Ordinary USB drives and removable cards have become so firmly established in our lives that many users increasingly prefer storing information using such devices. But sometimes it becomes necessary to format them, for example, due to damage or software failures. Since SD cards are one of the most common today, let's look at why micro SD and how to fix such a problem. Several main methods will be given as methods. But if they do not help, it will be possible to say goodbye to the device.

The micro-SD flash drive is not formatted: what to do first?

When such situations arise, before deciding in favor of a particular method of correcting them, you should find out the root cause that led to the failure.

The simplest and most common case can be called a situation when a micro-SD flash drive is not formatted (the device is protected and the system simply does not start the formatting process). Everything is simple here: apparently, on the adapter for the card, the write-lock lever has been moved to the on position. But this is the simplest thing possible.

It also happens that the device is busy with some processes, which makes formatting impossible. In the simplest case, you just need to remove the drive from the card reader and insert it again to repeat the operation. Sometimes it can help to use the "Task Manager", in which you need to display all services, hide Microsoft processes and stop all others, and then try to format again. Perhaps this will work.

It is much worse when it may turn out that the drive has file system corruption or physical problems. Here you will have to use other methods, some of which may seem quite complicated.

What to do if standard formatting doesn't work?

If, after using the standard method of calling the procedure from the "Explorer", the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted, you can try to start the process using the section

It can be accessed through the Run console, where the diskmgmt.msc command is written. In the location window of all currently connected devices, we find the card (in most cases it will be located at the very bottom of the list), and then through the right-click menu we call the format command. Sometimes it helps (but not always).

Using special utilities

The micro-SD flash drive is not being formatted again, and the system displays a message about the impossibility of completing the procedure? Alternatively, you can use programs that allow you to produce

One of the most popular is considered a simple free utility SDFormatter. In the start window, after starting the program in devices, select the drive letter, and then click the properties button at the bottom right.

In the new window, in the formatting type, you should specify Full (Full Erase), and just below, activate the setting for automatic sector alignment (ON value). We return to the previous window and start formatting. In most cases this helps. Again, not always. What to do if the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted even after such measures? We'll have to, as they say, use "heavy artillery".

Hidden features of Windows systems

First, we call the command line with admin rights from the Run console (Win + R) and write diskpart there, then enter the list disk command and find the device we are looking for in the list (you can determine the card by volume). At this stage, you need to remember the device number in the list, otherwise you can destroy the data in other sections.

Now the next line is select disk Y (Y is the number of the disk set above). After it - the line of clearing the attributes of reading attributes disk clear readonly. After the successful completion of the process, we check the attributes using the attributes disk line. If it is indicated that only the read attribute is missing, exit the console by typing the exit command.

(micro SD not formatted)?

In some cases, you can try to restore an inoperative card before formatting. In this case, the restoration will affect not only the information previously contained on it, but also the file system.

There are plenty of programs for this, but the R.Saver application is considered the most powerful utility. The algorithm of actions in it is very simple: first you need to select your device, and then press just one button to start the analysis and recovery process. Further, the program will perform all actions without user intervention, however, this process can take up to several hours. It all depends on the degree of damage to the drive and its capacity. When the recovery is completed, formatting can be done without problems.

If nothing helps

If such actions did not produce a result, and the micro-SD flash drive is not formatted again, you will have to use the last resort - flashing the controller.

To do this, you need to find out the unique identifiers of DEV and VEN, which can be done in the "Device Manager" through the properties menu on the details tab, where the device ID is selected from the drop-down list (for completeness of information, it is better to use the longest line in the list), or use programs for this like UsbFlashInfo.

After that, you will have to visit the resource of the equipment manufacturer and download latest version firmware, and then run the process itself through the downloaded executable file. In principle, you can find the firmware on other sites, but for security reasons it is better to refer to the manufacturer's resource. At the end of the process, the formatting should start in normal mode.

Finally, if none of the above helped, alas, you can say goodbye to the card, since it will no longer work. But, as practice shows, even with damaged microcontrollers, it is possible to revive the card, and with the use of flashing tools and the R.Saver program, it is also possible to restore data.

