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How Do I Format My Memory Stick

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  1. How To Format Usb Device

How do I format a USB Flash Drive to NTFS file system? Formatting a USB drive is an easy and straightforward process. However, there are some settings one needs to check before formatting it. To enable NTFS on your USB Flash Drive drive (USB Flash Memory) click on My Computer (This PC) and select Manage. RAW Memory Stick Cannot Be Formatted When a memory stick turns to RAW format, it will ask to be formatted. Usually, you can format it in your camera or on Windows computer. If you get message showing cannot complete the format, probably the memory stick file system is corrupted by virus or it has too many bad sectors. Find the memory stick in the 'Computer' explorer window. Right click on the drive and select 'Format.' Format the corrupted disk before attempting to recover data from it. Select 'NTFS' as the file system while leaving all other options at their default settings.

One day, you connect your USB disk and see Windows' message, that USB drive needs to be formatted.

What to do? Agree or not?

How can i play pubg mobile on pc. In this article, you will find out about:

  • what does formatting for USB drive mean.
  • why you need to recover files first in the USB stick, that needs to be formatted
  • how to recover data from USB drive
  • reasons why USB wants to be formatted

Are you ready to cope with these problems? Let's read!

'You need to format the disk before you can use it'. Should I agree?

If you get such a message, do not rush. First, you need to understand everything in detail.

Formatting is cleaning the disk, resulting in the USB disk being fixed and working correctly, but access to the files will be limited (only with specialized software). Therefore, if the data on the USB drive is not needed, feel free to format it; but if important information is on the USB drive, you first need to extract the files, and only then proceed to formatting.

If you are going to format your USB drive or want to do it, you need to know the following:

There are two formatting options: quick and full. Windows usually offers quick formatting. After quick formatting, data recovery is easier than after full formatting, since all disk space is marked as unused, and the data itself remains for some time on the disk.

Full formatting takes a little bit more time, as sectors are checked and flagged so as to be free for use in the future. The likelihood that data will be recoverable after formatting is low, but it is still worth a try. So how do you recover files from a USB drive that needs formatting?

The main advice for USB drives

Do not use chkdsk before you recover data from a USB drive that needs formatting! This will be disastrous for all the information that is on the USB drive, since chkdsk will cut your files into 512 KB pieces. Do you need this? It is unlikely, so be consistent when restoring data from a flash drive that needs to be formatted.

Recover files from a USB drive that needs formatting

If your files are available on this USB drive — great! You can easily re-save them to some other place. But what do you do if, due to some error, files are unavailable?

In order to recover files from a USB drive that needs formatting, you need to find good software. A great solution is DiskInternals Uneraser. This tool works with all versions of Windows: 7, 8, 10, etc. The application supports the following file systems: UFS, HFS, NTFS, XFS, Ext2/3/4, ReiserFS, FAT12, ReFS, and Reiser4.

Here you can also easily use the recovery wizard; it is very convenient if you are recovering files from a flash drive that needs to be formatted for the first time. Download the free trial version at any time and see DiskInternals Uneraser in action. How to open a pdf in acrobat reader. Below is a detailed guide that will help you quickly and accurately recover data from a flash drive before formatting it.

Step 1. Connect the USB drive to the computer.

Step 2. Install and run the trial version of DiskInternals Uneraser. The program will automatically detect all drives on the computer; select the USB drive that requires formatting.

Step 3. The recovery wizard will start itself and ask you to select the type of files you want to restore. You can skip this step and search for files by type after scanning.

Step 4. Scan. This may take some time, so please be patient and wait.

Step 5. Preview. View lost or deleted files by right-clicking on them and selecting 'Preview in a new window'. After that, be sure that the data will be recovered correctly.

Step 6. Save files. To do this, you just need to buy a license for this product; you will receive a license key and then click on Save. Save the recovered data in a new location to avoid overwriting data.

'You need to format the disk before you can use it' — why does this happen?

Carefully read the main reasons why a USB drive asks you to format it, so you will be more alert and perhaps this will help you prevent this situation in the future.

  • flash file system corruption
  • the flash drive was incorrectly removed
  • rough, improper use of a USB drive (it often crashes)
  • power failure during data transfer
  • an error on the flash drive due to long use
  • damage by a virus or other malicious program

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Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions

Erasing USB drive data is a sensible decision. If you want to delete some private information, or to regain full storage capacity to store more information, erasing the memory stick is an ideal solution for you. In this article, we will be talking about the common reasons, and how to completely erase a usb flash drive, along with the practical solution to recover data from erased usb drive.

Part 1: Why Do You Need to Erase Memory Stick?

The memory stick is like an SD card. It is a product that offers you the chance to store data of any format. It is available in different sizes, which ranges to as high as 2TB(terabyte). Given the portable nature of the storage device, there may come some scenarios where you want to erase all the data inside. Here are some of the circumstances which may force you to take the drastic step and wipe memory stick.

  • Virus infection:

The whole point of making storage devices such as a memory stick smaller in size was to enable the portability factor. And to allow the user to use it anywhere they like and on whatever device they want. But such a type of convenience brings its own set of problems. It is highly likely that your memory stick may get infected when you use to store a malice file on it. It will cause the memory stick to get corrupt, and sometimes the infection is so severe that you may have to erase flash drive to recover.

