Formatting and Installing Windows 7 on a Computer Using USB/CD: This tutorial demonstrates the process of formatting and installing windows 7 on a computer. Let us be honest for once ^^ and admit that we often carelessly download files from the internet or copy files from someone using. Plug in the bootable USB drive when you running Windows and then type ' diskmgmt.msc ' in Run box to start Disk Management. How to format a memory stick. Right click the bootable drive and select 'Format'. Then follow the wizard to complete the formatting. One can not only create bootable USB using Diskpart but also format bootable USB stick with this application. Open My Computer Select Format on the flash drive. Choose NTFS in the File System drop-down box. Click the Start button and wait until finished. If you have formatted your USB using Better Performance policy to remove a device safely without data loss use a 'safely remove hardware' procedure or Eject function from Windows Explorer.
After having tooled around with a USB Linux version using your dd raw image overwritten or multi partitioned flash pen drive, you might find it necessary to revert it back to a single fat, fat32, exFAT or NTFS partition. Essentially recovering or restoring the USB flash pen drive back to its original state. This allows the storage device to be readable again, and usable by all computers.
You'll find this particularly necessary after working with tools such as Etcher to burn an ISO or Win32 Disk Imager to write an image. Depending on the file used, these tools can make your USB device appear corrupted or unreadable. This is because these tools use raw-write style dd tasks to put an .img or .iso file on a USB flash drive. As a result, the existing boot record, partition table data, and filesystem is overwritten with that of the raw image file.
Windows users can follow the instructions below to Repair or Restore a Flash Drive using Diskpart, BOOTICE, or the SD Formatter. Mac OS users should also be able to use the SD tool. For those working from Linux this task can easily be accomplished via fdisk. As shown in the related the Linux Flash Drive Restoration tutorial.
Easily Restoring your USB key from Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
How to Restore a USB drive using Diskpart – Windows
- Open a command Prompt as administrator (cmd.exe)
- Type Diskpart then press Enter
- Type List Disk then press Enter
- Type SelectDisk X (where X is the disk number of your USB drive) then press Enter
- Type Clean then press Enter
- Type Create Partition Primary then press Enter
- Type Format fs=Fat32 Quick then press Enter (You can also use NTFS or exFAT)
- Type Active then press Enter
- Type Exit then press Enter
Restore a USB with SD Formatter Tool – Windows/Mac OS
Windows and or Mac OS users could use the SD Formatter Tool to reformat and restore a USB Drive.
Using BOOTICE to repair a USB drive
Windows users can also simply use BOOTICE to format and restore a flash drive. The tool uses a simple and intuitive GUI.
- Download, extract, then run Pauly's BOOTICE Tool
- (1.) Select your USB Flash Drive from the list, (2.) Click Parts Manage
- (1.) Click Repartitioning
- (1.) Under Disk Mode, Choose USB-FDD, USB-HDD, or USB-ZIP mode I use USB-HDD as it works with every BIOS I use. (2.) Click OK
Restoring your USB key to its original state using Linux
The following manual tasks to restore a USB drive can be performed using a terminal window.
A. First we need to delete the old partitions that remain on the USB key.
- Open a terminal ctrl+alt+t and type sudo su
- Type fdisk -l and note your USB drive letter
- Type fdisk /dev/sdx (replacing x with your drive letter)
- Type d to proceed to delete a partition
- Type 1 to select the 1st partition then press enter
- Type d to proceed to delete another partition, if necessary. (fdisk should automatically select the second partition)
B. Next we need to create the new partition.
- Type n to make a new partition
- Type p to make this partition primary then press enter
- Type 1 to make this the first partition then press enter
- Next press enter to accept the default first sector
- Press enter again to accept the default last sector
- Type w to write the new partition information to the USB key
- Type umount /dev/sdx1 (replacing x with your drive letter)
C. The last step is to create the fat filesystem.
- Type mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdx1 (replacing xwith your USB key drive letter)
That's all there is to it, you should now have a restored USB key with a single fat 32 partition that can be read from any computer.
