Into Windows

  • Home
  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 7
  • Privacy
You are here: Home » Windows 10 » How To Format USB Flash Drive Via Command Prompt In Windows 10

How To Format USB Flash Drive Via Command Prompt In Windows 10

Last Updated on June 25, 2018 by admin 1 Comment

RECOMMENDED: Download PC Repair tool to quickly find and fix Windows errors automatically
 

Formatting a USB flash drive is a straight-forward job in Windows operating system. In the File Explorer, right-click on the USB drive, click Format, select a file system for the drive, and then click Format button to format the USB drive.

At times, you might not be able to format a USB drive by following the directions mentioned above. You might get “Windows was unable to complete the format” message.

format USB flash drive via Command Prompt in Windows 10 pic01

If you are getting any error while formatting the drive or if the drive fails to show up in the File Explorer even after assigning a drive letter to it, you can use the Command Prompt to format the USB drive.

Complete the given below directions to format the USB drive via Command Prompt in Windows 10.

IMPORTANT: Formatting the USB drive will erase all data on it. So, if the data is important, please move all the data to a safe location before proceeding further.

Format USB pen drive via Command Prompt in Windows 10

Step 1: Run Command Prompt as administrator. To do so, type CMD in the Start/taskbar search box, right-click on the Command Prompt entry in the search results, and then click Run as administrator option.

Click Yes button when you get the User Account Control screen to continue.

Step 2: In the Command Prompt, execute the following commands one after another.

Diskpart

Press Enter key to run the Diskpart tool.

List Disk

Press Enter key. Now, the DiskPart tool will list all the drives connected to your PC, including your internal drives. Identify the USB drive that you want to format and note down its disk number. For instance, as you can see in the picture, my USB drive’s disk number is 1.

format USB flash drive via Command Prompt in Windows 10 pic2

If you are not sure, unplug the USB drive, run the Diskpart and list Disk commands. By doing so, you can get know the number of drives before and after connecting the USB drive.

Step 4: Execute the following commands now.

Select disk X

In the above command, replace “X” with the disk number of the USB drive that you got in Step 2.

Clean

Hit Enter key.

Create partition primary

Press Enter key.

Format fs=NTFS Quick

Hit Enter key. This will format the drive with the NTFS file system. If you wish to use FAT32 file system instead of NTFS, please use Format fs=FAT32 Quick command.

Assign

Press Enter key to assign a drive letter to the drive.

Exit

format USB flash drive via Command Prompt in Windows 10 pic3

You may close the Command Prompt window now. The USB drive should now appear in This PC.

You might also like to read our how to create partitions on USB drives using Disk Management tool in Windows 10 article.

Filed Under: Windows 10 Tagged: Command Prompt

Related Articles

  • Add Command Prompt To Win+X Power User Menu In Windows 10
  • Burn ISO/IMG File From Command Prompt In Windows 10
  • How To Change Command Prompt Background Color In Windows 10
  • How To Make Command Prompt Transparent In Windows 10
  • How To Open Microsoft Edge From Run Or Command Prompt
  • How To Compress Windows 10 Installation Files & Folders

Comments

  1. Viney Dhiman says

    June 30, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    Thanks for sharing this trick, but I would like to ask what is the different between your steps and

    format d: in command prompt?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisements

Search Into Windows

Recent posts

  • 3 Ways To Disable Automatic Driver Updates In Windows 11
  • How To Restore Personal Folders (Downloads & Documents) To Default Locations In Windows 10/11
  • How To Make Bing Search Default In Microsoft Edge
  • How To Hide Edge Sidebar On Windows 10/11 PC & Mac
  • How To Change Mouse Cursor/Pointer Color In Windows 10/11
  • How To Make Mouse Cursor/Pointer Bigger In Windows 10/11
  • What Is Windows 11 Moment 1 Update?
  • How To Upgrade To Windows 11 22H2
  • How To Install Gmail In Windows 10/11
  • How To Check If Windows 10 Is Activated

Advertisements

About us

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Into Windows