13 comments

Hi all!!! If you are reading this article. Then I guess that you have problems with the "USB-drive".

Nowadays, we are constantly exchanging information, everywhere and every day. AT social networks, by SMS, etc. And also constantly use "flash drives". Well, this is natural. Transfer, data exchange, etc.

New technologies and a global revolution in the world of technology over the past ten years. They just force you and me to use “USB drives”, “hard drives”, etc.

But unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Some kind of failures, breakdowns, force us to purchase new “gadgets”, and throw out the old ones or take them in for repair.

So in our case, there is flash drive which does not want to be formatted in the usual way for us. It remains either to hand it over for repair, where half the cost of the device itself will be cut off from us, or, unfortunately, throw it away and buy a new one. But this option will affect your finances.

Can you imagine if the flash drive breaks constantly.

The pursuit of cheapness and low-quality Chinese assembly and not the fact that your flash drive will last a long time. So you have to constantly buy or repair.

No, I suggest that before you throw away the USB flash drive, try to format it yourself through special programs. It's not that hard. And it won't take more than an hour. And most importantly, it's free.

In the material I will present a complete description with pictures and complete guide formatting a flash drive.

And so we will begin to restore our device to normal working condition.

If you do not have important materials on flash drives, then proceed to recovery.

As usual, we insert the USB drive into the connector. We begin to copy data (music, movies, etc.) from the USB flash drive to the computer. And the computer gives us just such a sign.

And offers us to remove protection or use another disk.

How to remove protection? Most users will think. And what kind of protection are we talking about. It seems that he did not flog and did not protect.

The second step we go to the computer and try "format" in the usual way for us.

But no luck here either.

Like a judgment!

All efforts have been made, but the flash drive also remains unavailable for formatting. Usually, you should throw out the flash drive next.

But let's try to format it using third party programs. In some cases, this may help.

Once again, we recall whether the data we need is on the flash drive, and proceed to revive our device.

We format the flash drive using third-party utilities.

• HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - A simple utility for formatting disks. Also used to create multiboot Windows flash drives. Formats to file system "FAT" "FAT32" and "NTFS". It will also help restore the true size of the flash drive.

You should know it: If you have Windows XP, then the program is launched by two mouse clicks on the shortcut (as usual). If Windows 7 is installed, then you need to unzip the archive to your desktop and run the program from "Admin Name".

Right-click on the shortcut, in the window that appears, select "Run as Administrator".

The interface is quite simple, despite the fact that the program "HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool" on English language. (Found the Russian version).

In our case, you need to determine the letter of the flash drive identifier. If you forgot, go to my computer and look at the letter of the flash drive.

1. device- select our flash drive.
2. file system- select the desired file system, usually "FAT32".
3. Click start- Start the process.

Confirm the action by pressing the "YES" button

The following problems may arise:

"Device media is write-protected - Devices are write-protected."

If the flash drive is not formatted, check the box "Quick Format" (quick formatting). It is also recommended to change the file system "FAT" and "NTFS".

If it doesn't work, move on to the next program.

• JetFlash Recovery Tool Formatting software USB flash drives. Helps restore the true size of the flash drive. (It happens that a flash drive is 32 GB, but it shows only 10 GB).

We start the program.

The program identified our flash drive. If not determined, then skip this moment and go to another program, just below.

If the program has identified your sick flash drive, then this is a good sign. Then follow the prompts of the program.

As seen in the screenshot jet flash recovery helped me reanimate my flash drive and completely restored the full amount of memory. Well, this does not mean that this utility will help you. If not, then try the following program.

• Flash Doctor- Simple clear interface, completely in Russian. It will help you recover your flash drive.

1. The program will help identify broken clusters on your flash drive.

2. You can also create a disk image using the utility.

3. Burn the created image.

4. You can scan your flash drive for errors.

We launch "Flash Doctor". Choose desired disk(flash drive) in our case, the letter "K"

1. We scan the flash drive for errors and find out which clusters are damaged.
2. Let's move on to formatting.

We launch "Flash Doctor".

Before formatting the flash drive, I decided to scan the media for errors.

