Now you know how to solve it when Windows can’t format USB drive.
Note: If Windows cannot format USB to FAT32 because it is over 32GB, you can also use this free partition manager, which breaks out the limitation of Windows built-in tools, and is able to format large hard drive to FAT32 easily. Back to the main interface, click “Apply” and then “Proceed” to initiate the pending formatting operation. In this window, you can select a desirable file system (ex: FAT32) for the USB drive, and click “OK”. In its main interface, right click the USB drive to be formatted and select “Format Partition”.
Double click the AOMEI Partition Assistant icon to launch it. Then follow the steps to force format USB drive.
Now download the freeware and install it. If the Windows can’t format USB drive because it is write-protected or corrupted because of the damaged file system, then you can try this tool.īesides, it supports checking bad sectors for local and USB drive as well. This freeware works well on all editions of Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista (32-bit and 64-bit). If the Command-Line does not work as expected, or that method is complicated for you, you can switch to the free partition manager named AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. PS.: if the USB drive is write-protected, you can add command: “attributes disk clear readonly” between step 4 (clean command) and step 5 (create partition primary) to remove the write protection first, then format it.
This command will format USB drive to NTFS or FAT32. Type “ format fs=ntfs quick” or “ format fs=fat32 quick” and hit “Enter”. Type “ create partition primary” and hit “Enter”. Step 4.Type “ select disk #” and press “Enter”. Then you can see all partitions and disks on your computers. Type “ diskpart” in the Command Prompt window and press “Enter” to launch diskpart service. Click “Start” button, input “cmd” in the Search box and press “Enter”, then you will see the pop-out Command Prompt icon, right click it and select “Run as administrator”. Follow steps below to check whether it can format USB drive smoothly.
When Disk Management or File Explorer does not allow you to format USB drive, you can use Command Prompt.
If this USB drive is not accessible before you decide to back up data, then you had better use professional data recovery software to perform file recovery first of all. If you cannot format your USB drive (USB flash drive, external hard drive, SD card, pen drive, etc.) through traditional process, then you can try to format that drive with the following two methods.īefore that, please make sure you have backed up important files since all data will be destroyed once the drive is formatted. How to format USB drive successfully in Windows 11/10/8/7? ▶ USB drive is read only: sometimes the USB devices might be set into read only mode by accident, thus you need to first remove this write protection attribute, then format it. Then you need to go to professional repair center to replace the malfunctioned components to make it workable again. Then Windows will not be able to use it, not to mention to format it. ▶USB devices suffer physical damage: if your USB drive is suffering physical damaged, the chip or circuit board might not work anymore. ▶USB drives have bad sectors: when your USB devices have the bad sectors, the formatting operation will be disrupted and fail. Then please run anti-virus software to clear virus. ▶Virus infection: if you usually plug USB drives into a public computer, there are strong chances that you accidentally download malware onto the USB drive. We list some main causes for your reference. ◆ The format did not complete successfully.Īs covered above, the formatting errors are different from each other, so the possible causes for that Windows can’t format USB drive varies a lot. ◆ Windows was unable to complete the format. ◆The operation did not complete because the media is write-protected/ The disk is write-protected. Here are some typical Windows unable to format USB errors. Depending on the operating systems (Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP) you are using now, the message might be different. Generally speaking, Windows can format USB drive very easily but sometimes they cannot and pop out various error messages.