How to Fix the "USB Needs to be Formatted" Error – 4 Simple Methods for Flash Drives

Need to format the USB drive.

Scenario 1: "My USB drive is showing as not recognized and needs formatting. If I format it, will it delete all files? How can I recover my files?" (from Tom's Hardware)

Case 2: "My USB flash drive is not working and showing the 'USB flash drive not formatted' error. I've tried it on multiple computers, but all of them ask me to format it first. I haven't formatted it or deleted anything from it. It contains some files, including .xls, .pdf, .jpg, and .doc files. Is it possible to fix the USB flash drive unformatted error and access the USB without formatting? Please help!"

Normally, you may encounter the “USB flash drive not formatted” error or receive a message similar to "The connected storage device is not formatted to be used with this product" when you abruptly disconnect a portable storage device. Apart from sudden removal, this error can also occur when the file system is attacked by a virus, improperly handled, or gets corrupted due to other reasons. It comes with different error messages like "The disk is not formatted. Format now?"

There are numerous reasons behind the "USB not formatted" error. You can refer to the following table for more information:

Recover Files from Unformatted USB Flash Drive – The First Thing You Need to Do

If you receive such a message and the USB flash drive contains important data, do not format the USB drive, but look for ways to fix the problem. So, what should you do if you cannot access the USB drive without formatting it? First, try to recover files in advance with the Data Recovery Wizard tool. Learn more about its great features and download this secure data recovery solution by clicking on the Download button below:

The feature of the Tool Data Recovery Wizard's RAW Recovery option lets you easily and quickly restore data from an inaccessible USB flash drive. Download and try it first to recover data from unformatted USB drive.

You can check out the video below, where we'll show you how to use the Data Recovery Wizard to get your data back. After watching the video, you can download the software, too.

• 00:14 What to do when files are lost from a USB drive
• 00:42 How to download and install the Data Recovery Wizard tool
• 01:10 How to use the tool to recover files from a USB drive
• 02:50 How to show hidden files on a USB drive

Now, you can follow the below-given steps to recover lost files from unformatted USB flash drive:

Step 1: Launch the Data Recovery Wizard on your computer and select “SD Card Recovery” to look for the connected USB drive. All external storage devices will be displayed here, including unformatted USB flash drives.

Step 2: Locate your USB drive and click on "Scan" to start the scanning process. All recoverable files from the unformatted USB drive will be displayed, from which you can select the important ones you want to retrieve. If you're looking for a specific type of file, the filter option can be very helpful.

Step 3. Preview the files and proceed to recover them. Click “Recover” to start USB drive data recovery.

If you can't retrieve any useful data from the RAW USB drive with data recovery software, you should try contacting a data recovery service to manually fix your issue.

Tool Data Recovery Service

Contact our experts for a free evaluation now.

Consult with our Tool Data Recovery specialists for personalized manual recovery services. After a free diagnosis, we offer the following services:

• Repair of damaged RAID configurations, unbootable Windows OS, and corrupted virtual disk files (e.g., .vmdk, .vhd, .vhdx)
• Recovery/reconstruction of lost partitions and reformatted drives
• Unformatting hard drives and repairing raw drives (including BitLocker encrypted drives)
• Rectification of disks turned into GPT protected partitions

Method 1: Fix the “USB Not Formatted” Error with Disk Management

After retrieving your data, you can start fixing the “USB needs to be formatted” issue. The first method is simple – you just need to assign a new drive letter to the unformatted USB drive. Before that, you can also try reconnecting the USB drive or checking the cable to verify the USB. Here's how to assign a drive letter:

First, right-click the Windows icon and select “Disk Management.”

Step 2: Right-click on the USB drive and select “Change drive letter and paths.”

Now, you can reinsert the USB drive and check if the "USB not formatted" error has been resolved. Feel free to share this simple method on social media to assist more users in fixing the USB drive needs formatting issue.

Method 2: Run CHKDSK to Fix the USB Drive Not Formatted Error

When your USB drive prompts for formatting, you can resolve the issue by running command lines in CMD. The CHKDSK command is quite useful, and you can follow this tutorial to run the CHKDSK command in Windows:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator on Windows.

Run CMD as administrator

Step 2. Type chkdsk /f /r x: in the Command Prompt window. Replace X with the correct drive letter for your unformatted USB drive.

You might also be interested in: How to fix a RAW file system issue while running the CHKDSK command:

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Solutions for "File System Type is RAW"

Got the error message "File system type is RAW. Can't use Chkdsk on RAW drive"? Keep reading to find the solution. Learn More >>

Method 3: Format the Unformatted USB using Disk Management

If both methods fail to work, you may need to format the USB drive to fix the issue. Don't worry; you can easily recover data from the storage device with the Data Recovery Wizard tool. Now, let's see how to format a USB drive on Windows:

Step 1: Open Disk Management and locate the target USB drive.

Step 2: Right-click on the USB drive and select “Format.”

Step 3. Choose the file system and confirm the action to start formatting. You can also use this method to convert FAT32 to exFAT.

Step 4: After formatting the USB flash drive, reconnect it and recover your data.

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Recover Formatted USB | Download USB Format Recovery Tool

Can you recover a formatted USB? Download the best USB format recovery software to retrieve files from a formatted USB flash drive. Learn More >>

Method 4: Format the USB Flash Drive to Fix the “Not Formatted” Error

After the recovery, you can format the USB to fix the "unformatted" error. The easiest way is to use a free partition manager to format your USB. This free tool can handle various complicated situations and format USB flash drives of brands like SanDisk, Kingston, Panasonic, Lexar, Samsung, and Sony. Follow the guide below to format the USB drive in simple steps.

Step 1: Choose the USB drive to format.

Plug in your USB drive or flash drive to your computer. Download and open a partition tool. Right-click the USB drive you want to format, then click “Format.”

Step 2: Assign a drive letter and file system to the USB device.

Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT) and cluster size to the selected partition, then click “OK”.

Step 3: Select “Yes” to confirm the format of the USB flash drive.

If a warning message appears, click Yes. Backup your important data in advance just in case.

Step 4: Apply the changes.

Click “Execute 1 Task(s)” first, and then click “Apply” to format the USB drive.

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Now that you know how to fix a USB drive not formatted error, you can tackle the issue. The most effective way to avoid USB flash drive data loss is to back up files and folders regularly. It's best to save your data to another disk or in the cloud. Don't forget to download Data Recovery Wizard to retrieve data from a USB drive when you have no backup.

Frequently Asked Questions About "USB Flash Drive Needs to Be Formatted"

For more information about the “USB flash drive not formatted” error, continue reading the frequently asked questions below:

How to fix the "External Hard Drive Not Formatted" Error?

The "external hard drive not formatted" error might occur due to malware attacks, unexpected ejection from the computer, or power failures that damage the USB device's file system. The issue of an unformatted external hard drive can be resolved by formatting the drive or repairing the disk using CMD.

Why does my USB prompt me to format it?

This happens when the file system on your USB flash drive is too damaged for your computer to read it. Thus, Windows prompts the user to format the USB to fix it.

How do I fix an unreadable flash drive without formatting it?

There are three ways to fix an unreadable USB flash drive without formatting it:

1. Try inserting your USB flash drive into a different USB port.
2. Repair the USB file system using CMD commands.
3. Use the TestDisk utility to fix a corrupted USB flash drive.

4. How to recover data from a formatted USB drive?

You can recover data from a formatted USB flash drive before the data is overwritten. The Tool Data Recovery Wizard will be of great assistance:

1. Use this software to scan a formatted USB drive. 2. Select the deleted files and preview them. 3. Recover lost files from the formatted USB flash drive.