And the program showed that there are broken sectors.

After scanning try "recover media"

After the operation to restore the flash drive is completed, I recommend that you scan your flash drive for errors again.

As you can see in the screenshot, the program completely restored the broken sectors and formatted them with the same size that was when you bought it.

How ucb drives fail

• A few useful hints that I encountered in my work.
• First of all, it is desirable to remember whether there were mechanical shocks, whether there were exposure to moisture (water). This is a very important point.
• Also, the flash drive may be infected with a virus. To do this, you should try to format it on another computer.
• You can also play around with the connectors (put it in another port, preferably on another computer.)
• Scan with some antivirus. (Avast, Kaspersky)

In my practice there were also such cases:

I put the flash drive into the ucb connector of the laptop and slightly pressed down on the flash drive case. The indicator (bulb) blinked. (The process of data exchange (synchronization) has begun. It turned out that there were bad contacts.

In rodi, there are no significant actions, but it helped me to identify the cause of the breakdown of the flash drive.

P.S. Possibly utility HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, JetFlash Recovery Tool, Flash-Doctor, will not help you recover a damaged flash drive. But don't be too upset, these are only three ways to format and restore a flash drive out of hundreds. There are also a couple of high-quality utilities. Is there some more online services, by definition of firm chipsets, etc.

But this is a completely different topic.

If you have any questions, write in the comments, ask questions. Advise some other program, for a complete set.

And do not write off throwing away or carrying your gadgets for repair. All in your hands.

We are accustomed to the fact that the object of information recovery is most often HDD; Solid-state drives, for some reason, are considered a priori reliable. And if the data on the flash drive still turns out to be damaged, then they don’t even try to restore it. In this article, we will try to debunk this belief.

USB flash drives have long been indispensable companions of almost every PC user. They are very convenient, besides the prices for these devices are constantly falling. Now, for example, you can buy a 4 GB flash drive for only 30,000 rubles.
However, absolutely reliable things do not happen: just like in the case of other drives, flash drives sometimes start to "fail": files disappear, problems arise when copying or deleting files, formatting becomes impossible. However, do not rush to throw away the flash drive - it is quite possible that it can still be brought back to life. In our article, we will talk about real examples of restoring the performance of flash drives and memory cards.

Before proceeding to the list of recommendations, we recall that prevention is much better than surgical intervention. AT With regard to flash drives, there is a golden rule for each user - "make copies"! Never store information that exists in a single copy on flash drives. Make copies on the computer you are copying from. If you use memory cards in your camera, do not wait until the card is full: at the first opportunity, dump the photos you have taken onto a hard drive or DVD. Do not forget that the cost of data recovery from a flash drive in specialized firms starts at 1,500 rubles. Much better to make a copy, right?
So, what to do if the flash drive or memory card stops working? First you need to decide whether the information from the flash drive needs to be restored. If not, then you should find a suitable formatting program: on the CD that came with the kit, or on the manufacturer's website. If these methods are not available, then you can resort to standard Windows features: open Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management, then find the flash drive partition, delete and format it.

If a failed flash drive or memory card contains necessary information, then it is necessary to determine the degree of its importance. If you are ready to donate the amount of 1.5-6 thousand rubles, then it is better to attribute it to trusted specialists. If the data is not too valuable, then it should be remembered that it can be dangerous to use any programs to restore the performance of flash drives, since they erase information in the process.

USB flash drive is not formatted - how to farm and restore

If possible, perform a sector-by-sector copy of the disk using utilities from Acronis, Paragon, etc. before starting work. This provides the opportunity to work not with a flash drive, but with information copied from it.
Sometimes a very simple way helps to recover data: P control panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management. Find the partition you need and try to check with "Scandisk". But most often, EasyRecovery, GetDataBack, RecoverMyFiles, R-Studio programs can help with file recovery., which have read modes that allow copying data without changing the structure. If you are not well versed in these programs, then it is better to read about them first. Never rush if files are dear to you.

Utilities for formatting and restoring a flash drive.

Useful Utilities

Flash Recovery Tool 1.0- a program for restoring the health of flash drives.

