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Best File System For Usb Flash Drive

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Summary :

When you get a new USB drive and want to format it, you may wonder: what is the best format for USB drive? Well, the best format for USB drive is different for different operating systems and devices. This article will show you how to choose the best format for USB flash drive.

Recoverit (IS) When you have important information on your USB flash drive and suddenly you.

  1. As long as you don't use it to transfer a single file larger than 4 GB, FAT32 is perfect and can be the best portable file system for USB drive due to its compatibility. So we draw the conclusion that although FAT32 has its limits, it's the best file system to use for most portable drives like USB drive, SD card, etc.
  2. What's the best USB format tool? Once made your own decision as above guided, it's time to format your USB drive a desired file system. No matter it's a newly bought flash drive or a used one, you can directly use a capable USB format tool to format the USB drive to FAT32 or NTFS.

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Nowadays, USB flash drive is widely used on various electronic devices due to its portability. Before you use a new USB drive, you need to first format it. Well, what is the best format for USB drive? How to choose the best format for USB drive?

Before you try to choose the best format for your USB drive, you need to know what file system it is in.

What Is File System?

What is file system?

In computing, a file system or filesystem controls how data is stored and retrieved. With a file system, the information placed in a storage medium will be separated into pieces and each piece will have a name, so the information is easily isolated and identified this way. Each group of data is called a file.

File system is the structure and logic rules used to manage groups of information.

File systems can be used on a numerous variety of storage devices and media types. There are many different types of file systems; each of them has different storage devices that they are the most suitable for.

What is the best format for USB drive? Well, it depends on how you plan to use your USB drive.

How to Choose the Best Format for USB drive

Basically, to choose the best format for USB flash drive. The two most important things you need to consider are the operating systems you plan to use it with and the sizes of the files that you are most likely to transfer and store.

The following contents list some commonly used file systems. To better understand which one is the best file system for USB drive according to your needs, you can view the compatibility, pros and cons of these file systems one by one.

When you get a new USB drive, you can follow this guide to choose the best thumb drive file system for your portable drive.

NTFS vs HFS+ vs FAT32 vs exFAT vs Ext 2,3,4

1. NTFS: The New Technology File System (NTFS), a proprietary journaling file system developed by Microsoft, is the default file system of the Windows NT family. Skyrim markarth house mod.

  • Compatibility: Windows XP/7/8/10, Linux (read-only for some distributions), MacOS(read-only), Xbox One
  • Pros: journaling, no realistic file size limitations; support for file compression, high security
  • Cons: can be read-only for Mac OS, or be written by Mac with the help of third-party software

2. HFS+: The Hierarchical File System (HFS+) is the file system modern MacOS versions use by default. If you want to use your USB drive on Mac devices, you can format USB to HFS+.

  • Compatibility: MacOS, Linux(readonly), Xbox 360/One
  • Pros: journaling, encrypt or compress files or folders
  • Cons: cannot be read by the Window unless using third-party software

3. FAT32: The File Allocation Table 32 (FAT32) was the standard Windows file system before NTFS. And it is widely recognized by almost all operating systems. Most portable devices also support FAT32.

  • Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, Chrome OS, Android, Xbox 360/One, PS3, PS4, printers, projectors…
  • Pros: compatible with almost all versions of Windows, Mac, Linux and practically any device with a USB port
  • Cons: cannot store a single file which is larger than 4GB; cannot create a FAT32 partition that is larger than 8 TB (Windows only recognizes 2TB)

4. exFAT: The extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) is similar to FAT32, but does not have the limits of FAT32 file system. It can be used where NTFS is not a feasible solution, but a greater file-size limit than the standard FAT32 file system is required.

  • Compatibility: Windows, Mac OSX 10.6.5 and above, PlayStation 4 (with MBR, not GUID), Xbox One, Android
  • Pros: good for larger file sizes and drives, compatible with both Windows and Mac OS
  • Cons: Microsoft restricts its usage by license obligations.
Best File System For Usb Flash Drive
Tip: To learn more information about NTFS vs FAT32 vs exFAT file system, here is the full guide: NTFS vs. FAT32 vs. exFAT – Differences and How to Format to.

5. Ext 2/3/4: The extended file system (Ext) was the first file system created specifically for Linux. If you plan to use the USB drive on Linux computers, you can format it to this file system.

  • Compatibility: Linux, Xbox 360/One
  • Pros: support for large file sizes and large drives
  • Cons: cannot be read and written by Windows unless with third-party software, Ext 2 lacks journaling.

