Best Way To Format Usb

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USB flash drives are the little stick-like devices that we carry along in our pockets as portable external storage. But these little devices pack quite a punch; they can double up as your mobile movie library, photo collection, backup drive, OS boot volume, or just a way to transfer stuff from one computer to another.

Last updated on March 2, 2021

These best free formatters work for all brands and types of usb flash, hard drive, sd memory card. You may use them to force format usb/disk/sd for free.

  1. Besides Windows built-in tool, taking use of the third party software AOMEI Partition Assistant is another best way for formatting USB drive to FAT32. The AOMEI Partition Assistant should be the best way for pen drive to FAT32 format. You can format USB drive larger than 32GB to FAT32 with AOMEI Partition Assistant easily.
  2. To format USB drive in Windows operating system, it is recommended to use the free USB formatter MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition. MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition is a free partition manager & USB formatter.

Format usb flash or memory card on MAC? Be free to visit: Top 3 free formatters for MAC; Flash drive corrupted? Try these usb repair utilities: 8 usb repair tools for Windows

Table of contents

  1. A). HP USB Format Tool Download - needs admin privilege
  2. B). IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free - can also repair bad blocks for disk/usb before formatting
  3. C). Rufus - format disk/usb/sd that won't format

Hard Disk Formatting Software to Format Hard Disk?

'Windows was not able to complete the format when I received drive not formatted error message and performed a formatting there. Really want to format hard disk smoothly and also restore its common use. Thanks!'

'I am searching for best free drive formatting software to wipe everything stored inside before selling this drive online. Do you have any suggestion? Hope the suggested formatting software would help delete data permanently and any erased file will never be restored again. Thanks'

Hello, friends, you are also looking for the related hard drive reformatting utility to fix hard drive problems or remove hard drive viruses, bad sectors and sensitive data, etc? OK! No worry! Here are several tested best hard drive formatting programs for you.

Note: Before any formatting, we would recommend you backup data from your media. If the device is no longer accessible, you may try this tool: how to recover data from not formatted drive/card

Free Disk Drive/Memory Card Data Recovery Tool

Free Download Tool to Recover Data from Damaged Media, inaccessible drive, not formatted disk/usb/memory card.

Tested 5 Best Free Hard Drive/USB/SD Formatting Tool

Here are several common and useful free hard disk formatting utilities for you:

1). HP USB Disk Storage Format tool

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is really a free disk formatting tool which allows people to easily and quickly format a USB flash drive to FAT32, exFAT or NTFS file system. And it can work flawlessly even when Windows was unable to complete the format when your usb pen drive turned raw format.

MUST READ: * It needs you to run it under 'Administator'

With this software, if necessary, you can also make a bootable USB drive by choosing its 'Create a DOS startup disk' option.

Pros:

*It is completely free and easy to grasp and use.
*It works well in formatting USB drive into FAT32, FAT or NTFS.
*It is portable and could be installed on a flash drive to be used on different PCs.
*It allows people to 'Create a DOS startup disk' to help boot up a computer from USB flash drive.
*It supports common Windows operating systems.

Cons:

* It works well on USB flash drive and does not recognize internal hard drives and partitions.
* It needs you to run it under 'Administator'

Also read: HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool Review and Error Fixing

2). IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free

As a disk formatting tool, Partition Resizer Free Edition also allows people to format the selected hard drive or partition into FAT32/ntfs for free. As a partition managing program, this software also help format, create, wipe, delete, resize, hide and manage partitions effectively for you.

Free USB/Disk Formatter

Download IM-Magic Partition Resizer Free Edition to format disk/usb/memory card totally free of charge.

Format, repair bad blocks totally free of charge.

Must have: it has 'Check Partition' function to check and repair possible errors for your digital devices.

Pros:

*The home edition is free and easy.
*It helps format hard drive or partition into FAT32 as you wish.
*It also help format, wipe, delete, resize, hide and manage computer internal hard drive partitions well.
*A tutorial video will also be automatically popped out and lead you to this software step by step.
*It supports the latest Windows 10/8/7 Vista and XP.

Cons:

*This home edition is free for personal use.

Note: this freeware also provides bootable iso version that you may format disk/usb under WinPE.

Read more details: Partition software bootable iso download

3). Rufus - format device that cannot be formatted

Rufus is an easy to use freeware that is able to format media which cannot be formatted in regular ways.

