Fix the "Format Did Not Complete Successfully" Error with This Quick and Effective Guide

The formatting was not successfully completed.

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Fix “Format Not Complete” Error on SD Card/USB Drive – 4 Ways

Though it's a common issue, the “Format Did Not Complete Successfully” error can still baffle many average users. This message usually means that Windows was unable to format a hard drive or removable storage medium properly, so you should stop trying.

To help you out, we've rounded up the four best methods to fix USB, SD card, and external hard drive issues in Windows 10, 8, or 7.

Solution 1: Format using a third-party USB and SD card formatting tool

Free Partition Master is both the best USB formatting tool and the best SD card formatter, which can help fix the Windows formatting error. You can try this method first because it's simpler than the previous CMD method. Most importantly, you're less likely to make mistakes.

Step 1: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, right-click on the partition of the external hard drive/USB/SD card you want to format and choose "Format".

Step 2: Specify a new volume label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size for the selected partition, then click “OK”.

Step 3: Click Yes in the warning window to continue.

Step 4. Click on “Perform 1 task” in the top-left corner to preview the changes, and then hit “Apply” to start formatting the external hard drive/USB/SD card.

This method also helps resolve the following device formatting issues on a Windows computer:

Solution 2: Remove the virus and reformat

In most cases, including the formatting failed issue, many USB device problems are caused by unknown virus infections. Therefore, getting rid of the virus to bring the portable drive back to normal should be helpful. If you have an antivirus program installed, removing the virus should be simple and quick. If you're confident in your computer skills, you can also try to remove viruses from any drive using CMD.

TotalAV is a reliable antivirus tool you can trust to successfully scan and clean your disk drives.

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Alternatively, you could find a reliable antivirus to clean the device so that you can format it again:

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After that, you can format the USB drive in Windows again. For a step-by-step guide, refer to this article for help: How to Reformat a Hard Drive.

Solution 3: Check and repair corruption

A corrupted file system and a large number of bad sectors can damage a storage drive, and they will certainly affect formatting to a great extent. When you accidentally receive a Windows error message telling you that the formatting was not completed, you might want to check the health status of your drive. Once you detect an issue, you need to find a simple yet effective way to fix it.

Please download CleanGenius and install it on your computer. Now, let's start scanning and fixing file system errors on your device.

Step 1: Click "File Display" to proceed.

Step 2. Select the target device and check “Check and repair file system errors.” Click “Run” to start fixing the problem device.

Step 3: When the process is complete, click Here to open and use your device.

Click Open and use device after fixing the file system error.

Solution 4: Format the drive from the Command Prompt

If formatting fails, or the issue persists in Disk Management after removing viruses and bad sectors, you can try formatting the USB drive or other device through Command Prompt.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box and open the Command Prompt.

Step 2: Type in the command: attrib -r -h -s ./s x:\*.* (replace x with the drive letter of your device, such as f or g)

Step 3: Type the command FORMAT X: /FS:FAT32 /Q /V:PenDrive (replace X with your USB drive letter, for example G or F). This will format your USB drive to the FAT32 file system.

Why didn't the formatting complete successfully?

If you're seeing the “Format Did Not Complete Successfully” error message on your Windows computer, rest assured that you're not alone.

Scenario 1: My external hard drive is in RAW format and I tried to format it to NTFS, but got the error “Format did not complete successfully”. How can I fix this issue?

Scenario 2: “I got the 'Format did not complete successfully' error message when I tried to format my USB drive by right-clicking and selecting Format in File Explorer.”

Case 3: – “I see an error message that the virtual disk manager failed to format.”

Case 4 - “I recently installed a Linux version on my USB and it worked perfectly. But when I tried to format it to use as a regular drive, Windows reported that the volume was created successfully but not formatted.”

You might be wondering why Disk Management or Windows Explorer fails to format a removable disk, usually an SD card, USB flash drive, or external hard disk. Generally speaking, based on our observations, there could be several factors that might cause the formatting to fail. For instance:

Bad sectors Virus infection Unknown file system corruption Interrupted or disrupted formatting process Outdated BIOS version or outdated Windows service pack...

Conclusion

Hopefully, one of these three troubleshooting methods fixed the “Format did not complete successfully” error on your USB, SD card, or external hard drive in Windows 10, 8, or 7. If none of these disk formatting utilities could successfully format your removable disk, don't lose hope. It's not the end of the world. There are two more viable solutions to fix the “The format did not complete successfully” or “The volume was created successfully but it was not formatted” issue in Windows 10/8/7.

You can easily try both solutions below with the tool Partition Master.

• Rebuild Partition
• Securely Erase the Entire Hard Drive

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on "Formatting Failed"

We've also spotted some new trending topics related to the "Windows Format Did Not Complete Successfully" error. If you have the same query, follow along and find the answers here:

1. How do I resolve unsuccessful formatting issues?

1. Firstly, reconnect the device to your computer and attempt to format it. 2. If that fails, run an antivirus software to remove any malware or viruses. 3. Next, check and repair any corrupted file system errors. 4. Then, use a third-party formatting tool, such as Partition Master, to format the device.

2. Why does the format fail?

There can be many reasons why formatting fails, but it usually includes one or more of the following:

• Virus infection or malware attack.
• Interrupted formatting process.
• Unsupported file system or internal errors within it.
• Physical damage or logical damage to the device.
• Incorrect device connection, such as improper insertion or faulty USB port.

3. How to fix a hard drive that won't format?

• Run the chkdsk command in Command Prompt to fix file system errors.
• Scan and remove viruses using an antivirus program.
• Reconnect the device to your computer.
• Reformat the hard drive using a formatting tool.

What is the best disk formatter? Click here to get the top 5 best disk formatting tools.