After the comparison, have you picked your best format for USB drive?

All in all, FAT32 is actually compatible for the most types of systems. It's practically compatible with any device with a USB port, while NTFS and exFAT are not so much. HFS+ is specially used on MacOS, and Ext 2, 3, 4 file systems are created by Linux.

FAT32 - The Best Format for USB Drive

As you can see from above, FAT32 is supported on almost all devices, which makes it the choice of file system format selected by the most people for USB drive.

As long as you don't use it to transfer a single file larger than 4 GB, FAT32 is perfect and can be the best portable file system for USB drive due to its compatibility.

So we draw the conclusion that although FAT32 has its limits, it's the best file system to use for most portable drives like USB drive, SD card, etc. Besides, most USB drives have small capacity because they are hardly ever used as the main data storage. Therefore, they will not be used to store large files. The limit will not affect you too much.

How to Format USB Drive in Windows or Mac

After choosing the best format for USB drive according to your needs, you might start to wonder: how do I format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ in Windows operating system or Mac? Well, don't worry. if you need to format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ file system, please follow the steps as below.

https://lapornibo1980.mystrikingly.com/blog/zoo-tycoon-complete-collection. Well then, how to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ if you have the need. Don't worry, the following part will show you the solution for Windows and Mac OS users.

The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system you're using. Let's see how to format USB drive on a Windows PC first.

Format USB drive on Windows Operating System

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. It can help you resize partition, extend partition, format partition, convert FAT32 to NTFS, check file system, copy partition, migrate OS to HD/SSD and so on. As a free partition manager, it is equipped with many advanced features that cannot be found in Disk Management.

With its user-friendly interface, this free partition manager is worth trying.

First, you need to connect the USB drive to your Windows PC. Then you can follow the steps as below to format USB drive for Mac and Windows on a Windows PC.

Step 1. Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition by clicking the following button. Install and launch it to get its main interface.

Step 2. Right-click the drive you want to format and select Format Partition from the left action panel.

Step 3. At this page, specify the partition label, file system as well as cluster size. The cluster size is set by default.

Tip: As you can see from the pop-up window, you can format the drive's file system to FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4 with MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition, which is very convenient. Here I choose to format the USB to FAT32, the best format for USB drives.

Step 4. After resetting these parameters, you can click OK.

Step 5. Click Apply button on the upper left corner to allow the pending operations.

If you need to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition can be your best USB formatter. You can also change your USB format with this tool at ease. Try it now!

Note: If you don't want to resort to third-party USB formatter, you can also use Windows built-in partition manager Disk Management to format USB drive. However, the limit is that you can only format USB drive to NTFS/FAT/exFAT file system.

Format USB Drive in Mac

If you want to use the USB drive on your Mac computer only, formatting it to be entirely Mac compatible file system is highly recommended, such as HFS+ file system. If you want to use the drive between a Windows and Mac machine, you can format it to FAT32.

You can follow the steps as below to format USB drive to HFS+ or FAT32 in Mac. Here I will format the drive to FAT32 for demonstration.

Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.

Step 2. Go to Applications and then click Utilities.

Step 3, Double click Disk Utility to open it.

Step 4. Select your USB flash drive on the sidebar, choose Erase.

Step 5. Name the USB drive, choose the MS-DOS (FAT) for Format, Master Boot Record for Scheme. Then click Erase.

Tip: OS X Extended (Journaled) is the default file system set by Mac OS, but it's only natively supported on Macs. It's also known as HFS+.

Step 6. When it is finished, your USB drive will be formatted to FAT32 as the file system.

Wrapping Things Up

If you don't know how to choose the best format for USB drive, this article could be a big help. If you don't know how to format USB drive to the best file system, this article can also resolve this issue for you.

If you have a different opinion about the best format for USB drive, please don't hesitate to share it with us. If you need any help formatting USB drive in Windows, you may leave it in the following comment zone. And we will reply you as soon as possible. You may also contact us via [email protected] if you need help.

'I encountered the disk not formatted error on my 64GB Toshiba flash drive. The error message said 'You need to format the disk in Drive H: before you can use it'. How can I format my USB flash drive for reuse successfully?'

USB format tool, also known as USB formatter, lets you solve many USB format problems. With the help of the recommended USB format tools on this page, you can easily format USB drive to FAT32 or NTFS, format a write-protected USB flash drive, format USB drive back to the original size, etc.

