How to format USB. You have been asked to format some USB sticks but do not know how to do it? Have you recently moved to a Mac and can’t find the right format for formatting your laptop hard drives? Not sure which file system to use to format your USB sticks? Do not panic. Take five minutes of your time and I will try to clear up any doubts you may have about this topic.
Let’s see how to format USB on all newer versions of Windows, OS X, and the very popular Linux Ubuntu distribution.
In short, if you need to format a USB drive and you do not know how to do it, read the instructions below and I assure you that you will be able to successfully complete the operation. The procedure to be followed is the same in the case of USB sticks and in the case of portable hard drives. So stop wasting your time and skip right into the action.
If you came across this article, then, almost guaranteed, you need to learn how to format a USB flash drive in NTFS. Talking about this now, but at the same time, I recommend reading the article FAT32 or NTFS – whichever file system you choose for your flash drive (opens in a new tab).
So, with the completion of the introduction, we actually move on to the subject of the tutorial. First of all, I note in advance that no program is required to format a USB flash drive in NTFS – all the necessary features are present by default in Windows. See also: how to format a write-protected flash drive, What to do if Windows can not finish formatting.
Format a flash drive in Windows NTFS
So, as already mentioned, you do not need special programs to format flash drivers in NTFS. Simply connect the USB device to your computer and use the built-in tools of the operating system:
- Open “Explorer” or “My computer”;
- Right-click on the icon of your flash drive and in the menu that appears, select “Format”.
- In the “Formatting” window that opens, select “NTFS” in the “File File” box. The values of the remaining fields cannot be changed. May be interesting: What is the difference between fast and full formatting.
- Click the “Start” button and wait until the formatting of the flash drive is complete.
- These simple steps are enough to get your media to the desired file system.
- If the flash drive is not formatted this way, try the following method.
How to format a USB flash drive in NTFS using the command line
To use the standard command-line format command, run it as an administrator, for which:
- In Windows 8, on the desktop, press the Win + X keyboard keys and select Command Prompt (Administrator) from the menu that appears.
- In Windows 7 and Windows XP – find the “Command Prompt” in the Start menu in standard programs, right-click on it and select “Run as Administrator”.
Once this is done, in the command line, type:
format / FS: NTFS E: / q
where E: is the letter of your flash drive.
After entering the command, press Enter, if necessary, enter the drive label and confirm the intention and delete all data.
That’s all! Formatting the flash drive in NTFS is complete.