Rufus download url: https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/releases/download/v3.11/rufus-3.11.exe

Also read: how to format sd card that cannot be formatted, or format usb drive that won't format

4). HDD Low Level Format Tool

HDD Low Level Format Tool is also another completely free disk formatting utility and allows people to easily format internal and external hard disk. With a Low-level format function, it often helps users format a hard drive completely and leave no original drive data there as well as removing some basic hard drive problems.

Pros:

*It is free and user-friendly.
*It support not only external hard drives, and also reads internal hard drives.
*It also offers a low-level format option to help users completely format hard drive and also ease everything inside drive.
*It also supports external memory cards, like SD, MMC, memory stick, CF card and more.

Cons:

*Pay $3.30 to upgrade this free tool to get faster speed and free lifetime updates.
*It recognizes the internal hard drive as one, not separated partitions.
*The speed of this free version is capped at 180GB per hour which is 50MB/s.

5). USB Disk Storage Format Tool

As the second disk formatting tool tested and listed here, USB disk storage format tool is also 100% freeware and allows people to completely format any USB flash drive or memory card with FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS file system formats.

Pros:

Best Way To Format Usb Drive

*It is free, fast and safe to format a flash drive or memory card.
*It supports all USB flash drives and memory card, like pen drive, thumb drive, CF, SD, Micro SD, TF, SDXC, SDHC memory card and more storage devices with different bands.
*It supports USB drive and memory card with FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS file system types.
*It helps formatting storage device and also removes all stored videos, music and files completely.

Cons:

*It also does not read any internal hard disk and partition.
*Upgrade software to pro version to get more features, like creating bootable USB disk, formatting USB disk not recognized by Windows, doing a low-level format or adjusting cluster size for USB disk for faster speed, etc.
*It supports FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS file system types only.

6). Tokiwa FAT32 Formatter

Tokiwa FAT32 Formatter is also a free disk formatting program which also helps everyone format hard disk and partition into FAT32 for free. With an easy-to-use interface, this software is also able to help delete or initialize a drive or partition smoothly.

Pro:

*It is free and easy to grasp.
*It allows users to delete or initialize hard drive partitions with simple clicks.
*It also reads all computer internal hard drives as separated partitions.
*It also allows user to format drive or partition into FAT32

Cons:

*It is able to format only unallocated space into FAT32 file system type.
*It only allows people to format hard drive or partition into FAT32.
*It supports Windows XP/Vista /2000 /7 only.

Free usb/disk formatting without software

Here are also some free methods that are available for you to operate hard drive formatting or usb format without any software under Windows.

Tool #6: format by right click the disk drive, pen drive or sd card

Tool #7: Format under PC Disk Management

Tool #8: format with cmd, it works when Windows was unable to complete the format

Download extract program. Step 1: open cmd by typing 'cmd' or 'diskpart' in 'Search Programs and Files' under Windows start

Step 2: type the letters inside of the quote 'format F: /fs:fat32' and enter. F must be replaced by the drive you want to format.

If you want to know more solution about why and what to do when Windows was unable to complete the format, you may read this article: Windows failed to format

Or you may see the following video to get a quick fix when it is unable to format your drive/card.

Note: when your flash drive or hard disk is damaged, be free to try these 8 free usb drive repair software for free repairing.

Remove Sensitive Data on Hard Disk/USB Flash by freeware Partition Resizer Free

Some users want to download disk formatting programs with the purpose of removing personal information on their storage media that they do not want to share any byte of the confidential data with another one.

In case of removing sensitive data with the usb format tools, we would recommend this freeware - Partition Resizer Free to you since it is built with a function - 'Wipe Partition' that could wipe the whole disk or usb by writing 0 or 1 into the disk, which makes the old data to be completely overwritten and can not be restored by any data recovery programs.

Best Format For Usb Stick

Step 1: Download and install Partition Resizer Free and get the usb/card to your PC if you want to remove an external device.

Step 2: Launch Partition Resizer Free and then right click the media you want to remove its privacy.

Step 3: Choose a wiping method. Time consumption depends on how much data on your media. Usually 120GB data would take about 10 minutes.

Conclusion:

No matter why you have to format a hard drive or memory card, there are always five common ways for you to choose, like formatting it in My Computer, performing a formatting process in Disk Management, formatting a hard drive with common line, doing a formatting process with drive partition managing software or disk formatting software. And No matter which way you choose at last, hope you can extract and save important data backups well in advance to avoid any unexpected data loss troubles.

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File

By Nicole Sioni

Most USB flash drive users do not ever think to format their drives. Most do not even realize it is possible to manipulate their file storage in this way. However it is an easy way to make the most out of your data storage experience. You don't have to be a technological wiz to reformat your USB Drive; you just need your drive and your computer. We've provided step by step instructions for both PC and MAC users below!