PAGE CONTENT:
#1. EaseUS Partition Master
#2. Windows File Explorer
#3. Windows Disk Management
#4. Windows Diskpart Command
#5. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

Pick up the best USB format tool and follow the respective tutorial here to format your USB with ease now.

Why Do You Need USB Format Tool

Generally, formatting is the quickest way to prepare a USB drive ready for data storage, plus it is the best way to troubleshoot many general USB issues.

When you meet any one of the following issues, you would like to format your USB drive or a pen drive with a reliable USB format tool:

  • USB is slow in writing or transferring files.
  • USB becomes RAW, not accessible, not formatted USB drive
  • Remove data and restore USB drive to its full capacity.
  • Can't save a single file bigger than 4GB on USB.
  • Can't create a partition larger than 32GB on FAT32 USB drive.
  • Windows was unable to complete the format while formatting a USB.
  • Can't format USB with 'the disk is write-protected' error.

You may also interest in:

2021 Top 5 Best USB Format Tools for Windows 10/8/7/XP Users

To help you fix USB cannot format, USB drive is write-protected, USB format error, USB becomes raw, and more issues, here we collected top 5 best USB format tools in 2021 to help you out.

Pick up one and format your USB flash drive to fix the problems immediately:

5 USB Format ToolsProsCons
#1. EaseUS Partition Master
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS/Ext4/3/2/exFAT.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, and Windows Servers.
  • The only bootable USB format tool.
  • Doesn't have a Mac version.
#2. File Explorer
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
#3. Disk Management
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
#4. DiskPart Command
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
  • Complex for beginners.
#5. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows XP.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.

Among the top 5 USB formatters, EaseUS Partition Master is highly recommended as the TOP ONE USB format tool. It allows all Windows users to format their USB flash drive, external or internal hard drive, SD card, etc. to all any file system with ease.

Important
As formatting will cause data loss, remember to back up valuable files from the USB drive to another location first. Reliable file backup software - EaseUS Todo Backup can help.

After picking up the USB format tool, you may follow the tutorial below to format your USB flash drive with ease now.

#1. EaseUS Partition Master - The Best USB Format Tool in 2021

There are many USB formatting tools available online to help, like HP USB Disk Storage Formatting Tool, MMC Formatting tool, USB formatting software, etc. Which one is the best?

Here, we would like to recommend you try EaseUS partition software. Its powerful formatting capacity and easy-to-use features allows all levels of users to format their USB flash drive from all complex cases within only a few simple clicks.

Features You May Like:

  • Format USB to Fix 'File Is Too Large for Destination File System' Error
  • Format USB to EXT2/3/4, FAT16/32, NTFS, exFAT
  • Convert USB from FAT32 to NTFS without Formatting.

Tutorial: How to Format USB Flash Drive with EaseUS USB Formatting Tool

How to get os x 10 12 on mac. Now you can try the following guide to format your USB drive in Sandisk, Kingston, Panasonic, Lexar, Samsung, Sony, etc. with a few simple steps.

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.

#2. Windows File Explorer - Format USB Drive in Windows 10/8/7

Windows has default programs that let users format USB pen drives and a variety of hard drive storage devices as well. Windows File Explorer is one of them, though not a professional USB format tool, yet the easiest tool for formatting a USB flash drive or USB.

Note that File Explorer is not designed to solve every USB corruption issue but it's good to have the first try when your USB drive starts malfunctioning.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format USB to NTFS/FAT32, exFAT (on big USB drive)
  • Delete and remove files from USB

Tutorial: Format USB Flash Drive Using File Explorer

Connect the USB flash drive to your computer, after Windows recognizes the USB, you can follow the steps below to format your USB drive now:

Step 1. Open File Explorer.

Step 2. Choose 'This PC' from the left pane.

Step 3. Right-click the connected USB flash drive and select 'Format'.

Step 4. Under the File system section, set NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT for the USB.

Step 5. Tick 'Quick Format' and click 'Start'.

#3. Windows Disk Management - Format a Not Working USB Drive

Disk Management is the other native Windows program that is available in Windows 10/8/7. It enables users to undertake many more tasks to manage a disk as they want.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format RAW USB to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT
  • Create New Volume on USB
  • Delete Volume on USB

Tutorial: Format (RAW or Not Working) USB Flash Drive in Disk Management

Step 1. Right-click on This PC and navigate to Manage > Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the USB drive, and choose 'Format'.

Step 3. Set the allocation unit size and select NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT as the file system.

