How to Format a Bootable USB Flash Drive [4 Safe Ways]

Around two weeks ago, my Windows 10 wouldn't start for some unknown reason; then I created a USB bootable drive to fix the system as suggested. Now that the issue is resolved, I'd like to return the flash drive to its normal state. Does anyone know how to do this?

Tools provide a versatile and powerful disk manager, partition master, and other solutions to help you format a bootable USB.

How to Format a Bootable USB Flash Drive - 4 Ways

Creating a bootable USB disk enables you to enter the WinPE environment when your Windows fails and the PC won't start. After that, you may want to restore the bootable USB back to normal so that you can use it as an external storage device. Fortunately, formatting the bootable flash drive will turn it into a regular USB. Here, we list 4 effective ways, and you can choose the most suitable one.

• Method 1 - Format Bootable USB Flash Drive with Partition Master
• Method 2 - Format Bootable USB Flash Drive with File Explorer
• Method 3 - How to Convert a Bootable USB Flash Drive to a Normal Disk - Disk Management
• Method 4 - Format Bootable USB Flash Drive as Normal Disk with Diskpart

Method 1: Using a Tool - Partition Master - Easy and Safe

The most common solutions to “how to format a bootable USB” are using the built-in Disk Management and Diskpart in Windows. Both methods require users to be familiar with Command Prompt, which can be a bit tricky. If you're new to this, we recommend a simple tool – tools Partition Master.

Please download and install Partition Master, then follow the detailed steps below to format your bootable USB:

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

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

Step 2: Set the drive letter and file system for the USB drive.

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

Step 3: Check the “Yes” box to confirm that you want to format the USB drive.

If a warning prompt appears, click “Yes.” Back up any important data on your hard drive beforehand, just in case.

Step 4: Apply the changes.

First, click on “Execute 1 Task(s)” and then click “Format” to format the USB drive.

The main features of Partition Master include:

• User-friendly. Only 4 easy steps to format a bootable USB without command lines.
• Durable for partition management. It supports resizing, merging, cloning, and formatting partitions with ease.
• Partition converter and wizard. Efficient MBR to GPT converter, primary/logical converter, and dynamic/basic converter.
• 100% safe. Certified by authoritative organizations like PCWorld, Softonic, and Tech Advisor.

Method 2: Using File Explorer

File Explorer is a universal method to format bootable USB drives on Windows 10/11. Its familiarity and compatibility usually make it a reliable choice.

Here are the steps to format a bootable USB flash drive as a regular USB flash drive: 1. Insert your bootable USB flash drive into an available USB port on your computer. 2. Open "My Computer" or "File Explorer" and locate the USB device, which is usually displayed as a removable drive, such as "E:\" or "F:\", and so on. 3. Right-click on the USB device and select the "Format" option. 4. In the formatting window that appears, make sure the file system is set to "FAT32," "NTFS," or choose another compatible format based on your needs. "NTFS" is typically recommended since it supports larger files. 5. Under "Allocation Unit Size," usually, you can accept the default value unless you have specific requirements. 6. Ensure the "Quick Format" option is checked. This will speed up the formatting process; however, if the USB contained important data previously, do not check this option, as a quick format might not fully erase all data. 7. Click the "Start" button to initiate the formatting process. 8. Wait for the formatting to complete, and then a message will indicate that the formatting is finished. Click "OK" to close the window. 9. Your USB flash drive is now back to its regular mode and can be used for storing files and non-boot data. Before performing these steps, back up any important data, as formatting will erase everything.

1. Press the Windows + E keys to open File Explorer. Go to the "This PC" section, right-click on the bootable USB flash drive, and select "Format".

Step 2: Choose the file system as NTFS or FAT32, and allocate the size. You can also click "Restore device to default settings" to revert your USB to its initial state.

Click on "Start" to begin the process of restoring your USB drive to its normal state.

Don't hesitate to share this article to let more users know how to restore a bootable USB to normal with File Explorer.

# Method 3: Using Disk Management

You can also format the USB in Disk Management. Right-click the bootable drive and select "Format". Follow the on-screen instructions to finish formatting. Here're the detailed steps to format a bootable flash drive:

Step 1: In the Run dialog box, click Start, type diskmgmt.msc, and then press Enter to start the Disk Management tool.

Step 2: Right-click the drive and select "Format."

Step 3: Type a label in the "Volume label" field to easily identify your flash drive.

Step 4. Select the appropriate file system and click on 'OK' to proceed.

