How can I format USB drive in CMD? How to format USB using CMD to NTFS? Can I format a USB using CMD in Windows 10? Don't worry if you have the same questions in your mind.
How do I format a flash drive to NTFS on a Mac? MacOS supports NTFS, but read-only. In order to write or format NTFS, you need a third party app. Paragon & Tuxera have solutions to do this. If you format as NTFS it works great on all Windows machines, but Macs can only read from the device, they cannot write to it. There are some plugins to help the Mac deal with NTFS but our experience proves those add-ins to be unstable. If you format it as exFAT all computers (Windows and Macs) will see the drive except for Windows XP. The file system exFAT combines the best of both NTFS and FAT for flash drives by reading and writing larger files at a faster speed. Formatting is not complex either. If you have your flash drive and computer system, you already have all the tools you need. Step 1: Right-click on your flash drive under My Computer and select Format.
On this page, you'll learn how to format USB using CMD or CMD alternative tool in Windows 10/8/7 successfully. Pick up the suitable USB format tool for help now:
| USB Format Tool | Pros |
|---|---|
| 1. Format USB Using CMD |
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| 2. Format USB Via CMD Alternative |
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- Notice:
- As formatting will remove all saved data on the USB drive, if your USB is accessible, make sure to back up valuable USB data to another secure location in advance.
If you prefer an easy and quick way to format USB or you need to format to Ext 4/3/2, pick up CMD alternative format tool for help.
Let's start to format your USB using CMD or its alternative tool and make the RAW, inaccessible, unreadable, and even corrupted USB flash drive, pen drive, memory stick work normally again.
Part 1. How to Format USB Flash Drive Using CMD (Command Prompt)
Applies to: Format USB to FAT32/NTFS, format RAW USB, repair corrupted USB, etc.
USB flash drive is worldwide used for storing data and transferring files. However, sometimes, USB may corrupt or become inaccessible due to RAW or invalid file system, bad sector, or other errors. Formatting USB using CMD is a quick way to resolve these problems.
The following are two detailed guides, illustrating how to format a USB flash drive using 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:
- diskpart
- list disk
- select disk + number (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
- list volume
- select volume + number (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
- format fs=ntfs quick (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
- exit
CMD also works to fix Windows was unable to complete the format error in your computer hard drive, USB, or other storage devices.
#2. Format USB Flash Drive using Command Prompt in Windows 8/7:
Format Usb Ntfs On Mac
Step 1. Plug USB in your computer and click the Windows icon and select 'Search'.
Step 2. Type command prompt in the Search box.
Right-click on Command Prompt and choose 'Run as administrator'.
Step 3. On the Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press 'Enter'.
Step 4 Type list disk and press 'Enter'. Check the disk number of your USB flash drive. For example, disk 2.
Step 5. Now type select disk 2 and press 'Enter'. (If the USB number is not 2, replace it with the right one.)
Step 6. Type format fs=ntfs and press 'Enter'.
If you prefer other file system formats, change the command NTFS to the desired one, such as format fs=fat32.
Step 7. Type exit and hit Enter to close the window.
After this, exit DiskPart and you save data to your USB flash drive again. However, as Linux file system Ext2/3 is not compatible with Windows OS, you can refer to a UBS format tool in Part 2 for help.
Part 2. Format USB Using CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7
Applies to: Format corrupted USB, format USB to Ext2, Ext3, format FAT32 USB to NTFS, format USB to FAT32, etc. on all Windows OS.
Although CMD is capable of formatting USB flash drive, it's not user-friendly for most Windows beginners. Also, it requires users to remember all command lines while executing operations in Command Prompt.
Also, any importer operation may cause data loss on other storage devices. Here, we would like to recommend you try third-party CMD alternative software - EaseUS free partition manager.
EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition is a perfect CMD alternative tool for USB formatting. With an easy-to-use interface and precise operation, you can use it to format USB easily in only a few clicks.
Tutorial - 4 Steps to Format USB via CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7
All levels of users can apply this tool and format USB to usable again in Windows 10/8/7:
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.
Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.
Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.
Step 4. Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.
Part 3. Bonus Tips to Fix Errors While Formatting USB Using CMD
According to some USB users, they reported that they encountered some errors while formatting USB in 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, as the shown message, don't worry. You have two ways to go:
- #1. Just wait for the formatting process to complete.
- #2. Close CMD, turn to EaseUS Partition Master 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.
If you come across this issue, click the link below to get rid of the problem:
Data Recovery is not a challenge anymore. EaseUS serves as a dependable data recovery application to retrieve lost data within simple clicks.
The End Line
Format Drive Ntfs
Due to its portability, flexibility, large storage size, and reasonable price, USB flash drive is still the No.1 external storage device around the world.