Step 4. Check 'Perform a quick format' and click 'OK' to start formatting the USB drive.

#4. Windows Diskpart Command - Advanced USB Formatter for Professionals

Windows Command Prompt is a built-in tool in Windows that can troubleshoot all kinds of computer problems with various commands. You can use the Diskpart command as the USB formatter to format an external USB drive.

Features You May Like:

Best
Tip: To learn more information about NTFS vs FAT32 vs exFAT file system, here is the full guide: NTFS vs. FAT32 vs. exFAT – Differences and How to Format to.

5. Ext 2/3/4: The extended file system (Ext) was the first file system created specifically for Linux. If you plan to use the USB drive on Linux computers, you can format it to this file system.

  • Compatibility: Linux, Xbox 360/One
  • Pros: support for large file sizes and large drives
  • Cons: cannot be read and written by Windows unless with third-party software, Ext 2 lacks journaling.

After the comparison, have you picked your best format for USB drive?

All in all, FAT32 is actually compatible for the most types of systems. It's practically compatible with any device with a USB port, while NTFS and exFAT are not so much. HFS+ is specially used on MacOS, and Ext 2, 3, 4 file systems are created by Linux.

FAT32 - The Best Format for USB Drive

As you can see from above, FAT32 is supported on almost all devices, which makes it the choice of file system format selected by the most people for USB drive.

As long as you don't use it to transfer a single file larger than 4 GB, FAT32 is perfect and can be the best portable file system for USB drive due to its compatibility.

So we draw the conclusion that although FAT32 has its limits, it's the best file system to use for most portable drives like USB drive, SD card, etc. Besides, most USB drives have small capacity because they are hardly ever used as the main data storage. Therefore, they will not be used to store large files. The limit will not affect you too much.

How to Format USB Drive in Windows or Mac

After choosing the best format for USB drive according to your needs, you might start to wonder: how do I format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ in Windows operating system or Mac? Well, don't worry. if you need to format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ file system, please follow the steps as below.

https://lapornibo1980.mystrikingly.com/blog/zoo-tycoon-complete-collection. Well then, how to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ if you have the need. Don't worry, the following part will show you the solution for Windows and Mac OS users.

The process for formatting a drive is different depending on the system you're using. Let's see how to format USB drive on a Windows PC first.

Format USB drive on Windows Operating System

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. It can help you resize partition, extend partition, format partition, convert FAT32 to NTFS, check file system, copy partition, migrate OS to HD/SSD and so on. As a free partition manager, it is equipped with many advanced features that cannot be found in Disk Management.

With its user-friendly interface, this free partition manager is worth trying.

First, you need to connect the USB drive to your Windows PC. Then you can follow the steps as below to format USB drive for Mac and Windows on a Windows PC.

Step 1. Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition by clicking the following button. Install and launch it to get its main interface.

Step 2. Right-click the drive you want to format and select Format Partition from the left action panel.

Step 3. At this page, specify the partition label, file system as well as cluster size. The cluster size is set by default.

Tip: As you can see from the pop-up window, you can format the drive's file system to FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4 with MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition, which is very convenient. Here I choose to format the USB to FAT32, the best format for USB drives.

Step 4. After resetting these parameters, you can click OK.

Step 5. Click Apply button on the upper left corner to allow the pending operations.

If you need to format USB drive to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition can be your best USB formatter. You can also change your USB format with this tool at ease. Try it now!

Note: If you don't want to resort to third-party USB formatter, you can also use Windows built-in partition manager Disk Management to format USB drive. However, the limit is that you can only format USB drive to NTFS/FAT/exFAT file system.

Format USB Drive in Mac

If you want to use the USB drive on your Mac computer only, formatting it to be entirely Mac compatible file system is highly recommended, such as HFS+ file system. If you want to use the drive between a Windows and Mac machine, you can format it to FAT32.

You can follow the steps as below to format USB drive to HFS+ or FAT32 in Mac. Here I will format the drive to FAT32 for demonstration.

Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your Mac computer.

Step 2. Go to Applications and then click Utilities.

Step 3, Double click Disk Utility to open it.

Step 4. Select your USB flash drive on the sidebar, choose Erase.

Step 5. Name the USB drive, choose the MS-DOS (FAT) for Format, Master Boot Record for Scheme. Then click Erase.

Tip: OS X Extended (Journaled) is the default file system set by Mac OS, but it's only natively supported on Macs. It's also known as HFS+.

Step 6. When it is finished, your USB drive will be formatted to FAT32 as the file system.