Method 4: Using Diskpart

If you're familiar with the Command Prompt that comes built-in with Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 7/8/8.1, Diskpart is another tool you can use. Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Click “Start” and type diskpart in the “Run” dialog box, then hit “Enter” to launch the “Diskpart” command prompt.

Step 2: Enter the following commands, pressing the "Enter" key after each one.

List disks
Select disk X (replace X with the number of your bootable USB drive)
Clean
Create primary partition

Assign Drive Letter=G (replace G with the drive letter you want to assign to the flash drive)
format fs=fat32 quick or format fs=ntfs quick (choose the file system according to your needs)
exit

After you complete these steps, the USB flash drive will format according to the options you specified.

You can learn more about these approaches in the video below.

This is an HTML code for embedding a YouTube video. In a web browser, it will display an iframe with a width of 700 pixels and a height of 410 pixels, containing the video player. The player allows fullscreen playback, clipboard writing, encrypted media, gyroscope, picture-in-picture, and web sharing.

If we've resolved your issue, please click the button below to share your solution with others who may need it!

Conclusions

It's all about how to make a bootable USB drive work properly. Simply put, you need to format the bootable USB. Formatting an external storage device is not that difficult. Disk Management and Diskpart are reliable tools. In addition, you have a professional partition manager – MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you out. Don't worry, just keep reading to save your flash drive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Formatting a Bootable USB Drive in UTF-8 Encoding 1. **What is UTF-8 encoding?** - UTF-8 is a widely-used Unicode character encoding standard that can represent virtually all character sets in the world. It's very common in computer systems, networks, and file systems. 2. **Why do I need to format my USB as UTF-8?** - Formatting your USB drive in UTF-8 ensures compatibility with various operating systems and languages, especially when creating or reading files across computers with different language settings. 3. **How do I format my USB drive as UTF-8?** - Most operating systems (like Windows, macOS, and Linux) don't offer UTF-8 as a direct option during formatting. However, you can use third-party tools like Rufus (for Windows) or Disk Utility (for macOS), choose an appropriate file system (like FAT32 or exFAT), and manually set the volume label and partition encoding to UTF-8. 4. **Will formatting delete all data from the USB drive?** - Yes, formatting the USB drive will erase all its data. So, make sure to back up important files before starting the process. 5. **Can the USB still boot an operating system after formatting?** - As long as you correctly created the bootable drive and didn't choose the wrong file system during formatting, the USB should still be able to boot an operating system. 6. **Will all computers recognize a UTF-8 encoded USB drive?** - Most modern computer systems should recognize UTF-8 since it's a standard encoding. However, a very few older or non-standard systems might not support it. 7. **Does formatting as UTF-8 affect the USB's performance?** - Formatting the USB for UTF-8 mainly impacts character encoding, not its storage or read/write performance. Thus, there shouldn't be a noticeable impact on daily usage speed. 8. **Can I change the encoding on an existing bootable USB drive?** - Typically, you'd need to back up your data, reformat the drive to change the encoding, which would lose the existing boot information. You'd then need to recreate the bootable drive. 9. **Will I have issues using a UTF-8 USB drive across different operating systems?** - You shouldn't have any issues as UTF-8 is platform-compatible. As long as the file system (like FAT32 or exFAT) is also supported, you can use the USB drive seamlessly between different operating systems. 10. **How can I check if my USB drive is correctly set to UTF-8 encoding?** - You can examine the USB drive properties or use command-line tools (like Windows' `fsutil` or Linux's `lsblk`) to check volume labels and partition encoding. However, this information might not directly show the encoding type, so you may rely on output from the tool used to create the bootable drive to confirm.

If you have any doubts about formatting a bootable USB or pendrive, subscribe and look for the answer right here.

1. How to format a bootable USB drive?

Here are the steps:

1. Use the **Windows Key + E** keyboard shortcut to open File Explorer. Navigate to the "This PC" section and locate your bootable USB flash drive. 2. Right-click on the bootable USB drive, then select **Format**. 3. Choose between the **NTFS** and **FAT32** file systems, and select an **Allocation Unit Size**. You can also restore the device's default settings by clicking **Restore default**. 4. Finally, click **Start** to format your bootable USB flash drive.

2. Can I format a bootable USB to normal?

Yes, you can. Formatting will help you restore your bootable pendrive to a normal USB. Here, you'll get three effective methods: Tool – Partition Master, Disk Management, and Diskpart.

3. Will formatting the USB make it bootable?

No, formatting will not make the USB bootable. To create a bootable USB, you'll need to rely on a reliable bootable USB creation solution, such as making a bootable USB for Windows or creating a bootable USB with a partition manager.