→USB).

On Windows:

1. Insert the card into the card reader and connect to the PC.
2. Open This Computer (or My Computer) and find a removable disk (e.g., Disk E:).
3. Right-click on the mouse button → Format.
4. Select the file system (FAT32 or exFAT) and click Start.

On macOS:

1. Open the Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities)
2. Choose. SD-left-hand-menu.
3. Click Erase, specify the MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT format.
4. Confirm the action with the erase button.

If standard formatting doesn’t help (for example, the system says “Windows can’t complete formatting”), use the SD Formatter utility from the SD Association:

1. Download the program from the official website: sdcard.org.
2. Choose yours. SD-map.
3. Enter Quick Format (Fast) or Full (Erase) (Full, Longer, but More Reliable).
4. Press Format.

💡

If you don’t read the card on your phone after formatting it on your PC, check it on another device, and it may be the SD slot problem in Xiaomi itself (especially for the Redmi Note 8 Pro and POCO X3 models, where slot contacts are often oxidized).

5. Method 4: Cleaning through Recovery Mode (for internal SD-map)

If SD-The card is used as internal memory (option Use as internal storage in the MIUI), Standard cleaning methods won't work, and recovery will help.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the recovery menu (manage volume buttons, choose the power button) select Wipe & Reset (or Advanced → Wipe SD Card, depending on the version).
4. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.
5. Restart the phone (Reboot).

Recovery programmes:

Step-by-step instructions for Recuva:

1. Connect. SD-card to PC via card reader.
2. Run Recuva and select the file type (such as “Images”).
3. Please indicate the location (your removable disk).
4. Press Analysis and wait for the scan to be completed.
5. Tick the required files and click Restore.

For Android (without PC) use DiskDigger:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Choose Basic Scan (for photo/video) or Full Scan (requires root).
3. Wait for the scan to be completed and save the files found to internal memory.

💡

Data recovery is possible only before the first new entry to the card. SD-The map and then copied new files to it, the chances of returning old data tend to zero.

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even experienced users sometimes make mistakes when working with the Internet. SD-Here are the most common ones and how to prevent them:

• 🔄 Formatting in NTFS For phone, Android does not support NTFS by default (only through root or special apps). FAT32 exFAT.
• 🚫 Removing the card while writing. This damages the file system. Always use the Safe Extract function. MIUI.
• 📱 Use cheap cards without certification. Class cards A1 (SanDisk Ultra is optimized for smartphones, while cheap no-name models often fly off after months of use.
• 🔋 Formatting with low battery power. Interrupting the process can make the card unreadable. Charge the phone at least 50%.
• 🔒 Encrypt the card without backup if you have enabled encryption in Settings → Security and then dropped the phone, data on SD-The card will be inaccessible without a password.

If the card is slower after cleaning, check it for authenticity with H2testw (Windows) to show the actual volume and speed of the recording. Often, fake cards are sold in the market, where instead of the 128 GB claimed, it is actually 16 GB.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning SD-maps on Xiaomi