Can't format corrupted flash drive

I have a flash drive that's not working for me. Whenever I try to delete the videos on it it freezes, and when I try to re format it to FAT32 it says "unable to complete format". How can I format it successfully? I already managed to copy the data I had on it to my computer, so I'm not worried about losing anything. Help is much appreciated.

asked May 23 '11 at 15:45

chadt4
12.5k●99●157●257

6 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

if your a mac user try time machine???? i not maybe a new hard drive, is it an expensive one??

answered May 23 '11 at 16:20

jakerevell
1●5●5●7

I'm on Windows. It's an 8GB high speed professional sdhc card, about $35 new. Not something you just want to throw away.

(May 23 '11 at 16:29) chadt4

Time Machine doesn't do anything but back up your files. It is not used to format drives (that I know of).

(May 23 '11 at 23:41) catchatyou

Disk Utility is used to format and partition drives. (unless you partition you main drive with bootcamp)

(May 24 '11 at 09:02) ryebread761

If you do have a Mac that you are able to use, use Disk Utility. It is located in the Utilities folder inside of the Applications folder. Click the flash drive on the left of the window, and then (on the right side of the window) click the Erase tab. Make the format "MS-DOS (FAT)", and then click "Erase..."

I'm sorry that I do not know how to do this on Windows, but this method has never failed me before.

answered May 23 '11 at 23:39

catchatyou
20.7k●89●166●383

What are you using in Windows to format? Try opening the command prompt and typing "format [drive letter] /q". See if that helps that is what I uses when I format flash drives. (The "/q" is for quick format if it doesn't work with the "/q" then try without it.)

answered May 24 '11 at 06:47

TheTechDude
17.0k●40●94●300

Windows is really bad at formatting SSD if theres any errors. I had one that I messed up by trying to format it as NTFS, then I couldn't reformat it in Windows at all. I took it over to a Mac OS X machine and was able to force it to FAT32.

I would say with the default software that comes with Windows, your SSD is toast. Happens way too easily, one of the biggest flaws with SSD technology. If you have a mac or a friend with a mac, try formatting it on that.

I don't know how long ago you bought that card but there's plenty of similar ones online for under $20. You could replace it.

answered May 24 '11 at 10:18

Duodave
4.6k●40●49●98

not all card readers can read SDHC, make sure that it is a SDHC reader.

not 100% sure, but most card read FAT, try formating it to FAT rather than FAT32 or NTFS.

have you tried putting it into the device you use it with and trying to use that to format it?

answered May 24 '11 at 20:14

roguekiller23231
4.2k●73●104●142

0	Try using this free formatting program developed by HP called HP USB disk format tool, it should help format the drive properly. I have tried that and worked pretty well with mine. Regards. answered Feb 18 '12 at 10:17 drwyne 1

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