FLASH DOCTOR RUSSIAN v1.0.2- a program for working with media (flash, hard disks). Uses a low-level disk formatting method, can create disk images and burn them to media.

Flash Memory Toolkit 1.1- utility for testing Flash-drives. EFD Software is known as the creator of HD Tune, a nice free hard drive test. Its latest development, Flash Memory Toolkit, is a whole complex for servicing flash drives based on flash memory.

EzRecover- USB Flash recovery utility, helps when the flash is defined as a Security Device, is not detected at all or shows 0Mb volume. In order for EzRecovery to see the flash drive, after starting the program and issuing an error message, remove the flash drive and insert it again, and then everything is fine. Attention! After using the program, all data on the flash drive will not be saved.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool- a compact utility for formatting various flash drives.

F Recovery- recovers photo and video data after formatting or recording errors. Each card type has its own version of the utility.

HDD Low Level Format Tool- the program allows for low-level formatting of drives and Flash cards. Key features: supports S-ATA (SATA), IDE (E-IDE), SCSI, USB, Firewire interfaces supports drives from the following manufacturers: Maxtor, Hitachi, Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, Fujitsu, IBM, Quantum, Western Digital supports Flash card formatting when using the HDD card reader. Low Level Format Tool completely destroys data, performs low-level formatting and allows you to change the size of the drive up to 281,474,976,710,655 bytes. Work with external devices via USB and Firewire interfaces. There is the possibility of using Ultra-DMA mode. Formatting clears the partition table, MBR, and every byte of data. The program completely destroys any information, after which data recovery is out of the question.

LLFsetup- This utility allows you to convert the file system of a flash drive without losing data.

F-Recovery for CompactFlash- The utility allows you to restore deleted photos and movies from CompactFlash cards after formatting or writing errors.

UsbIDCheck (USB Bench - Faraday USB Test Utility)- Program to get information about all connected USB devices. Shows the idVendor and idProduct values ​​to determine the device controller type. The list by which you can determine the manufacturer of the device is in the archive with the program.

GetDataBack- a program for recovering information accidentally or as a result of deliberate actions deleted from a hard drive - in most cases, restores data, including even after low-level formatting. GetDataBack allows data recovery both on the computer on which the program is installed, and on a remote one, for example, on any of the computers on the local network; in addition, you can recover data on any removable storage medium. Another good feature of this program is fast work

RecoverMyFiles is a powerful recovery tool deleted files. Works with FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS file systems, searches for deleted documents on the disk based on the structure of a particular format (ZIP, DOC, JPG, etc.) Can recover documents, graphic files, music and video files, email. RecoverMyFiles can recover files that have been deleted from the recycle bin, as well as those that were lost as a result of formatting the hard drive, reinstalling Windows, due to the effects of a virus or worm, unexpected shutdown of the computer, or program freezes. Recovery of files from a hard disk, flash-cards of photo-cameras, USB, Zip, floppy disks, etc. The program has many options for searching temporary folders, and it can even detect and recover files that were never saved. Can restore information even after formatting. Feature: ease of use due to the "wizard" that makes the recovery process very easy. File systems: FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32, NTFS and NTFS5

F-Recovery for SD- If you accidentally deleted or formatted photos, video clips or sound files on the storage media or pulled it during a write operation, don't worry - F-Recovery for SD can easily, quickly and absolutely reliably recover lost data.

F-Recovery for CompactFlash 2.1- allows you to recover deleted photos and videos from CompactFlash cards after formatting or recording errors

SIV (System Information Viewer) 3.35- a utility that shows the most diverse and very detailed information about the system, local network and hardware. Gives information about a wide range of characteristics local computer and workstations: installed equipment and software, data from temperature and voltage sensors, information about the processor, memory, hard drives and much more.

JetFlash 120 Recovery Tool is Transcend's proprietary utility for Jetflash recovery.