Wrapping Things Up

If you don't know how to choose the best format for USB drive, this article could be a big help. If you don't know how to format USB drive to the best file system, this article can also resolve this issue for you.

If you have a different opinion about the best format for USB drive, please don't hesitate to share it with us. If you need any help formatting USB drive in Windows, you may leave it in the following comment zone. And we will reply you as soon as possible. You may also contact us via [email protected] if you need help.

'I encountered the disk not formatted error on my 64GB Toshiba flash drive. The error message said 'You need to format the disk in Drive H: before you can use it'. How can I format my USB flash drive for reuse successfully?'

USB format tool, also known as USB formatter, lets you solve many USB format problems. With the help of the recommended USB format tools on this page, you can easily format USB drive to FAT32 or NTFS, format a write-protected USB flash drive, format USB drive back to the original size, etc.

PAGE CONTENT:
#1. EaseUS Partition Master
#2. Windows File Explorer
#3. Windows Disk Management
#4. Windows Diskpart Command
#5. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

Pick up the best USB format tool and follow the respective tutorial here to format your USB with ease now.

Why Do You Need USB Format Tool

Generally, formatting is the quickest way to prepare a USB drive ready for data storage, plus it is the best way to troubleshoot many general USB issues.

When you meet any one of the following issues, you would like to format your USB drive or a pen drive with a reliable USB format tool:

  • USB is slow in writing or transferring files.
  • USB becomes RAW, not accessible, not formatted USB drive
  • Remove data and restore USB drive to its full capacity.
  • Can't save a single file bigger than 4GB on USB.
  • Can't create a partition larger than 32GB on FAT32 USB drive.
  • Windows was unable to complete the format while formatting a USB.
  • Can't format USB with 'the disk is write-protected' error.

You may also interest in:

2021 Top 5 Best USB Format Tools for Windows 10/8/7/XP Users

To help you fix USB cannot format, USB drive is write-protected, USB format error, USB becomes raw, and more issues, here we collected top 5 best USB format tools in 2021 to help you out.

Pick up one and format your USB flash drive to fix the problems immediately:

5 USB Format ToolsProsCons
#1. EaseUS Partition Master
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS/Ext4/3/2/exFAT.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, and Windows Servers.
  • The only bootable USB format tool.
  • Doesn't have a Mac version.
#2. File Explorer
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
#3. Disk Management
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
#4. DiskPart Command
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows 10/8/7.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.
  • Complex for beginners.
#5. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
  • Format USB to FAT32/NTFS.
  • Support Windows XP.
  • Can't format USB to Ext4/3/2.

Among the top 5 USB formatters, EaseUS Partition Master is highly recommended as the TOP ONE USB format tool. It allows all Windows users to format their USB flash drive, external or internal hard drive, SD card, etc. to all any file system with ease.

Important
As formatting will cause data loss, remember to back up valuable files from the USB drive to another location first. Reliable file backup software - EaseUS Todo Backup can help.

After picking up the USB format tool, you may follow the tutorial below to format your USB flash drive with ease now.

#1. EaseUS Partition Master - The Best USB Format Tool in 2021

There are many USB formatting tools available online to help, like HP USB Disk Storage Formatting Tool, MMC Formatting tool, USB formatting software, etc. Which one is the best?

Here, we would like to recommend you try EaseUS partition software. Its powerful formatting capacity and easy-to-use features allows all levels of users to format their USB flash drive from all complex cases within only a few simple clicks.

Features You May Like:

  • Format USB to Fix 'File Is Too Large for Destination File System' Error
  • Format USB to EXT2/3/4, FAT16/32, NTFS, exFAT
  • Convert USB from FAT32 to NTFS without Formatting.

Tutorial: How to Format USB Flash Drive with EaseUS USB Formatting Tool

How to get os x 10 12 on mac. Now you can try the following guide to format your USB drive in Sandisk, Kingston, Panasonic, Lexar, Samsung, Sony, etc. with a few simple steps.

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.

#2. Windows File Explorer - Format USB Drive in Windows 10/8/7

Windows has default programs that let users format USB pen drives and a variety of hard drive storage devices as well. Windows File Explorer is one of them, though not a professional USB format tool, yet the easiest tool for formatting a USB flash drive or USB.

