How do you format an sd card on the computer?

When i put my SD memory card into the computer, it says please format the disk, but it works perfect otherwise?

• I have 3 memory cards, when i put two of the three in the card reader, into my computer, it pops up a window "you need to format the disk in drive f: before you can use it" i read that could be the card going bad, but the card works perfectly in the camera and digital photo frame. i thought maybe the card reader, but one of the cards reads just fine. i've heard this could be a software issue, but no one seems consistent if its the computer or for the jump drive card reader. i have windows vista. please help

• Answer:

  Here is what you need to do. Be sure you don't have any pictures on the memory card because they will be erased during formatting. Then when that window pops up, format the card. After that, it should work in both your camera and your computer. That card was probably formatted by your camera the first time you used it, and your camera most likely doesn't use the same system as your computer. File system organization is very confusing. If you want a better understanding, you can check out this article. http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/filesystems1.html