Questions about formatting and restoring flash drives.

question answer

Question: Flash "Toshiba 8 GB" (controller AB 8028-K/L716/CE7106.0, memory iFLASH/ISF0032MUDC/0530) is detected in Windows, but when trying to access, the message "Insert disk in device..." appears. In properties: free 0; occupied 0; file system is unknown. Formatting Windows tools impossible.
Answer Note: This controller requires PDx8 v3.27 utility.
Question: Flash drive Samsung 2 GB. Stopped formatting. Windows cannot complete formatting.
Answer: Try the HS2.0_Utility_Repair_2 utility.
Question: Imation Flash Drive Mini 4 GB. Detected in Windows, but does not open, giving the inscription: "Insert a disk into the device ...".
Answer: A program that solves this problem is located on the Imation South Asia official website. Link
Question: Transcend JetFlash V60 2GB Flash Drive (P/N TS2GJFV60). On most computers it is either not detected at all (absolutely no reaction), or it is only detected as a storage device (without appearing as a removable disk), or the LED just lights up and again no reaction. However, on my home computer works fine. Tried formatting in Windows - didn't help. What's the matter?
Answer: Use this flash drive only with USB ports motherboard. Alas, many Transcend JetFlash flash drives do not work well when connected to the front connectors of a PC or on long extension cords.
Question: The Transcend JetFlash-150 2GB flash drive is no longer detected by Windows.
Answer: JetFlash Recovery Tool v1.0.12 can help you. Just learn that after formatting you will lose all previously recorded data.
Question: Even the manufacturer's software does not help "see" the Bench-Faraday flash drive in Windows. Help!
Answer: Try using the iCreat PDx16 utility.

Question: Flash drive xn-u518 (CBM2090) 8 GB made in China cannot be formatted by known utilities like Hard Disk Low Level Format, FORMAT_v2112 and Urescue_v1006.
Answer: The proprietary utility CBM2090UMPTOOL is suitable for you.
Question: Transcend MiniSD HC 4GB memory card is included. I can not format in the phone and in the card reader.
Answer: Use a card reader that supports high speed HC format; try formatting using Windows.
Question: The Kingston Data Traveler 2GB USB flash drive is inserted into the USB port with reversed polarity, and then it is not detected in other computers.
Answer: There are fuses on the Kingston's Data Traveler series. Take it to a service center to restore the polarity.
Question: MaxSelect 128 MB flash drive (Prolific PL-2515 controller) is no longer detected.
Answer: Procedure for resuscitation:
1. Install the program EzRecover
2. We connect the flash drive and install the drivers for the Security Device, which can be found in the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\).
3. Run EzRecover and click Recover, after which a new "removable disk" of 0 bytes should be found.
4. Download the branded utility for flash drives MaxSelect with the Prolific PL-2515 controller and format it, after which the size of the flash drive and the file system are normally determined. In some cases, the flash drive will work immediately after applying EzRecover.
Question: Canyon 1 GB flash drive (CN-USB20AFD1024A) is "split" into two parts: Public and Security. The proprietary utility does not allow you to delete the Security section.
Answer: You need to null out the primary MBR boot area using the Flashnull utility. U-Storage Tool 2.9 may also help.
Question: Kingston DataTraveler 512 flash drive (AU6981 E42-GDL-NP controller). The data cannot be copied and a write protection message appears.
Answer A: You need to download the driver from the manufacturer's website and use the AU6980 utility to perform a low-level format. Then use any DOS utility like PartitionMagic from DOS to create a partition and format it. However, it is possible that not the entire volume of the flash drive will become available.

For a long time, such digital information carriers as disks and floppy disks have long gone out of everyday use due to their low capacity, the complexity of rewriting, and relatively large dimensions. Now they have been replaced by flash drives - small-sized media that can be placed inside the phone and put in any of the available pockets.

The modern market offers a huge range USB flash drives a wide variety of colors, sizes, configurations, designs and capacity of the media itself, which varies from one or more gigabytes. Unfortunately, they also have problems. One of the cases when a flash drive is not formatted - Windows cannot complete formatting: few people know what to do in such a situation. Actually, we will gradually move on to this problem.

So, due to the low cost, many users acquire several media at once. Saving information on them is no worse than on disks, but the methods for deleting old and recording new information are much more simple and convenient.