How to move files in android tablet. Restore Your USB Key to its original state published under USB Help and Flash Drive Tools, Using and Configuring Linux
How can I format USB drive in CMD? How to format USB using CMD to NTFS? Can I format a USB using CMD in Windows 10? Don't worry if you have the same questions in your mind.
On this page, you'll learn how to format USB using CMD or CMD alternative tool in Windows 10/8/7 successfully. Pick up the suitable USB format tool for help now:
USB Format Tool | Pros |
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1. Format USB Using CMD |
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2. Format USB Via CMD Alternative |
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- Notice:
- As formatting will remove all saved data on the USB drive, if your USB is accessible, make sure to back up valuable USB data to another secure location in advance.
If you prefer an easy and quick way to format USB or you need to format to Ext 4/3/2, pick up CMD alternative format tool for help.
Let's start to format your USB using CMD or its alternative tool and make the RAW, inaccessible, unreadable, and even corrupted USB flash drive, pen drive, memory stick work normally again.
Part 1. How to Format USB Flash Drive Using CMD (Command Prompt)
Applies to: Format USB to FAT32/NTFS, format RAW USB, repair corrupted USB, etc.
USB flash drive is worldwide used for storing data and transferring files. However, sometimes, USB may corrupt or become inaccessible due to RAW or invalid file system, bad sector, or other errors. Formatting USB using CMD is a quick way to resolve these problems.
The following are two detailed guides, illustrating how to format a USB flash drive using Windows Command Prompt that you should strictly follow.
Steps to Format USB (to NTFS or FAT32) Using CMD
#1. Format USB using CMD in Windows 10:
Step 1. Connect USB to your PC and press Windows + R keys.
Step 2. Type cmd in the Search box and hit Enter to bring up Command Prompt.
Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time:
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk + number (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
- list volume
- select volume + number (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
- format fs=ntfs quick (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
- exit
CMD also works to fix Windows was unable to complete the format error in your computer hard drive, USB, or other storage devices.
#2. Format USB Flash Drive using Command Prompt in Windows 8/7:
Step 1. Plug USB in your computer and click the Windows icon and select 'Search'.
Step 2. Type command prompt in the Search box.
Right-click on Command Prompt and choose 'Run as administrator'.
Step 3. On the Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press 'Enter'.
Step 4 Type list disk and press 'Enter'. Check the disk number of your USB flash drive. For example, disk 2.
Step 5. Now type select disk 2 and press 'Enter'. (If the USB number is not 2, replace it with the right one.)
Step 6. Type format fs=ntfs and press 'Enter'.
If you prefer other file system formats, change the command NTFS to the desired one, such as format fs=fat32.
Step 7. Type exit and hit Enter to close the window.
After this, exit DiskPart and you save data to your USB flash drive again. However, as Linux file system Ext2/3 is not compatible with Windows OS, you can refer to a UBS format tool in Part 2 for help.
Part 2. Format USB Using CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7
Applies to: Format corrupted USB, format USB to Ext2, Ext3, format FAT32 USB to NTFS, format USB to FAT32, etc. on all Windows OS.
Although CMD is capable of formatting USB flash drive, it's not user-friendly for most Windows beginners. Also, it requires users to remember all command lines while executing operations in Command Prompt.
Also, any importer operation may cause data loss on other storage devices. Here, we would like to recommend you try third-party CMD alternative software - EaseUS free partition manager.
How To Reformat Usb Using Cmd
EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition is a perfect CMD alternative tool for USB formatting. With an easy-to-use interface and precise operation, you can use it to format USB easily in only a few clicks.
Tutorial - 4 Steps to Format USB via CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7
All levels of users can apply this tool and format USB to usable again in Windows 10/8/7:
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.
Step 2: Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.
Step 3: In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.
Step 4: Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.
Part 3. Bonus Tips to Fix Errors While Formatting USB Using CMD
According to some USB users, they reported that they encountered some errors while formatting USB in CMD.
