How to Format SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive on Windows 10/8/7

To format your SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive, follow these steps:

Step 1. Connect your USB drive or flash drive to your computer.

Step 2: Launch Partition Master and select the USB drive to format.

Step 3. Select a drive letter and file system, then click OK.

Step 4: Apply your changes... Read more >>

When you come across unsupported format errors, RAW disk errors, or issues like SanDisk iXpand flash drive not recognized or detected, making the device inaccessible or unusable, a reliable tool – tools Partition Master, the best USB formatting tool, can help fix the SanDisk iXpand flash drive. Follow the steps below to learn how to format iXpand flash drive on your own.

How do I format my iXpand Flash Drive to FAT32?

Here's a real-life scenario on how to format an iXpand Flash Drive:

"Hello, I'm using a Mac, and when I try to move a 7GB file to the drive to put it on my iPhone, it gives me a message that it's not supported. Would reformatting solve this issue? Will I be able to transfer larger files afterward? Thank you."

The SanDisk iXpand is a device that you can use to back up files or transfer data between your iPhone/iPad and your Windows or Mac computer. However, at times, when you connect the iXpand flash drive to any of these devices, you may encounter errors due to a corrupt file system, RAW format, or compatibility issues.

When this happens, you won't be able to open or use the device. To resolve the error and get your SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive working properly, you need to format the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive to repair the file system.

Here are four methods to convert a file system to FAT32/NTFS/exFAT:

1. Format iXpand Flash Drive with USB Format Tool 2. Format iXpand Flash Drive with Disk Management 3. Format iXpand USB Flash Drive via File Explorer 4. Format iXpand Flash Drive using Command Prompt

Solution 1: Format the iXpand Flash Drive with a Dedicated USB Formatting Tool

The reason for the unsupported format error on SanDisk iXpand is that the file system on the SanDisk iXpand drive is not formatted as FAT32, NTFS, exFAT, or RAW. Hence, your Mac or iPhone fails to recognize it. Here, you can turn to tools Partition Master - a powerful partition magic tool with formatting and disk management features.

Its intuitive interface walks you through the simple steps to format your SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive to FAT32, making it compatible with your iPhone, iPad, Windows, and Mac computers—no technical knowledge required.

To format your SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive, follow these steps:

Step 1: Select the USB drive you want to format.

Plug your USB drive or flash drive into your computer. Download and launch a partitioning tool. Right-click the USB drive you want to format, then select “Format.”

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

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

Step 3: Check “Yes” to confirm the formatting of your USB.

If a warning message appears, click Yes. Back up important data on the disk beforehand.

Step 4: Apply the changes.

First, click “Run 1 Task,” and then click “Apply” to format the USB drive.

What else can Partition Master do for you:

• Directly transfer free space from one disk to another.
• Resize/move partitions, merge partitions, clone partitions, and check file system errors.
• Clone disks, convert to MBR/GPT, dynamic/basic, and even wipe data.
• Migrate OS to SSD without reinstalling to speed up Windows.

Solution 2: Format iXpand Flash Drive using Disk Management

The USB flash drive must be smaller than 32 GB to format it as FAT32.

As you know, the Disk Management utility has a limitation that it doesn't allow formatting hard disks or flash drives larger than 32 GB as FAT32.

Steps to format iXpand to FAT32:

Step 1. In Windows 10, go to This PC > Manage > Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on your SanDisk USB flash drive and select “Format.”

Step 3: Format the USB drive as FAT32, make sure “Quick Format” is checked, and then click “OK” to proceed.

Solution 3: Format iXpand USB Drive via File Explorer

Requirement: The USB flash drive must be 32 GB or smaller. Like Windows Disk Management, you can't format a USB drive larger than 32 GB as FAT32.

Format iXpand USB flash drives 32GB and below to the FAT32 file system:

Step 1. Connect the iXpand USB flash drive to your computer running Windows 10.

Step 2: Open File Explorer, locate and tap on the iXpand USB drive, then choose Format.

< strong > Step 3 : Set the file system to FAT32, check the "Quick Format" box, and click "Start" to begin formatting.

Solution 4: Format iXpand Flash Drive via Command Prompt

Request: None

If you're comfortable with the Command Prompt, this is the recommended method. You can convert your iXpand USB flash drive to FAT32 with CMD by following these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the Windows icon, select "Search," and type cmd.

2. Right-click it and select “Run as administrator.” Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 3. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each:

**List Disks** Select Disk 2 (replace 2 with the number of your USB disk) **List Volumes** Select Volume 10 (replace 10 with the volume number of the USB drive you want to format) **Format fs=fat32 quick**

Please read:

After solving the formatting issue with your iXpand Flash Drive, you can use the drive flexibly to transfer data between your phone and computer. For detailed steps on how to do this, refer to this page: How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive.

Additional Hint 1 - Common Scenarios Requiring You to Format SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive

Usually, you need to format SanDisk iXpand when you encounter errors like:

• The iXpand Flash Drive uses an unsupported format
• The iXpand Flash Drive needs to be formatted
• The iXpand Flash Drive has a RAW file system
• The iXpand Flash Drive is empty and shows an unrecognized format
• The iPhone, iPad, or other device fails to recognize or detect the iXpand Flash Drive

Tip 2: How to Backup SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive

Formatting the iXpand Flash Drive will erase everything on the device, so make sure to back up all important files. You can manually copy the files to another drive, or use backup and restore software. Tools like Todo Backup make it easy to back up your files to the desired drive. Here's how:

Step 1: Choose What to Back Up

Step 2: There are four backup types to choose from: Files, Disk, System, and Mail. Click on Disk.

Step 3: You can back up either the entire disk or a specific partition. Choose the option you need and click “OK.”

Step 4.  Select where you want to save your backup.

Select the backup destination location

Step 5: For disk/partition backup, you can choose to save the backup to a local drive or NAS.

< strong > Step 6: When the backup is complete, the task will appear in the left panel. Right-click on any task to manage your backups further, for example, to restore them or create incremental backups.

Conclusions

After performing an iXpand format, you can fix the SanDisk iXpand unsupported format error. If you lose data after formatting, you can use a free data recovery software to recover data from USB flash drive. If you have backups, you can easily restore your files from the backup.

SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Troubleshooting (FAQ)

For more information about the iXpand Flash Drive, check out the Frequently Asked Questions.

1. How do I format my iXpand Flash Drive?

There are four ways to format your iXpand Flash Drive:

• Use a USB Formatting Tool
• Try Disk Management
• Run CMD Commands
• Format with File Explorer

What is the difference between the iXpand and iXpand Mini?

SanDisk has changed the design of the iXpand Mini from its predecessor.

The original iXpand had a hinged Lightning connector; the iXpand Mini is a simple rectangle.

3. Is the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive compatible with iPhone?

Yes. When used with the iXpand Flash Drive, the iXpand Drive app lets you easily back up, transfer, and manage photos, videos, and files among your iPhone, iPad, and computer.