Constant overwriting, deleting old files and adding new ones lead to the need to format the USB drive. But it also happens that when trying to format, the system gives the user information about the impossibility of completing the cleaning of space on the flash drive.

Why can't I format my flash drive?

There can be a great many reasons for such a Windows reaction: from problems with USB connectors, a broken flash drive, system errors, until the file located on the media is busy in the operation of the system itself. But this is not a reason to say goodbye to your favorite assistant and send it to the landfill: there are a huge number of ways to fix the error and restore the media. As a rule, in 90% of cases it is possible to restore normal operation and return the device to service.

However, even with such inspiring forecasts, do not forget about 10% of cases, because the flash drive could simply exhaust the resource allotted to it, and nothing will be fixed. But to establish this fact, it will be necessary to perform a number of measures to identify the final "diagnosis".

Before proceeding with formatting, you need to be sure that there is no important data on the device. And if important files still remain there, then it is important to first restore them using a special program that will initially get the information, and then completely clear the contents. This issue is covered in more detail in the Data Recovery article. Before starting any recovery operations, the USB drive must be inserted into any connector on a computer or laptop.

Disabling antivirus programs

One of the reasons for the inability to perform formatting can be antivirus programs established to combat malicious files. To check this option, just disable the antivirus and try formatting again. This operation can be carried out in the standard way through "My Computer" by clicking right click mouse on the icon of the corresponding flash drive, where from the drop-down menu select "Format", and then confirm the operation.

Ideally, the formatting process should start, which will clean the media in the established format. But if cleaning in this way fails and the same window appears, you should try the next method. To implement further methods, all running programs or applications must be closed or terminated so that they do not access files on the flash drive and do not interfere with its cleaning.

Formatting using standard OS tools

For this method, you do not need to search for special utilities on the Internet, but you can simply use the standard Windows software. To do this, first launch the "Disk Management" menu through operating system. This launch can be done in two ways.

1) By pressing "Win" + "R" from the keyboard, after which the "Run" command window will appear on the screen. In the line of the pop-up window, we drive in diskmgmt.msc and confirm the action with the corresponding button on the window or with the "Enter" key. This method is supported by all versions of Windows.

2) Click the "Start" button, then select "Control Panel". Whichever method is used, in the menu that appears, click on "View: Category" and select "Small Icons".

The next step is to click on the "Administration" item and then go to the "Computer Management" section.

The window that opens will consist of three areas, in the left of which you will need to select "Disk Management".

After going to "Disk Management", all information about connected devices, their volume, type, and so on will be displayed. To format the flash drive, you will need to find it in the list, since it will then be impossible to recover data from the media or disk. Right-click on the drive icon, and select "Format" from the menu that opens.

If the “Delete volume” function is active in the opened menu of the USB drive, then you should first select this action, as it will help allocate space on the disk. After distribution, select the "Create a simple volume" column. The Volume Creation Wizard will walk you through the steps that will require you to confirm the next step. After creating the volume, the flash drive can be formatted.

How to format a USB drive in safe mode?

First, the safe mode itself is launched - the system reboots and “F8” is pressed at startup. After that, a menu will be displayed that allows you to select startup options, where the transition to safe mode is carried out. In different operating systems, this mechanism may differ.

From safe mode formatting is done using the command line. But at the same time, you need to make sure that no data from the flash drive is used by programs, for example, it is not checked by the same antivirus. Command line called by the universal method - by pressing "Win" + "R", after which the command "cmd" is entered into the line and confirmed by the "Enter" key.

The following command “format x:” appears in the command line window, where x must be replaced with the corresponding name of the flash drive, under which it is displayed on the computer, and confirmed with the “Enter” key.

Formatting a flash drive using special programs

If the above methods did not give the desired result, then you should seek help from special utilities that have proven themselves to be the best "doctor", even for seemingly hopeless devices.

A program designed not only to format storage media, but also to quick creation boot disks. To erase data here, you must perform the following sequence.