While using USB for data transferring or storage, problems with USB flash drives also increase. Formatting USB flash drive is one of the top issues.
On this page, we included two USB formatting tools to help you format USB using CMD or CMD alternative - EaseUS Partition Master. You may pick up a suitable tool and follow the respective tutorial guide to make your USB flash drive work normally.
For an easy and free formatting resolution, take EaseUS Partition Master as your first choice. It's a perfect CMD alternative tool that can help you anytime.
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?
Usually, HDDs and SSDs are widely used for OS installation and data storage and removable storage devices like USB flash drives are more used for data transferring and storage. But the USB flash drive may become inaccessible, and you'll need to format it so as to make it work again.
Here is a list of reasons why do you and other USB users need to format the flash drive:
Format Hard Disk To Ntfs
- 1. RAW, invalid, or unrecognized USB file system
- 2. USB flash drive corruption
- 3. Virus infection
- 3. USB is write-protected
- 3. Change USB file system to NTFS, FAT32, or Ext 2/3/4 by formatting
2. How to format bootable USB using cmd？
The process of formatting a bootable USB flash drive is almost the same as the process shown on this page. You can apply CMD to format it with the listed steps here:
- 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?
Here are the steps that you can follow to format a write-protected (read-only) USB using the command lines below:
- 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.
Once the write protection removing process completes, you can format the USB drive again. You can either apply EaseUS Partition Master, Windows File Explorer, or even the CMD command as shown in Part 2 to format the USB drive.
4. Windows was unable to complete the format, how to fix it?
When you use File Explorer to format the USB flash drive, it warns you that 'Windows was unable to complete the format', don't worry. Here are 7 ways that you can try to fix this error:
- #1. Use EaseUS Partition Master
- #2. Use Diskpart Command
- #3. Use Disk Management
- #4. Clear Virus and Complete the Format
- #5. Remove Write Protection and Complete the Format
- #6. Fix Disk Errors and Complete the Format
- #7. Repair Bad Sectors and Complete the Format
Note that you can try the above two tutorials to format your USB flash drive and resolve this issue. You can also follow this link to get rid of the Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format error immediately.
How To Format A Drive With Ntfs
by Shirly Chen, updated on 2019-11-17 to Mac Data Wipe
“Hi, I have a 128 GB USB flash drive, but it can’t be used on my Mac because the file system sis NTFS file system. Is there any way to format the NTFS USB flash drive for Mac?” - Kenny
NTFS file system is not compatible with macOS. Any NTFS device will become read-only when it is connected to your Mac. If you want to format a NTFS USB flash drive for Mac or you want to permanently wipe all data on the NTFS USB flash drive under Mac OS, just follow this guide. We will show you an easy way to format and wipe NTFS USB flash drive on your Mac.
First of all, let’s introduce the best Mac disk formatting software - DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac. It can help you securely and easily format any hard disk drive, storage device on Mac. We strongly recommend it to you when you are going to format/wipe a NTFS USB flash drive on Mac. Click the download button below to download DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac.
Easy steps to format/wipe NTFS USB flash drive on Mac
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac can help you: format NTFS USB flash drive, permanently erase data from NTFS USB flash drive. Just follow the steps below to format/wipe a NTFS USB flash drive on Mac.
Step 1: Connect the NTFS USB flash drive to your Mac.
Connect the NTFS USB flash drive to your Mac so that DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac can recognize it.
Step 2: Format the NTFS USB flash drive for Mac.
Choose tool “Disk Manager”, then you will see the NTFS USB flash drive. Just format the NTFS USB flash drive for Mac by click on “Format” button.
How To Format Flash Drive To Ntfs On Mac
Step 2: Permanently wipe data on NTFS USB flash drive.
Please note that, after formatting the NTFS USB flash drive, the data on the NTFS USB flash drive still can be recovered by data recovery software. So, if you want to erase the data forever, just wipe the NTFS USB flash drive.
Choose mode “Wipe Hard Drive”, you will see the USB flash drive, choose it and wipe it by clicking on “Wipe Now” button.
DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac offers certified data erasure algorithm to help you securely and permanently wipe all data information on the NTFS USB flash drive. Once the process gets finished, all data is gone forever, can’t be recovered by any data recovery software.
Flash Drive Ntfs Format Error
Before you sell, donate or recycle a NTFS USB flash drive, you can follow the steps above to permanently erase a NTFS USB flash drive on Mac (it even can help you format/erase damaged, corrupted NTFS USB flash drive on Mac). And after erasure, you will get a brand-new USB flash drive for your Mac. DoYourData Super Eraser for Mac also can help you format/eras SSD, HDD, memory card, digital camera, portable hard disk drive, etc. Just free download this software here:
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