  • Memory stick turned RAW:

A storage disk usually becomes raw due to excessive or casual use. If you pull out the memory stick during shifting the files from one place to another, while it is at play, then complications may occur, and the file format of the stick may turn RAW. The only solution to that problem is to format USB drive and erase memory stick.

  • Partition Failure:

Sometimes we fail to assign the relevant letter or space to our storage device during the partition creation through Disk Management. How much is final cut. If that is the case, the PC or any other equipment such as a camera will not be able to read the memory stick thoroughly, and you would have to erase it altogether.

Part 2: How to Completely Erase USB Flash Drive

In this section we will introduce two different ways to completely wipe USB drive: formatting with Windows file explorer, and erase with professional data erasing software.

Solution 1 - File Explorer

You can easily erase memory stick data by formatting it. This process doesn't take much time and has proven to be an effective means of removing data permanently. Follow the instructions below:

  • Press 'Start' button, type 'PC' to open 'This PC'.
  • Find your memory stick device, right-click to see the menu.
  • Click 'Format' to open the 'Format' window.
  • Set the file system as 'NTFS' or 'FAT32'.
  • Type the name you prefer for the memory stick in the 'Volume label.'
  • Click 'Start' to begin the formatting process.

When the process is finished, you will have the USB flash drive erased. However, frequent formatting can damage the memory stick and might affect its storage capacity. So how to clear USB drive properly? We suggest using a usb wipe tool to remove USB stick data.

Solution 2 - Data Erasing Software

A Data erasing tool is capable of wiping USB drive data securely without damaging the memory stick. The Internet is full of data erasure tools but the best one among them by some distance isStellar BitRaser for File.

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Stellar BitRaser for File has been equipped with a user-friendly interface. The buttons and features of this software are intuitively placed and make using it an easier proposition for one and all. This is the reason why even novices can use it for erasing data from storage devices like hard drives, USB drives, and memory sticks with consummate ease.
  • Supports Various Data Erasure Standards
    Thisdata eraser tooloffers various data erasure standards. You have a total of 17 different erasure algorithms available for erasing memory stick when using Stellar BitRaser for File. The choice of the algorithm you use is totally up to you.
  • Erases Multiple Types of Data
    Stellar BitRaser for File is capable of erasing multiple types of data from different storage devices. You can use this data erasure tool for permanently deleting documents, photos, videos, and many other files with consummate ease.
  • Removes Data from Email Clients
    With this data erasure tool, you can remove data from email clients as well. Email clients usually store data on the hard drives which can be easily accessed by anyone using the PC. Stellar BitRaser for File can remove this data and keep it away from the reach of others.

To entirely erase A USB flash drive with BitRaser for File, follow these 4 simple steps below:

  1. Download Stellar BitRaser for File on your Windows computer and connect a memory stick to PC.
  1. Launch Stellar eraser tool, and click the section 'Erase Now' to select your memory stick to the process.
  1. Click the button 'Erase Now' to delete flash drive files permanently.
  2. It will take a while to complete erasure.

Stellar BitRaser for File can remove USB flash drive data in just one pass. However, it might be difficult for some people to believe that the memory stick data is completely erased in a single pass. To satisfy the concerns of such people, this data erasure tool allows up to three passes to securely erase memory stick permanently, which is also the recommended way on how to erase a memory stick.

Part 3: What to Do If You Accidentally Erased Your Memory Stick - Try Recoverit Data Recovery:

After knowing how to wipe a flash drive, if you have erased the contents of the memory stick accidentally, no worries, not all hope is lost. Unless you used a data erasing software to erase the data on the flash drive, you can retrieve the files from usb flash drive erasure with the assistance ofRecoveritby Wondershare. Here are some of the features of Recoverit that will prompt you to use the application at once:

  • It is available for both your Windows and macOS devices.
  • It doesn't matter which format of files you erased from the memory stick. Recoverit can retrieve 1000+ file formats with ease.
  • It offers across the board coverage of external devices, including a memory stick, USB, camcorder, portable hard drive, camera, and others.
  • It allows you to select any folder, disk drive, or external device you want to scan and recover the erased items.
  • You only need three-steps to perform the recovery procedure, once you download and install the app on your computer.
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The main rule that you should keep in mind is not to add additional data to the memory stick before the recovery procedure, which is the most important thing about how to recover flash drive data.

The steps to recover data from a formatted memory stick are as follows:

Step 1.Select a location

Plug your memory stick into the computer and launch Recoverit. Under the 'External Devices' tab, select your memory stick and press the 'Start' button for the scanning to begin.

Step 2.Scan the location

The interface of Recoverit will momentarily scan the memory stick after you hit the start button. It typically takes a few minutes to perform the scan, but the duration may vary, subject to the file size. Recoverit also provides the means for you to check the recovered files during the scan if you push the stop/pause button. Furthermore, it will notify you once the scan is complete.

Step 3.Preview and recover files

After the scan, Recoverit will prompt you to view the recovered data and check its authenticity. Select the items you want to restore and hit the 'Recover' button to save the content anywhere you want.

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