• Connect the USB drive to a computer or laptop through any connector.
• Download the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and run it as an administrator: otherwise, the utility may simply not start.
• Wait for the media to be detected and appear in the Device menu.
• Select the appropriate file system format for the purpose of the media.
• Set the media name to be displayed on the PC.
• Next, choose a quick format.
• The process starts with the "Start" button.

Depending on whether the Russian or English version is installed, all commands will be displayed accordingly, but the instruction for formatting in any language version is performed in the same sequence as above.

There are also situations when portable memory cards for mobile devices for some reason it also fails to format. In these cases, you must use the SDFormatter program. When launched, it should be displayed as a normal window.

In the column "Drive" you need to select the device that will be formatted and press the "Option" button. After that, a new window will appear with two columns, in the first of which you need to select “FULL (Erase)”, and in the second set “ON” to improve the structure of the media and the quality of its further work.

All of the above methods are designed to recover a flash drive, but if they do not help, try other programs to restore the device, for example, D-Soft Flash Doctor, EzRecover or JetFlash Recovery Tool.

Specifying Attributes Using the Command Line

As a rule, the above methods and programs are more than enough, but if they turned out to be ineffective, then you can resort to the next method. To complete it, you will need utmost care, since the whole process will take place in several stages.

The universal combination "Win" + "R" calls up the command line. As before, the transition to the "Run" section is performed, then the "cmd" command is entered, which is launched by clicking on the button or pressing the "Enter" key. In the window that appears, write the command "diskpart" and confirm it.

After that, the “list disk” command is installed in a new window, which will display the connected disks. Here you select the media you need for formatting, which is determined by the capacity of the flash drive.

Having found out its number, you must enter the command " select disk", In which n is replaced by the number of the media intended for formatting, and press "Enter".

After that, you need to make changes to the attributes, for which the following command is written: "attributes disk clear readonly", and is launched by the "Enter" key.

Upon completion of the procedure, to complete the work, the command "exit" is entered into the command window and launched. Then you need to try out the standard formatting methods in the operating system.

Conclusion

If this method did not remove the window with the information: “Windows cannot complete formatting”, then you can try to perform all the procedures on another computer or laptop. It is possible that the reason for the failure to format was the PC itself or the USB connector. In this case, it is better to check the last option immediately by inserting the USB flash drive into another connector.

We hope that the methods suggested in our article helped you recover the USB drive and format it as originally intended. If the article was useful, share it with your friends, perhaps it will help save their flash drives from disposal. Thank you for your attention!

Good hour!

In the life of any USB flash drive (and microSD too), unforeseen moments happen: sometimes it stops opening and asks for formatting. And Windows formatting fails for unknown reasons (example in Figure 1 below)...

Many users, in this case, put up with this and buy a new flash drive. In the meantime, I'll tell you, there are several recovery options that I recommend doing before you send the flash drive to the scrap (in many cases, you can return the drive to life and it works like new). I will tell about them in this article.

Rice. 1. Typical type of error "Windows cannot complete formatting".

The flash drive is not formatted: causes, recovery methods

Is write protection enabled - "Lock"

Perhaps I will say a banal moment, but SD-flash drives have a special lever that blocks the recording of information on a flash card (just like deleting and formatting). Check if off is in position lock(means blocked).

On USB flash drives, such a lever is much less common (and usually on flash drives from Chinese little-known manufacturers). Pay attention to the icon itself: if the lever is in the "closed lock" position, then the flash drive is blocked from writing (see Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. On / off Lock on a flash drive

Are there any errors on the flash drive? Correction of these

In general, usually, if there are errors on the flash drive, Windows itself offers to check and fix them. If it doesn't work, I recommend running the check manually just in case...

Method 1

1. Open File Explorer and go to "This computer" ("My computer") ;
2. Next, connect the USB flash drive (wait until it is displayed in "This computer" );
3. Right click on it, and context menu select "Properties".

Wait for the verification to finish, and then try to work with the flash drive...

Method 2

You can start checking a disk or flash drive using the command line (it is advisable to open it with administrator rights).

To do this, press the button combination Ctrl+Shift+ESC- must open Task Manager . In it, click FILE/Create Task . In line "Open" enter cmd and check the box next to "Create task with admin rights" . Click OK- see fig. five.

