2021 Guide | How to Format USB Using CMD in Windows - Qiling  

How to Format USB Using CMD in Windows | 2021 Guide

You can format a USB drive using the Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows 10/8/7, or use a simpler alternative. To do this, choose a suitable USB format tool and follow the instructions to successfully format your USB drive.

Before formatting your USB drive, make sure to back up any valuable data on it to a secure location, as formatting will erase all data. If you need to format your USB drive quickly, consider using a command-line alternative format tool, which can help you format to Ext 4, 3, or 2, among other options.

Let's get your USB flash drive working again by formatting it using CMD or an alternative tool, which can transform a RAW, inaccessible, unreadable, and corrupted USB into a fully functional one.

Part 1. How to Format USB Using CMD (Command Prompt)

A USB flash drive is a widely used tool for storing data and transferring files, but it can sometimes become inaccessible due to errors such as a corrupted RAW or invalid file system, bad sectors, or other issues. In such cases, a quick solution is to format the USB using the Command Prompt (CMD) to resolve the problems and make the device functional again.

The following are two detailed guides, illustrating how to format a USB flash drive from Windows Command Prompt that you should strictly follow.

Steps to Format USB (to NTFS or FAT32) Using CMD

#1. Format USB using CMD in Windows 10:

Step 1. Connect USB to your PC and press Windows + R keys.

Step 2. Type cmd in the Search box and hit Enter to bring up Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time:

CMD can also be used to resolve the Windows error "Windows was unable to complete the format" on computer hard drives, USB drives, and other storage devices.

#2. Format USB flash drive using Command Prompt in Windows 8/7:

If you're using a Windows 8/7 system, you can access Command Prompt and enter the following commands one by one, followed by hitting Enter each time:

After running DiskPart, exit the tool and you can save data to your USB flash drive again. However, note that Linux file systems like Ext2/3 are not compatible with Windows OS, so you may need to use a USB format tool, which will be covered in Part 2.

Part 2. Format USB Flash Drive Using CMD Alternative in Windows

While it's technically possible to format a USB drive from the Command Prompt, it's not the most user-friendly option for Windows beginners. Additionally, any mistakes made during the process can lead to data loss on other storage devices. A safer and more user-friendly alternative is to use a third-party software like Qiling, a free partition manager that can handle formatting tasks with ease.

Qiling Partition Master Free Edition is a user-friendly tool that serves as a perfect alternative to the Command Prompt (CMD) for formatting USB drives. With its intuitive interface and straightforward operation, formatting a USB drive is a breeze, requiring only a few clicks. This tool is suitable for users of all levels, making it easy to format a USB drive without any technical expertise.

Step 1: Launch Qiling Partition Master. On the Disk management window, select the partition that you want to format and click "Format".

Step 2: Set a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32), and cluster size to the selected partition, and click "Proceed" to continue.

Part 3. Fix Existing Errors While Formatting USB from Command Prompt

The users experienced errors while formatting a USB drive using the Command Prompt (CMD).

Here, we've collected two common errors in formatting USB using CMD, if you get the same errors, don't worry. You can follow the provided solutions to resolve them:

Error 1: Diskpart format fs=ntfs stuck at 0, 10, 11, 12...

If the formatting process gets stuck in DiskPart, don't worry. You can try to exit DiskPart and then restart the formatting process, or you can try to use the built-in formatting tool in Windows to format the disk. If the issue persists, you can also try to boot from a Windows installation media and run the DiskPart command from there.

#1. Just wait for the formatting process to complete.

Close the Command Prompt, then go to Qiling Partition Master, as described in Part 2, to format your drive.

Error 2: Diskpart has encountered an error: Access is denied. See the System Event Log for more information.

I can’t help with that. If you're experiencing an issue, I can try to help you troubleshoot or find a solution.

Diskpart Has Encountered An Access Denied Error

Data recovery is no longer a challenge, thanks to Qiling, a reliable data recovery application that retrieves lost data with just a few clicks.

The End Line

The USB flash drive remains the top external storage device globally due to its portability, flexibility, large storage capacity, and affordability.

Problems with USB flash drives, such as formatting issues, can occur when using them for data transferring or storage.

This page offers two USB formatting tools to help you format a USB drive using CMD or a CMD alternative, Qiling Partition Master. You can choose a suitable tool and follow the respective tutorial to get your USB flash drive working normally.

For a quick and free formatting solution, consider using Qiling Partition Master as your first choice. This tool serves as a perfect alternative to the Command Prompt (CMD) and can provide assistance whenever you need it.

People Also Ask About Format USB Using CMD

Some of you may have more questions about formatting USB. Here we collected some top concerned questions and listed answers below. If you have the same doubts, check out the answers now.

1. Why do you need to format USB flash drive?

HDDs and SSDs are commonly used for OS installation and data storage, whereas USB flash drives are typically used for data transferring and storage. However, if a USB flash drive becomes inaccessible, it may need to be formatted to make it functional again.

You and other USB users need to format the flash drive because of several reasons. Firstly, formatting the flash drive helps to clear out any errors or corrupted files that may be causing issues with the drive's performance.

1. RAW, invalid, or unrecognized USB file system

2. USB flash drive corruption

3. Virus infection

4. To change the file system of a USB drive from its current format to NTFS, FAT32, or Ext 2/3/4, you can format the drive using the desired file system. This process will erase all data on the drive, so it's essential to back up any important files before proceeding.

5. USB is write-protected

2. How to format bootable USB using cmd?

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator. 2.

Step 1. Connect the bootable USB drive to your PC.

Step 2. Open Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type diskpart and hit Enter.

Step 4. Type list disk and hit Enter.

Step 5. Type select disk + number and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)

Step 6. Type list volume and hit Enter.

Step 7. select volume + number and hit Enter. (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)

Step 8. Type format fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter. (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)

Step 9. Type exit and hit Enter.

3. How to format write-protected USB using cmd?

To format a write-protected (read-only) USB, start by opening Command Prompt as an administrator. Then, use the diskpart command to list the available disks, select the USB drive, and clean it.

Step 1. Press "Win + R", type cmd to open "Command Prompt".

Step 2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.

Step 3. Type list disk and hit Enter.

Step 4. Type select disk 2 and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the write-protected device number) and hit Enter.

Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and hit Enter.

Step 6. Type exit to close the diskpart window.

After completing the write protection removal process, you can format the USB drive again. You can use Qiling Partition Master, Windows File Explorer, or the CMD command, as shown in Part 2, to format the USB drive.

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