SD card shows up with a capacity of only 32MB instead of its actual 256GB layout

Vikram Singh 80 Reputation points
2026-06-03T08:47:10.2033333+00:00

Hi everyone, I bought a name-brand 256GB SD card for my drone. When I plug it into my Windows card reader, it shows up as formatted to FAT32, but the total capacity is listed as only 32 megabytes. The remaining 255 gigabytes of space are completely missing in File Explorer. How do I wipe the bad partition tables and restore the full capacity of the storage card?

Windows for business | Windows 365 Business
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Senthil kumar 2,500 Reputation points
2026-06-03T09:02:50.41+00:00

Hi @Vikram Singh

first check your actual disk size from disk management.

press Windows key + R then type diskmgmt.msc one window will popup. check your SD card size their.

Thanks.

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  1. Bilal 80 Reputation points
    2026-06-03T08:58:19.0233333+00:00

    This is usually caused by a corrupted partition table or a fake SD card.

    Fix (Windows):

    Open CMD as Administrator:

    diskpart`` ``list disk`` ``select disk X`` ``clean`` ``create partition primary`` ``format fs=exfat quick`` ``assign`` ``exit After that, the full capacity should appear again.

    If it still shows only 32MB, the SD card is most likely defective or fake.

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