Windows won't allow me to format USB, help!
'Hi there, do you know why does Windows computer won't allow me to format USB drive? I have a USB drive which is now inaccessible. I tried to format the USB drive to factory settings so that it would be available for data saving again. However, I failed.
How to format a Read-Only Apple Restore USB stick that came with your Mac with little effort. This type of stick was supplied with for example a MacBook Air. How to format a Read-Only Apple Restore USB stick that came with your Mac with little effort. This type of stick was supplied with for example a MacBook Air. USB sticks (or thumb drives, if you prefer) are formatted exactly the same way as any other external storage device. Insert the device into the USB port of your computer and make sure it shows up either on your desktop or in the sidebar of a Finder window (depending on how your computer is configured to display external drives).
My computer, installed with Windows 10, just won't allow me to do so. I don't know why. Do you know how to solve this problem?'
Here is a list of reasons why that your computer can't format USB and you can check whether your USB drive is staying with the same problems:
- Virus Infection
- Bad Sectors
- Physical Damage
- Device Write Protected (When the USB is write protected, you'll need an advanced way to format write protected USB.)
- Incompatible File System
If you are having a similar problem for unable to format or can't complete the format process on your hard drive partition, external hard drive, USB, SD or other devices, don't worry. Here in the below, we'll show you two effective methods to fix USB format failure error by using free format utility or CMD.
- Notice:
- If you have important data saved in your USB, SD card, external hard drive or Windows hard drive partition, find a powerful backup software to back up your data first. (EaseUS Todo Backup will work for you.)
Method 1. Format and restore USB to full capacity with free format utility
If you prefer simpler and easier tool to fix unable to format USB error, EaseUS free format utility - Partition Master can be your best shot. This tool allows you to effortlessly format and restores USB drive to its full capacity within 3 steps.
You can free download and install it on your Windows 10/8/7 etc PCs and follow to restore your USB drive to its full size now:
Step 1: Select the USB drive to format.
Connect the USB drive or pen drive to your computer. Download and launch EaseUS partition software. Right-click the USB drive you intend to format and choose 'Format'.
Step 2: Set the drive letter and file system.
Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.
Step 3: Check the warning box.
Click 'OK' if you see the Warning window. If you have important data on it, back up the data in advance.
Step 4: Apply the changes.
Click the 'Execute operation' button first, and then click 'Apply' to format the USB drive.
After this, you'll be able to use USB drive for storing data and back up fancy data and important personal documents now.
Method 2. Fix 'can't format USB flash drive' error by CMD
- 1. Connect USB drive or other devices that you need to format to your PC.
- 2. Press Win + R to open the 'Run' dialog, type: cmd and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
- 3. Select 'Run as Administrator', type: diskpart and hit Enter.
- 4. Type: list disk and hit Enter to display all disks on your computer.
- 5. Type: select disk 2 and hit Enter. (2 is the drive letter of your USB.)
- 6. Type: clean and hit Enter.
- 7. Type: create partition primary and hit Enter.
- 8. Type: format fs=fat32 or format fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter to reset USB drive to FAT32 or NTFS.
10. Type: assign and give your USB drive a new drive letter. Then type: exit to finish the process.
After this, you'll be able to use your USB drive to save and store new data again.
I was recently asked by a friend what the best file format would be formatting his USB drive. When I started to explain it, I realized that it wasn’t actually terribly self-explanatory and depending on the situation, you may want to format the drive differently.
![Stick Stick](/uploads/1/2/5/1/125104922/194427630.png)
It also depends on the size of the USB drive. For example, if it’s a small 8 GB flash drive, then it’s an easier decision than if you have a 1 TB My Book on hand.
It also depends on what operating systems you want to use the USB drive on. Is it only going to be connected to Windows machines? Or will you need to access it on Mac and Windows and be able to read/write from bother operating systems?
In this article, I’ll go through the different options that are available for formatting a USB drive and also point you to some previous posts I have written that walk you through the process step by step.
Hopefully, it’ll give you a clearer understanding of what the formats are and the advantages and disadvantages of each format.
