windows cannot complete format of usb flash drive


  1. Posts : 72
    windows 10 Insider Preview 16179
       #1

    windows cannot complete format of usb flash drive


    I have a 1TB usb flash drive that was Ex-Fat32 formatted. I want to put my System images for my laptop and desktop on this drive and when I try to format the drive to NTFS I get the same error every time "Windows could not complete the format of this drive" but it doesn't say why. When I try to run a disk check on the drive I get the message that "this disk cannot be checked because it is not formatted'; would you like to format now?" which of course puts me right back in to the same issue.

    Is there any other way to check the usb drive for errors and to format it to NTFS?

    thanks,

    DanielJ
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 2,537
    Windows 10 Pro 64bit
       #2

    Have you tried diskpart? I don't know whether it'll work with USB flash drives but it's worth checking.

    1. Open a Command Prompt W/ administration rights.
      • Type in "DiskPart" in command line.
      • Type in "list disk" in command line to show all disks in this machine.
      • Use "select" to set the focus to the specified partition.
        For example "select disk 1".
      • Use "clean" command to remove GPT disk from the current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors.


      1. Go back to Disk Management, you can see GPT disk is "Not Initialized" now.
      2. Within Disk Management, right click on disk info, choose "Initialize Disk", You can see GPT disk is "Unallocated" now.
      3. Right click on disk info, choose "New Partition…", follow Partition Wizard and format it.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 191
    Windows XP, 10; Knoppix [Debian] linux
       #3

    djrobison22 said:
    I have a 1TB usb flash drive that was Ex-Fat32 formatted. I want to put my System images for my laptop and desktop on this drive and when I try to format the drive to NTFS I get the same error every time "Windows could not complete the format of this drive" but it doesn't say why. When I try to run a disk check on the drive I get the message that "this disk cannot be checked because it is not formatted'; would you like to format now?" which of course puts me right back in to the same issue.

    Is there any other way to check the usb drive for errors and to format it to NTFS?

    thanks,

    DanielJ
    Please see this thread, and respond to the same questions and suggestions I made to that poster. There is a high probability that your "1TB USB flash drive" is counterfeit; i.e. it is actually a much lower capacity device which has been hacked to appear larger.

    Does Windows 10 support disk on key 1TR?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4,802
    Windows 10 ProWorkstation -- Whichever is highest build number.
       #4

    Doctor9fan said:
    Have you tried diskpart? I don't know whether it'll work with USB flash drives but it's worth checking.

    1. Open a Command Prompt W/ administration rights.
      • Type in "DiskPart" in command line.
      • Type in "list disk" in command line to show all disks in this machine.
      • Use "select" to set the focus to the specified partition.
        For example "select disk 1".
      • Use "clean" command to remove GPT disk from the current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors.


      1. Go back to Disk Management, you can see GPT disk is "Not Initialized" now.
      2. Within Disk Management, right click on disk info, choose "Initialize Disk", You can see GPT disk is "Unallocated" now.
      3. Right click on disk info, choose "New Partition…", follow Partition Wizard and format it.
    I use diskpart all the time to format. After clean, type create part pri, then sel part 1, then format fs=ntfs quick, or format fs=fat32 quick, then assign. To make it active if you want it bootable just type active. Then you can copy all your files from a mounted ISO to it, and boot with it. If you don't want to do that just skip the active part. After you are done with diskpart, you type exit.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 72
    windows 10 Insider Preview 16179
    Thread Starter
       #5

    flybynite said:
    I use diskpart all the time to format. After clean, type create part pri, then sel part 1, then format fs=ntfs quick, or format fs=fat32 quick, then assign. To make it active if you want it bootable just type active. Then you can copy all your files from a mounted ISO to it, and boot with it. If you don't want to do that just skip the active part. After you are done with diskpart, you type exit.
    I managed to get all the way to formatting the usb drive. In Disk Management there is not option that I can see to initialize disk and I am just unable to manage anything at the command line without specific instructions so that didn't work. I am not sure how to get this drive formatted now and I need to get coffee!
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 15,441
    Windows10
       #6

    djrobison22 said:
    I managed to get all the way to formatting the usb drive. In Disk Management there is not option that I can see to initialize disk and I am just unable to manage anything at the command line without specific instructions so that didn't work. I am not sure how to get this drive formatted now and I need to get coffee!
    This will work assuming drive is genuine.

    diskpart

    list disk

    select disk n (n=number of usb drive - usually last in list)

    clean (wipes everything so be sure you have selected right disk)

    create partition primary

    select partition 1

    format fs=ntfs quick

    assign

    exit

    exit

    The sd card will be ready to use.
      My Computer


 

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