Rice. 5. Run Command Prompt with Administrator Rights

At the command line, enter the command:

chkdsk e: /f

where e:- the drive letter of the flash drive (put your flash drive letter);

/f - key (do not change!).

Rice. 6. Drive check // chkdsk

Formatting a flash drive through disk management

It happens that through My computer the flash drive is not formatted, but through disk management - everything is OK (apparently the matter is in hidden processes that can interact with the flash drive). Therefore, I recommend trying this method too.

To open Disk Management: Click the buttons WIN+R and enter the command in the line "Open": diskmgmt.msc(as in Fig. 7).

Next in the list, find your flash drive, click on it right mouse button and select from the menu "Format" (arrows 3 and 4 in Fig. 7). Then it remains only to choose volume label , file system and agree to the transaction.

Important! All data on the flash drive, after formatting, will be deleted ...

Rice. 7. How to format a flash drive through disk management

Formatting a flash drive using utilities

If Windows cannot format, then you can try to do it using the special. utilities. In general, there are quite a lot of such utilities and you cannot consider them all within the framework of one article. I will focus only on the best of them.

4.1) For USB stick

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is a great utility for formatting flash drives and creating from them bootable media. The utility can format flash drives in the following file systems: NTFS, FAT, FAT32. Supports work through USB port 2.0. Does not require installation. Compatible with Windows XP, 7, 8, 10.

In many cases of "invisibility" of flash drives, their incorrect operation, the impossibility of maorting - this utility does its job. Recommend!

Rice. 8. Format media in HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

4.2) For SD stick/card

This program formats all SD cards, SDHC and SDXC. The program is free and works in almost all Windows versions. In general, I don’t know what else can be added about it - if there are problems with SD cards, I recommend using it. By the way, the developers recommend using the utility to format not only failed drives, but also those that work fine. This is done in order to avoid various compatibility issues...

To start formatting, run the utility, then select the drive (in the example in Figure 9, this is M:), then press Option and where format type- put Full (Erase), And where Format Size Adjustment - put On. Next, click the button Format.

Rice. 9. SDFormatter main window

4.3) Universal Utility

This utility is used to format problematic hard drives, flash drives, SD cards - in general, it supports almost all types of drives connected to a computer.

To start formatting in it, you need (see Fig. 10):

1. Insert a flash drive and run the utility: then select it in the list of drives;
2. Push button Continue;
3. Next, open the section Low Level Format(low-level formatting);
4. Push button format thisdevive(then wait until the operation is completed).

Important! After low-level formatting - you will need to carry out high-level formatting, as shown a little higher in the article -.

As a rule, after such a low-level formatting, the drive starts working normally (if it is not physically damaged).

Determining the controller model and flash drive firmware

If all other methods did not help, then most likely you will have to try to reflash the flash drive. You need to do this carefully, because if you choose the wrong firmware, you will ruin the flash drive and then it can no longer be restored ...

Instructions for flashing

Since the topic is quite extensive, I singled it out in a separate article to consider all the nuances. The general meaning is as follows:

• first, the flash drive controller is determined by unique identifiers VID and PID;
• then there is a special utility for flashing by these identifiers;
• and then the flash drive is flashed.

As a rule, after such a procedure, even those flash drives that many put an end to begin to work ...

Finally. I accidentally dropped one of my flash drives on the floor. Everything would be fine, but after that it ceased to be displayed. After disassembling it, I found that several contacts had moved away and needed to be re-soldered. By the way, in most cases, it is the contacts that leave, the microcircuit itself remains intact (if a hammer or brick has not fallen on the flash drive).

After resoldering, the flash drive began to work normally, and not even one file was lost! This method, however, is only suitable for those who know how to solder a little (well, if there is no very necessary data on the flash drive, otherwise, it is better to give it to a service center).

By the way, you can open the flash drive with a knife and a screwdriver. For some models, the case is not collapsible - therefore, its further use will not be very convenient (although you can put it on a shelf and use it, say, for "rare" tasks...).

That's all for me, good luck!