Note that File Explorer is not designed to solve every USB corruption issue but it's good to have the first try when your USB drive starts malfunctioning.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format USB to NTFS/FAT32, exFAT (on big USB drive)
  • Delete and remove files from USB

Tutorial: Format USB Flash Drive Using File Explorer

Connect the USB flash drive to your computer, after Windows recognizes the USB, you can follow the steps below to format your USB drive now:

Step 1. Open File Explorer.

Step 2. Choose 'This PC' from the left pane.

Step 3. Right-click the connected USB flash drive and select 'Format'.

Step 4. Under the File system section, set NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT for the USB.

Step 5. Tick 'Quick Format' and click 'Start'.

#3. Windows Disk Management - Format a Not Working USB Drive

Disk Management is the other native Windows program that is available in Windows 10/8/7. It enables users to undertake many more tasks to manage a disk as they want.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format RAW USB to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT
  • Create New Volume on USB
  • Delete Volume on USB

Tutorial: Format (RAW or Not Working) USB Flash Drive in Disk Management

Step 1. Right-click on This PC and navigate to Manage > Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the USB drive, and choose 'Format'.

Step 3. Set the allocation unit size and select NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT as the file system.

Step 4. Check 'Perform a quick format' and click 'OK' to start formatting the USB drive.

#4. Windows Diskpart Command - Advanced USB Formatter for Professionals

Windows Command Prompt is a built-in tool in Windows that can troubleshoot all kinds of computer problems with various commands. You can use the Diskpart command as the USB formatter to format an external USB drive.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format USB to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT
  • Delete USB Partition
  • Create New Volume on USB

Tutorial: Format USB Flash Drive Using DiskPart Command

This method is somehow complex for many Windows beginners. Be patient and careful while utilizing this way to tackle some USB issues via formatting.

Connect your USB to the computer and start formatting it via DiskPart now:

Step 1. In Windows 10, press Windows + R keys and type cmd in the Search box.

In Windows 8/7, click the Windows icon and select 'Search'. Type command prompt in the Search box.

Step 2. Right-click Command Prompt and select 'Run as administrator'.

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time: Blender 3d free download 64 bit.

  • diskpart
  • list disk
  • select disk + number (If the USB flash drive is disk 2, then enter disk 2)
  • list volume
  • select volume + number (If the USB flash volume is volume 10, select volume 10)
  • format fs=ntfs quick (You can also replace ntfs with FAT32 or exFAT)
  • exit

#5. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - Best for Windows XP

The HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool was created to format USB drives and desktop computers that were produced prior to 2012 and computers that run Windows XP. The formatting tool will work with newer Windows operating systems but results may vary.

Features You May Like:

  • Free
  • Format USB to NTFS/FAT32
  • GUI Similar Interface, Windows XP Formatting Tool

Guide: How To Format USB Drive with HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

To achieve the best USB format result, Windows XP users can consider the USB Disk Storage Format Tool to format a USB drive, flash drive or pen drive.

Connect the USB drive to your Windows XP computer and start with the following tutorial:

Step 1. Launch HP Disk Storage Format Tool, click 'Devices' and select the USB drive to format.

Step 2. On the File System menu, select a file system. In the Volume Label input box, enter a new name for the reformatted USB.

Step 3. Click the Quick Format option to enable a quick format.

Step 4. Click Start to begin the USB formatting.

The Bottom Line

On this page, we provided 5 top USB format tools for you to pick up one and follow the respective tutorial to effectively format your USB flash drive or external USB drives to the desired format.

Remember that no what why or how you want to format the USB, you should take a backup of all important data first.

Among the 5 USB format tools, EaseUS Partition Master is always ready for you to try. Besides basic formatting operations, this software also allows you to convert disk, clone disk, even migrate OS to another drive with ease.

People Also Ask

1. How do I format a USB drive?

  • Connect the USB drive or pen drive to your computer.
  • Launch EaseUS partition software. Right-click the USB drive and choose 'Format'.
  • Assign a new partition label, file system, and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'

2. What happens when you format a USB?

  1. 1. Remove existing data from USB.
  2. 2. Reset the file system.
  3. 3. Restore USB to full capacity.

3. Why can't you format a USB flash drive?

View Files On Flash Drive

USB Flash drive formatting has its advantages. But File Explorer, Disk Management, or DiskPart can't format USB due to the following reasons:

Best File System For Usb Flash Drive

  • Virus Infection
  • Bad Sectors
  • Physical Damage
  • Device Locked or Write Protected
  • Incompatible File System

Best Format For Usb

To resolve these issues and format your USB back to a normal state, you'll need the best USB format tool - EaseUS Partition Master as recommended on this page for help.





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