Why does an average user need to format their USB drive? We cover the subject pretty well in a previous blog here but in short, formatting your USB drive erases data, restores the drive to full capacity, and increases efficiency. Who wouldn't want that?

In general, most people are going to choose their file system based on capacity and performance. The size and quantity of files you need to transfer or store will help you decide which filing system to choose when you reformat your USB drive. A filing system is a system that organizes data into a specific way so it's not just one big pile of incomprehensible data. Much like physical storage, individuals have preferences and requirements for storage of important information. A user may tailor their flash drive so that it can work with their needs.

File System Options

Before you begin to format your drive, you should know which file system option you wish to use. Keeping in mind that most users will be looking at storage and performance, we've summed up for you the major ones you'll likely come across:

NTFS

NTFS is not recommended for flash drives, even if you're working with large data. It's preferably only used for Windows system drives. This is the default system that recent Windows version utilize. It stands for 'New Technology File System.' It has a limited compatibility with other OS besides modern Windows. It's meant to transport files larger than 4GB. It's great for working with Operating Systems because of its modern features not found in the FAT group. Typically found with regular sized hard drives. It can be easily restored in case of failure.

How To Format Usb Drive

FAT

This system is quite old; it was introduced in 1977! It's no longer the default for Windows. It stands for 'File Allocation Table.' You won't see FAT or FAT32 if your drive is larger than 32GB. Unlike NTFS types, FAT file systems cannot be recovered or restored in case of failure. Technically, all FAT types are referred to as FAT in one big umbrella term. FAT and FAT 32 use less memory and work faster than NTFS.

FAT32

Don't use this for internal drives; it doesn't have the components and other safety features you want to do that. Use it instead for a removable drive that requires high compatibility but with small files (less than 4GB each). You won't see FAT or FAT32 if your drive is larger than 32GB. It used to be the standard before NTFS came along. This is a highly compatible system as it works with all versions of Windows. However, it limits transactions at 4GB so you won't be able to transfer large files like movies.

exFAT

You should use this format when you need high compatibility with large file sizes. It's great for flash drives. This file system incorporates FAT32 in a more light weight system that avoids all the messy overhead of NTFS. It manages space better and with less fragmentation that FAT and FAT32. exFAT is often preferred over NTFS. It can read and write files larger than 4GB. Note that exFAT is not backwards compatible with other FAT systems.

This quick guide to file systems is not exhaustive; there are lots more details about each that you might want to compare between. These file systems all have their pros and cons. However, most people won't need to bother with those details. Instead, let's focus on how to reformat your USB drive.

Steps to Formatting Your USB Drive

Steps for PC/Windows

  1. Connect USB drive to computer
  2. Open Computer window (Or This PC, depending on your OS)
    1. For Windows Vista and 7:
      1. Click Start
      2. Click Computer
    2. Windows 8/8.1:
      1. Type 'Computer' in search area of Start screen
      2. Click Computer
    3. Windows 10:
      1. Type 'This PC' in search area of Start screen
      2. Click on This PC
  3. In which ever window you used in step 2, right click the drive icon that shows your USB device
  4. In the menu, click Format

NOTE: WHEN YOU FORMAT YOUR DEVICE IT WILL WIPE EVERYTHING OFF YOUR DEVICE!

  1. Under Format Device Name (Drive Letter) window, click File System, and use the drop down arrow to select your preferred filing system
  2. Click Start
  3. Click OK on the warning message
  4. Click OK on the Format Complete message
  5. Click CLOSE on the Format Device Name (Drive Letter) window
  6. X out of the Computer or This PC window

Steps for Mac

  1. Connect your UBS drive to your computer
  2. Open Disk Utility
  3. Press Command + Space to open Spotlight search box, then type in 'Disk Utility' then enter to launch
  4. Click to select your USB drive from the left panel
  5. Click to change to the Erase tab
  6. In Volume Format selection box, select the file system you want

NOTE: WHEN YOU DO THIS YOU WILL ERASE YOUR DATA ON THE DEVICE

  1. Confirm you want to Erase
  2. Close the Disk Utility window

Apple products have several other file systems available in addition to the ones already mentioned that won't be discussed here.

Data storage technology is developing rapidly all the time and it won't be long before users can store data in quantities previously unthinkable. When that time comes, you'll be happy to be able to tailor your USB drive to your data storage needs.





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