How to format a USB flash drive on Windows 10
You can format a USB flash drive to delete its contents or resolve problems quickly, and here’s how on Windows 10.
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OnWindows 10, the ability to format a USB flash drive can be helpful in many scenarios. For instance, sometimes, you may need to reformat a removable storage device to ensure it does not contain malicious code. Or when the thumb drive is not accessible because of data corruption, you received a flash drive using a file system incompatible with your platform, or you plan to get rid of the storage device and want to make sure you are not leaving behind any personal information.
Regardless of the reason, Windows 10 includes several tools to format all kinds of storage (such as USB flash drives) using File Explorer, Disk Management, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
Thisguidewill walk you through the steps to format a USB flash drive to quickly erase its contents or fix problems when the device isn’t recognized.
Warning:These instructions will erase everything on the selected drive. If you have any important files, you should back them up before proceeding.
How to format USB flash drive from File Explorer
To format a USB flash drive from File Explorer on Windows 10, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the flash drive will be ready to store documents, pictures, videos, and other files.
How to format USB flash drive from Disk Management
On Disk Management, you have at least two ways to format a USB flash drive. You can format the storage to rebuild the file system table and erase the content, or you can delete the partition that comes in handy to fix storage problems.
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Format flash drive
To use Disk Management to format a USB drive on Windows 10, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, the drive will be erased and reformatted to store data again.
Clean and format flash drive
When the USB drive is experiencing problems, it’s best to clean it and start again from scratch with a new partition and file system.
To clean and format a USB flash drive on Windows 10, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the process will create a new partition and set up the file system, fixing common problems with the flash drive, including data corruption.
How to format USB flash drive from PowerShell
PowerShell is another tool that allows you to format a USB flash drive to delete its contents. In addition, the command-line tool can be used to clean and format the storage to resolve corruption and other problems.
Format flash drive using PowerShell
To format a USB flash drive using PowerShell commands on Windows 10, use these steps:
In the command, replaceDRIVE-LETTERwith the correct letter reflecting the drive you want to format,FILE-SYSTEMfor FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS, andDRIVE-NAMEwith the name you want the device to appear in File Explorer.
This example performs a quick format of the “F” drive with the NTFS file system:Format-Volume -DriveLetter F -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel workUSB
In the command, replaceDRIVE-LETTERwith the correct letter reflecting the drive you want to format andFILE-SYSTEMfor FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS, depending on the file system you want to use. If you do not know and are on Windows 10, you should use NTFS. The Full option tells the command to perform a full format, and the-Forceoption specifies the override switch.
This example performs a full format of the “F” drive:Format-Volume -DriveLetter F -FileSystem NTFS -Full -Force
After you complete the steps, PowerShell will format the storage with the settings you specified.
Clean and format flash drive using PowerShell
To clean and format a removable drive with PowerShell commands, use these steps:
In the command, changeDISK-NUMBERfor the correct number for the flash drive you are formatting.
This example selects and cleans disk number 2:Get-Disk 2 | Clear-Disk -RemoveData
In the command, changeDISK-NUMBERto the correct number for the storage you are formatting.
This example creates a new partition using the entire space available on drive number 2:New-Partition -DiskNumber 2 -UseMaximumSize
In the command, changeDISK-NUMBERfor the number that identifies the storage in the system,FILE-SYSTEMfor “NTFS,” “FAT32,” or “exFAT,” andDRIVE-NAMEwith the name you want the device to appear in File Explorer.
This example selects, and formats drive number 2 using the NTFS file system:Get-Partition -DiskNumber 2 | Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel workUSB
In the command, replaceDISK-NUMBERfor the number that identifies the storage in the system andDRIVE-LETTERwith the letter you want the device to appear in File Explorer.
This example sets “E” as the drive letter for disk number 2:Get-Partition -DiskNumber 2 | Set-Partition -NewDriveLetter E
After you complete the steps, PowerShell will delete the data on the removable USB storage to fix problems, including corruption, write protection, and unrecognized drives. Then it will create a new partition and configure a file system to store files.
How to format USB flash drive from Command Prompt
You can use the Command Prompt to clean the drive and start fresh with a new partition and file system table.
Format flash drive using command-line
To perform a quick or full format on a USB flash drive with Command Prompt on Windows 10, use these steps:
In the command, make sure to replace theVOLUMEwith the correct drive letter of the storage,FLASHDRIVE-LABELwith the name you want the drive to appear in File Explorer,FILE-SYSTEMwith one of the available file systems, including “FAT32,” “exFAT,” or “NTFS.”
This example performs a quick format of the E drive:format E: /v:workUSB /fs:NTFS /q
This example performs a full format of the E drive:format E: /v:“workUSB” /fs:NTFS
After completing the steps, the thumb drive will be formatted with the specified settings.
Clean and format flash drive using command-line
To clean and format a flash drive with commands on Windows 10, use these steps:
In the command, replaceDISK-NUMBERwith the number for the drive you are trying to format.
This example selects the flash drive listed as disk number 2:select disk 2
In the command, make sure to replaceFILE-SYSTEMfor your preferred file system, including “FAT32,” “exFAT,” or “NTFS.” Also, replaceDRIVE-NAMEwith the name you want to give the device. If you do not specify the “quick” option, then a full format will be performed.
This example quickly formats the removable storage using the NTFS file system and applies the “workUSB” name:format fs=NTFS label=workUSB quick
Quick note:You can append"letter=E"in the command to assign (in this case) “E” as the drive letter. Otherwise, the system will assign a letter automatically.
Once you complete the steps, the DiskPart tool will remove any information from the USB flash drive. It will create a new partition and configure a compatible file system to store files from your Windows 10, macOS, or Linux machine (depending on your configuration).
More resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
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Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