Here, we've collected two common errors in formatting USB using CMD, if you get the same errors, don't worry. You can follow the provided solutions to resolve them:
Error 1: Diskpart format fs=ntfs stuck at 0, 10, 11, 12..
If the formatting process gets stuck in DiskPart, as the shown message, don't worry. You have two ways to go:
- #1. Just wait for the formatting process to complete.
- #2. Close CMD, turn to EaseUS Partition Master in Part 2 to format your drive.
Error 2: Diskpart has encountered an error: Access is denied. See the System Event Log for more information.
If you come across this issue, click the link below to get rid of the problem:
Data Recovery is not a challenge anymore. EaseUS serves as a dependable data recovery application to retrieve lost data within simple clicks.
The End Line
Due to its portability, flexibility, large storage size, and reasonable price, USB flash drive is still the No.1 external storage device around the world.
While using USB for data transferring or storage, problems with USB flash drives also increase. Formatting USB flash drive is one of the top issues.
How to contact xbox live. On this page, we included two USB formatting tools to help you format USB using CMD or CMD alternative - EaseUS Partition Master. You may pick up a suitable tool and follow the respective tutorial guide to make your USB flash drive work normally.
For an easy and free formatting resolution, take EaseUS Partition Master as your first choice. It's a perfect CMD alternative tool that can help you anytime.
People Also Ask About Format USB Using CMD
How To Reformat My Macbook Using Usb
Some of you may have more questions about formatting USB. Here we collected some top concerned questions and listed answers below. If you have the same doubts, check out the answers now.
1. Why do you need to format USB flash drive?
Usually, HDDs and SSDs are widely used for OS installation and data storage and removable storage devices like USB flash drives are more used for data transferring and storage. But the USB flash drive may become inaccessible, and you'll need to format it so as to make it work again.
Here is a list of reasons why do you and other USB users need to format the flash drive:
How To Reformat Usb Mac
- 1. RAW, invalid, or unrecognized USB file system
- 2. USB flash drive corruption
- 3. Virus infection
- 3. USB is write-protected
- 3. Change USB file system to NTFS, FAT32, or Ext 2/3/4 by formatting
2. How to format bootable USB using cmd?
The process of formatting a bootable USB flash drive is almost the same as the process shown on this page. You can apply CMD to format it with the listed steps here:
- Step 1. Connect the bootable USB drive to your PC.
- Step 2. Open Command Prompt.
- Step 3. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
- Step 4. Type list disk and hit Enter.
- Step 5.Type select disk + number and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
- Step 6. Type list volume and hit Enter.
- Step 7. select volume + number and hit Enter. (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
- Step 8. Type format fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter. (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
- Step 9. Type exit and hit Enter.
3. How to format write-protected USB using cmd?
Here are the steps that you can follow to format a write-protected (read-only) USB using the command lines below:
- Step 1. Press 'Win + R', type cmd to open 'Command Prompt'.
- Step 2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
- Step 3. Type list disk and hit Enter.
- Step 4. Type select disk 2 and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the write-protected device number) and hit Enter.
- Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and hit Enter.
- Step 6. Type exit to close the diskpart window.
Once the write protection removing process completes, you can format the USB drive again. You can either apply EaseUS Partition Master, Windows File Explorer, or even the CMD command as shown in Part 2 to format the USB drive.
4. Windows was unable to complete the format, how to fix it?
When you use File Explorer to format the USB flash drive, it warns you that 'Windows was unable to complete the format', don't worry. Here are 7 ways that you can try to fix this error:
- #1. Use EaseUS Partition Master
- #2. Use Diskpart Command
- #3. Use Disk Management
- #4. Clear Virus and Complete the Format
- #5. Remove Write Protection and Complete the Format
- #6. Fix Disk Errors and Complete the Format
- #7. Repair Bad Sectors and Complete the Format
Note that you can try the above two tutorials to format your USB flash drive and resolve this issue. You can also follow this link to get rid of the Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format error immediately.