# Cannot Format USB Drive



## jdf335

Basically, I tried to reformat my verbatim 2GB USB drive from NTFS to NTFS by right-clicking it from my computer and using the format option on Windows Vista. For some reason, a popup message showed up after a while that stated that windows was unable to complete the formatting. 

So, I went to Disk Management and tried to format it again. This time i noticed my usb changed from NTFS to RAW. I chose the formatting option in Disk Management and the formatting still failed, the same popup message showed up stating that windows was unable to complete the formatting.

Is there anyway I can format my usb?


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## jdf335

bump please, can anyone help? Is there anyway i can convert from RAW to FAT32 or NTFS?


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## dai

see if this helps

http://www.ntfs.com/quest22.htm


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## jdf335

dai said:


> see if this helps
> 
> http://www.ntfs.com/quest22.htm


Tried this method and quick formatting and formatting without quick formatting failed. "Windows was unable to complete the format"


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## dai

i will pm someone to come into the thread


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## raptor_pa

From NTFS to NTFS? Not sure why you are trying to format it, it could be something in the drive's wear leveling preventing it from formatting. You could try fat32 then use the convert command to change it to NTFS. If that fails, then delete the partition and recreate it and format. ( Pick MBR partition table NOT GUID partitioning)


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## jdf335

raptor_pa said:


> From NTFS to NTFS? Not sure why you are trying to format it, it could be something in the drive's wear leveling preventing it from formatting. You could try fat32 then use the convert command to change it to NTFS. If that fails, then delete the partition and recreate it and format. ( Pick MBR partition table NOT GUID partitioning)


The reason i chose to format from NTFS to NTFS is because my usb became i couldn't save files in my usb after converting FAT32 into NTFS in windows unless if i make a folder and someone told me if I reformat it using Vista, the problem would be gone.

The problem is I can't convert to any format because my usb's format changed to RAW. Command states that "491456 bad sectors were encountered during the format. These sectors cannot be guaranteed to have been cleaned. Invalid media or Track 0 bad - disk unsuable." after i try to format drive to any format.


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## jdf335

bump please


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## dai

is there a write protection switch on the side of the drive

is the drive under warranty


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## TerraFirma

Hey this may be of some assistance.

Recovering broken, unformattable, and ghost usb flash drives.

Do note though this should be used only if the drive is broken beyond conventional repairs, if you can format it back to fat or fat32 don't follow this blog post.

This method is used for firmware level issues and in some cases format erros, which can be caused by formats or some read write errors.

-TF


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## jdf335

dai said:


> is there a write protection switch on the side of the drive
> 
> is the drive under warranty


there is no write protection switch, 
not sure if verbatim's lifetime warranty covers this but i'll contact them by phone today,read their warranty and I'm not sure if formatting counts as abnormal use or misuse.



TerraFirma said:


> Hey this may be of some assistance.
> 
> Recovering broken, unformattable, and ghost usb flash drives.
> 
> Do note though this should be used only if the drive is broken beyond conventional repairs, if you can format it back to fat or fat32 don't follow this blog post.
> 
> This method is used for firmware level issues and in some cases format erros, which can be caused by formats or some read write errors.
> 
> -TF


Thanks, i was looking for something like this, i'll try it if the warranty does not cover my usb.


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## jdf335

I contacted verbatim. They told me to mail it to them for a replacement. I calculated that there's no point in mailing it to them because the with the money from the shipping fee plus the packaging fee i could buy a better usb.

And unfortunately none of the programs from TerraFirma's method detected my usb.

I did some searching and realized this was a vista bug. Check http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929662.

Unfortunately, the method microsoft provided did not work, i guess there's no way i can fix this usb.


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## dai

try it on a friends computer and see if you can gain access


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## jdf335

dai said:


> try it on a friends computer and see if you can gain access


i tried it on my other computer (windows xp) and my school's computer (also windows xp) and both of them couldn't gain access, nor format my usb.


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## dai

try formating after cleaning it with killdisk if you have given upon it

http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm


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