Can't Format USB Drive


I don't remember the size, and I can't look it up because my laptop won't recognize it anymore. Sorry.
A lot of HP flash drives have the size printed on their side. For example, 64GB.

I have had flash drives that I couldn't format. I had to use a program like EaseUS Partition Master to first delete the existing partition on it. I could then create a new partition and format it. I am sure MiniTool Partition Wizard could do the same thing.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 980 (1TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS PRIME X370-PRO
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD) ||
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 AIO water cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Elements 12TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
just an idea. have you tried using a live Linux distro on USB.
when booted to the live distro use 'Disks' and see if that can see the USB stick.
then you can delete the whole drive/partition and reformat the USB stick.

i have used this method several times with success to get USB drives that Widows fails to see.
hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    64GB DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Sound Card
    RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" HP
    Hard Drives
    1TB WD Blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
    250GB C:/Windows .. 750GB D:/Home.
    2x 1TB USB HDD External Backup/Storage.
    Internet Speed
    900MB full fibre
    Browser
    Vivaldi .. Browser, Calendar, eMail.
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5500u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 3200
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon GPU
    Sound Card
    RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP
    Hard Drives
    1TB WD blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
    250GB C:/Windows .. 750GB D:/Home.
    2x 1TB HDD External Backup/Storage.
    Internet Speed
    900MB Full Fibre
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security
    Other Info
    Mainly Windows Software
    'The Wife's Computer'
just an idea. have you tried using a live Linux distro on USB.
when booted to the live distro use 'Disks' and see if that can see the USB stick.
then you can delete the whole drive/partition and reformat the USB stick.

i have used this method several times with success to get USB drives that Widows fails to see.
hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..
I do the same but use the GPARTED program that is on the Linux LiveUSB. All the USB Thumb drives I have and have worked with up to 256GB came factory-formatted and FAT32 but for the time being Windows can only do up to 32GB [larger support by Windows "is in the works"]. As a test, I have a 500GB HDD on the shelf that I formatted as FAT32 using GPARTED, Windows has no problem reading and writing to it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
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