Formating a USB flash drive

Status
Not open for further replies.
@Li3n

@Li3n

So i have this old usb flash drive at 32mb, but my brother wanted to use it for Linux like a year or more ago so he formatted it for Linux and it worked fine etc. But once he started using WinXP more because he went back to DotA and stuff he formated it weirdly and now the PC reads it as a HDD drive with only 15mb available...

Anyone know how to format it back into a USB so i can get the extra space back?!
 
Shakey

Shakey

I'm guessing it has a linux partition on it. I guess I'd go into an Ubuntu live CD or something and use the partition manager to see if there are any, and delete all the partitions on the drive if there are. You'll lose everything that's on it right now though, so back it up.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
I don't think you'll need Linux to reformat it. Just go into Disk Management on Windows (in XP it's Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management, then Storage -> Disk Management. Under that you'll find all your disks (hard drives, flash drives, even optical media I think). Even if Windows doesn't know what type of partition a Linux formatted drive is, it will still be able to see it and delete the partition or reformat the entire drive.
 
Calleja

Calleja

you do realize that they sell 1 GB USB sticks at like 2 bucks in like pharmacies and stuff these days, right? Not trying to be assholish, I'm just saying that 32mb isn't really worth any expense in time, searching for a way to re-format it and whatnot. Remember people, time is our most precious commodity :hat:
 
Hylian

Hylian

The easiest way to format it would probably be using command prompt.



http://www.rohos.com/2009/02/how-to-safely-change-format-on-usb-flash-drives-to-ntfs/


To format follow these steps:

  1. Connect the USB drive to the computer and make a note of the drive letter assigned to it
  2. Open a command prompt by clicking on: Start > All Programs > Accessories
  3. At the command prompt type: FORMAT U: /FS:NTFS (where U is your USB drive letter)
Click to expand...

Of course if you have your thumb drive setup as FAT32 file system you would need to change the NTFS part to FAT32
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I agree with Calleja. It's not worth the time unless there's information you need to get off of it.
 
Calleja

Calleja

I don't even remember ever owning a 32 meg memory stick. 128 is the smallest I remember owning, and it was small even back then cause people already had the fancy expensive 512 ones.
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

I already have a 16GB one (14.9 actual), thanks. But i use that for big files, no point in complicating it with a lot of little files in different folders.

Plus, it's the principle of the thing.

I'll try the format advice when i get home, thanks guys.
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Ok, so just formating it doesn't work, as it's still being read as a HDD drive, while the idea was to get it back to being seen as a USB flash drive... i'll ask my brother if he was a cd-bootable linux somewhere when he wakes up.
 
Shakey

Shakey

Did you try what Figment posted? You wouldn't need a linux disk if you did that, and it's probably easier.
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Yup, even made the drive not show up anymore... fixed it, but it's still at 16mb instead of 32... oh well, works well enough.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
@Li3n said:
Ok, so just formating it doesn't work, as it's still being read as a HDD drive, while the idea was to get it back to being seen as a USB flash drive... i'll ask my brother if he was a cd-bootable linux somewhere when he wakes up.
Click to expand...
Try going into the Device Manager -> Disk Drives -> the right clicking on the flash drive and choosing Properties. Then go to the Policies tab and make sure "Optimize for Quick Removal" is selected.
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

You may have to go through a different OS to reformat it properly. I had that happen with one of my 300GB USB drives. The only way we could get windows to recognize it again on any machine was to reformat it using my roommate's macbook.
 
Hylian

Hylian

try the following


http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic219693.html


1) Type "DISKPART" from the Command Prompt (accessible by clicking on Start and then typing "cmd" into the open field); you will then see the following prompt: DISKPART>
2) Type "LIST DISK" to see what number your USB drive is listed as.
3) Type "SELECT DISK 2" (if your USB is disk 2; replace # with your disk #); Diskpart will confirm that "Disk 2 is now the select disk."
4) Type "SELECT PARTITION 1" (this command selects what should be the only partition on your USB drive, the small one that you want to delete to get back the larger, full partition size). Diskpart will confirm with "Partition 1 is now the selected partition."
5) Type "DELETE PARTITION". This will delete the old partition. There are no warning prompts if you have existing data - make sure you have copied everything off before doing this!
6) Type "CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY" to create a new, full-size partition. Diskpart will confirm with message of "Diskpart succeeded in creating the specified partition." You can type in "LIST PARTITION" to confirm the new, full-size.
7) Type "EXIT" to leave Diskpart. You can now format your USB drive by using the standard Windows formatting process.
Click to expand...
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
@Li3n said:
Only 16... even after i went all "Delete Logical Drive" on it.
Click to expand...
Good grief, what did your friend do to this drive? Most flash drives that size are formatted FAT, not even FAT32, and Linux can read and write them just fine. Why he felt the need to reformat it is beyond me.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

This actually sounds more like one of the flash banks has gone bad, permanently reducing the size of the drive. If you can't get anything to recognize the full 32MB, half of it is probably toast.

--Patrick
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Hmm... i don't remember, but i probably did put more the 15 mb on it...

Good grief, what did your friend do to this drive? Most flash drives that size are formatted FAT, not even FAT32, and Linux can read and write them just fine. Why he felt the need to reformat it is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Brother, and i guess it didn't work on Linux when he tried it or something.

This actually sounds more like one of the flash banks has gone bad, permanently reducing the size of the drive. If you can't get anything to recognize the full 32MB, half of it is probably toast.
Click to expand...
Kinda weird that it would only happen after it was formatted back to Windows though... and that now it reads it as a local disk drive.

Here's a pic, it's Drive (K):

 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Could there some sort of intentionally hidden partition? @Li3n, is your brother paranoid enough to have put some sort of file hiding software on the drive?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top