Best File Format for USB Drive
So let’s start with the formatting dialog we all have come to know in Windows. When you right-click on a USB drive in Windows and choose Format, you get the following format dialog box:
By default, the file system for any external USB device will be set to FAT. You can click on the drop down and choose from a couple of file systems: NTFS, FAT, FAT32, and exFAT.
By default, most people end up just going with FAT and there’s a good reason why it’s set as the default. Before we get into what each format is, let’s talk about the actual options you get when trying to perform a format.
– If you try to format an internal hard disk that is smaller than 32 GB, you will see the options for NTFS, FAT and FAT32.
– If you try to format an internal hard disk that is larger than 32 GB, you will only see the option for NTFS.
– If you try to format an external USB device smaller than 32 GB, you will see all the options.
– If you try to format and external USB device larger than 32 GB, you will only see NTFS and exFAT.
Now that you know this, your final choice is much easier since you have to choose from a limited set. Now let’s talk about what each file system format accomplishes if you choose it.
File System Formats
The FAT file system is the default because it’s the most compatible file system format in the entire world. You can virtually guarantee that by using the FAT file system format, you could plug your device into any computer running any OS or plug it into any electronic or digital device and have your data readable.
If you want the most compatibility with other operating systems and hardware devices, FAT is your best choice. Obviously, you cannot use FAT or FAT32 on a USB drive that is greater than 32 GB because the FAT file system only supports up to 32 GB volumes in Windows. In addition, the max file size on a FAT file system is 4 GB.
The FAT file system is also faster and takes up less space on the USB device. However, the FAT file system has no built-in security, so anyone can read the files. FAT32 is better than FAT because it has a smaller cluster size and therefore wastes less space on the disk.
FAT32 is also more robust because it backs up the boot sector. Basically, you’re more likely to lose your data using FAT rather than FAT32. Note that FAT32 can actually support volumes up to 2 TB, but Windows restricts the size to 32 GB also like FAT. You can actually use a separate tool to format a USB drive in FAT32 that is larger than 32GB.
So when would you use NTFS? If you’re formatting a drive that is larger than 32 GB, you’ll only have the option for NTFS and exFAT. NTFS is usually only needed for internal hard drives running the Windows operating system.
It’s got a lot of extra overhead that you only need if you’re running Windows. However, if you really want the extra security, you can read my previous post on formatting USB drives with NTFS.
If you’re formatting an external USB drive, then your best choice is exFAT. What’s so great about exFAT? It’s basically a mix of the good features from NTFS and FAT. It’s got less overhead than NTFS and it gets rid of the size limits on volumes and files that are present in the FAT file system.
The major downside to exFAT is that it’s not nearly as compatible as the FAT file format. It can only be read on Windows XP and later (with service packs installed) and OS X Snow Leopard and higher. Outside of those two operating systems, there are not a ton of other systems that support the exFAT file system.
You can use exFAT on Linux, but you have to install the exFAT drivers first. If you know the system you’re going to be using the USB device on supports exFAT, then it’s the best choice because of the performance benefits and the lack of size restrictions.
Note: One piece of advice when using exFAT: if you can, format the drive on a computer running OS X. I used Windows 10 to format a drive to exFAT, but it was not readable on OS X for some reason. When I did it on OS X, it was readable on the Mac and PC.
Conclusion
So to break it down and make it simple, here are you options and how you should go about formatting a USB drive. Let me know in the comments if you disagree.
![Mac Mac](http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/format-drive-mac-windows-compatible.jpg)
1. Anything smaller than 32 GB that doesn’t require any security should be formatted in FAT or FAT32. Choose FAT32 for less disk space wastage and more reliability.
2. Anything larger than 32 GB that you know will be used with the latest operating systems for Mac and PC should be formatted in exFAT.
3. Anything larger than 32 GB that you want to be the most compatible with other devices and operating systems should be formatted in NTFS.
4. Lastly, if you are technically inclined and your drive is larger than 32GB, you can still format it in FAT32 using tools mentioned in the above linked post.
Tell us in the comments how you format your USB drives and why you chose the format you did. Enjoy!