Can't put a system image on my LEXAR thumb drive...


  1. Posts : 41
    Windows 8.1 Pro
       #1

    Can't put a system image on my LEXAR thumb drive...


    In Windows 10, I tried to put a system image on my LEXAR 30GB USB thumb drive but Windows said I can't do that because the drive is not formatted in NTFS. So I formatted it in NTFS and now Windows says "not a valid drive."

    Can anyone tell me what's happening?

    Thanx. :)
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 15,480
    Windows10
       #2

    Fat32 is limited to a maximum file size of 4GB. NTFS or exFat do not have this restriction.

    To sort usb stick, do this

    Run these commands from an admin command prompt

    diskpart

    list disk

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

    clean (WARNIING wipes drive - be certain you selected right disk)

    create partition primary

    select partition 1

    format fs=ntfs quick

    assign

    exit

    exit

    USB stick will be fine now assuming stick is not faulty.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 41
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I formatted the stick to NTFS and the same thing happened. Maybe there's not enough room for a sys image on that stick? It's 30GB. I'm able to drag other files onto the stick with no problem.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 8,103
    windows 10
       #4

    Its limited yo what you can put in the root make a folder and try saving to that
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 14,009
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       #5

    I just checked my System Image and to do it the process says it requires an HDD with more than 175GB free space. My boot drive is 250GB. So I'd say Yes to the question, the LEXAR drive in question is not large enough. I'd call it a rule-of-thumb to use a device with at least the same capacity of the boot/system drive [usually C:].
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 41
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Well then I'll just use my 1TB external drive for the sys image... I'll also backup my files on that drive. And I'll use the extra space on the thumb drive if I ever run out of room on the 1TB. Thanx for your help. :)
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 14,009
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       #7

    Mr Mag00 said:
    Well then I'll just use my 1TB external drive for the sys image... I'll also backup my files on that drive. And I'll use the extra space on the thumb drive if I ever run out of room on the 1TB. Thanx for your help. :)
    I just created a Recovery Drive for one of my computers, it prompted for a drive with at least 8GB free space so I used a Verbatim USB Thumb/Flash drive of 16GB. The first try failed after formatting and prompted to check for errors, ran the error-checking then tried again and it worked, took awhile. I figured the first try that failed was because I had the drive in a USB 3.0 port, changed to a USB 2.0 port for the second try which also will be used for the booting to the Thumb drive.
      My Computers


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 22:02.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums