Format Usb Flash Drive Mac Terminal

How can I format USB drive in CMD? How to format USB using CMD to NTFS? Can I format a USB using CMD in Windows 10? Don't worry if you have the same questions in your mind.

On this page, you'll learn how to format USB using CMD or CMD alternative tool in Windows 10/8/7 successfully. Pick up the suitable USB format tool for help now:

You'll be given several format options when you try to format a USB drive on Mac, including OS X Extended (Journaled), OS X Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled), MS-DOS (FAT) and ExFAT. If you are using macOS 10.13 or later, you'll also see an option named APFS, which is the default file system of macOS 10.13 and later. Formatting a USB Flash drive in Mac OSX can be little different from formatting it in windows. Formatting a USB flash drive in Mac OS can be done by a GUI app called Disk Utility. This tool is used in all latest versions of Apple Mac OSX including 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8, 10.7 and 10.6. Terminal will then warn of the USB drive being wiped as part of the process. Type 'Y' and press enter. Leave the Mac alone as it formats and copies over the installer. Once Terminal says 'Install.

USB Format Tool	Pros
1. Format USB Using CMD	Format to NTFS/FAT32 For professional users
2. Format USB Via CMD Alternative	Format to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT4/3/2 Convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting For all levels of users, beginners' best choice

Notice:: As formatting will remove all saved data on the USB drive, if your USB is accessible, make sure to back up valuable USB data to another secure location in advance.

If you prefer an easy and quick way to format USB or you need to format to Ext 4/3/2, pick up CMD alternative format tool for help.

Let's start to format your USB using CMD or its alternative tool and make the RAW, inaccessible, unreadable, and even corrupted USB flash drive, pen drive, memory stick work normally again.

Part 1. How to Format USB Flash Drive Using CMD (Command Prompt)

Applies to: Format USB to FAT32/NTFS, format RAW USB, repair corrupted USB, etc.

USB flash drive is worldwide used for storing data and transferring files. However, sometimes, USB may corrupt or become inaccessible due to RAW or invalid file system, bad sector, or other errors. Formatting USB using CMD is a quick way to resolve these problems.

The following are two detailed guides, illustrating how to format a USB flash drive using Windows Command Prompt that you should strictly follow.

Steps to Format USB (to NTFS or FAT32) Using CMD

#1. Format USB using CMD in Windows 10:

Format Usb Drive Mac Fat32

Step 1. Connect USB to your PC and press Windows + R keys.

Step 2. Type cmd in the Search box and hit Enter to bring up Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and hit Enter each time:

diskpart
list disk
select disk + number (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
list volume
select volume + number (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
format fs=ntfs quick (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
exit

CMD also works to fix Windows was unable to complete the format error in your computer hard drive, USB, or other storage devices.

#2. Format USB Flash Drive using Command Prompt in Windows 8/7:

Step 1. Plug USB in your computer and click the Windows icon and select 'Search'.

Step 2. Type command prompt in the Search box.

Right-click on Command Prompt and choose 'Run as administrator'.

Step 3. On the Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press 'Enter'.

Step 4 Type list disk and press 'Enter'. Check the disk number of your USB flash drive. For example, disk 2.

Step 5. Now type select disk 2 and press 'Enter'. (If the USB number is not 2, replace it with the right one.)

Step 6. Type format fs=ntfs and press 'Enter'.

If you prefer other file system formats, change the command NTFS to the desired one, such as format fs=fat32.

Step 7. Type exit and hit Enter to close the window.

After this, exit DiskPart and you save data to your USB flash drive again. However, as Linux file system Ext2/3 is not compatible with Windows OS, you can refer to a UBS format tool in Part 2 for help.

Part 2. Format USB Using CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7

Applies to: Format corrupted USB, format USB to Ext2, Ext3, format FAT32 USB to NTFS, format USB to FAT32, etc. on all Windows OS.

Although CMD is capable of formatting USB flash drive, it's not user-friendly for most Windows beginners. Also, it requires users to remember all command lines while executing operations in Command Prompt.

Also, any importer operation may cause data loss on other storage devices. Here, we would like to recommend you try third-party CMD alternative software - EaseUS free partition manager.

EaseUS Partition Master Free Edition is a perfect CMD alternative tool for USB formatting. With an easy-to-use interface and precise operation, you can use it to format USB easily in only a few clicks.

Tutorial - 4 Steps to Format USB via CMD Alternative in Windows 10/8/7

All levels of users can apply this tool and format USB to usable again in Windows 10/8/7:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the 'Format' option.

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click 'OK'.

Step 3. In the Warning window, click 'OK' to continue.

Format Usb Flash Drive Mac Terminal Adapter

Step 4. Click the 'Execute Operation' button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click 'Apply' to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Part 3. Bonus Tips to Fix Errors While Formatting USB Using CMD

According to some USB users, they reported that they encountered some errors while formatting USB in CMD.

Here, we've collected two common errors in formatting USB using CMD, if you get the same errors, don't worry. You can follow the provided solutions to resolve them:

Error 1: Diskpart format fs=ntfs stuck at 0, 10, 11, 12...

If the formatting process gets stuck in DiskPart, as the shown message, don't worry. You have two ways to go:

#1. Just wait for the formatting process to complete.
#2. Close CMD, turn to EaseUS Partition Master in Part 2 to format your drive.

Error 2: Diskpart has encountered an error: Access is denied. See the System Event Log for more information.

If you come across this issue, click the link below to get rid of the problem:

Data Recovery is not a challenge anymore. EaseUS serves as a dependable data recovery application to retrieve lost data within simple clicks.

The End Line

Due to its portability, flexibility, large storage size, and reasonable price, USB flash drive is still the No.1 external storage device around the world.

While using USB for data transferring or storage, problems with USB flash drives also increase. Formatting USB flash drive is one of the top issues.

On this page, we included two USB formatting tools to help you format USB using CMD or CMD alternative - EaseUS Partition Master. You may pick up a suitable tool and follow the respective tutorial guide to make your USB flash drive work normally.

For an easy and free formatting resolution, take EaseUS Partition Master as your first choice. It's a perfect CMD alternative tool that can help you anytime.

People Also Ask About Format USB Using CMD

Some of you may have more questions about formatting USB. Here we collected some top concerned questions and listed answers below. If you have the same doubts, check out the answers now.

1. Why do you need to format USB flash drive?

Usually, HDDs and SSDs are widely used for OS installation and data storage and removable storage devices like USB flash drives are more used for data transferring and storage. But the USB flash drive may become inaccessible, and you'll need to format it so as to make it work again.

Here is a list of reasons why do you and other USB users need to format the flash drive:

1. RAW, invalid, or unrecognized USB file system
2. USB flash drive corruption
3. Virus infection
3. USB is write-protected
3. Change USB file system to NTFS, FAT32, or Ext 2/3/4 by formatting

2. How to format bootable USB using cmd？

The process of formatting a bootable USB flash drive is almost the same as the process shown on this page. You can apply CMD to format it with the listed steps here:

Step 1. Connect the bootable USB drive to your PC.
Step 2. Open Command Prompt.
Step 3. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
Step 4. Type list disk and hit Enter.
Step 5.Type select disk + number and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the number of your USB drive.)
Step 6. Type list volume and hit Enter.
Step 7. select volume + number and hit Enter. (Replace 10 with the volume number of your USB flash drive.)
Step 8. Type format fs=ntfs quick and hit Enter. (You can also replace NTFS with FAT32 or exFAT.)
Step 9. Type exit and hit Enter.

Format Usb Flash Drive Mac Terminal Drive

3. How to format write-protected USB using cmd?

Here are the steps that you can follow to format a write-protected (read-only) USB using the command lines below:

Step 1. Press 'Win + R', type cmd to open 'Command Prompt'.
Step 2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.
Step 3. Type list disk and hit Enter.
Step 4. Type select disk 2 and hit Enter. (Replace 2 with the write-protected device number) and hit Enter.
Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and hit Enter.
Step 6. Type exit to close the diskpart window.

Once the write protection removing process completes, you can format the USB drive again. You can either apply EaseUS Partition Master, Windows File Explorer, or even the CMD command as shown in Part 2 to format the USB drive.

4. Windows was unable to complete the format, how to fix it?

When you use File Explorer to format the USB flash drive, it warns you that 'Windows was unable to complete the format', don't worry. Here are 7 ways that you can try to fix this error:

#1. Use EaseUS Partition Master
#2. Use Diskpart Command
#3. Use Disk Management
#4. Clear Virus and Complete the Format
#5. Remove Write Protection and Complete the Format
#6. Fix Disk Errors and Complete the Format
#7. Repair Bad Sectors and Complete the Format

Note that you can try the above two tutorials to format your USB flash drive and resolve this issue. You can also follow this link to get rid of the Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format error immediately.

These advanced steps are primarily for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line. You don't need a bootable installer to upgrade macOS or reinstall macOS, but it can be useful when you want to install on multiple computers without downloading the installer each time.

What you need to create a bootable installer

A USB flash drive or other secondary volume, formatted as Mac OS Extended, with at least 12GB of available storage
A downloaded installer for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra, or El Capitan

Download macOS

Download: macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, macOS Mojave, or macOS High Sierra
These download to your Applications folder as an app named Install macOS [version name]. If the installer opens after downloading, quit it without continuing installation. To get the correct installer, download from a Mac that is using macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later, or El Capitan 10.11.6. Enterprise administrators, please download from Apple, not a locally hosted software-update server.
Download: OS X El Capitan
This downloads as a disk image named InstallMacOSX.dmg. On a Mac that is compatible with El Capitan, open the disk image and run the installer within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg. It installs an app named Install OS X El Capitan into your Applications folder. You will create the bootable installer from this app, not from the disk image or .pkg installer.

Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

Connect the USB flash drive or other volume that you're using for the bootable installer.
Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
Type or paste one of the following commands in Terminal. These assume that the installer is in your Applications folder, and MyVolume is the name of the USB flash drive or other volume you're using. If it has a different name, replace MyVolume in these commands with the name of your volume.

Big Sur:*

Catalina:*

Mojave:*

High Sierra:*

Mac Os Format Usb Drive

El Capitan:

* If your Mac is using macOS Sierra or earlier, include the --applicationpath argument and installer path, similar to the way this is done in the command for El Capitan.

After typing the command:

Format Mac Usb On Windows

Press Return to enter the command.
When prompted, type your administrator password and press Return again. Terminal doesn't show any characters as you type your password.
When prompted, type Y to confirm that you want to erase the volume, then press Return. Terminal shows the progress as the volume is erased.
After the volume is erased, you may see an alert that Terminal would like to access files on a removable volume. Click OK to allow the copy to proceed.
When Terminal says that it's done, the volume will have the same name as the installer you downloaded, such as Install macOS Big Sur. You can now quit Terminal and eject the volume.

Use the bootable installer

Determine whether you're using a Mac with Apple silicon, then follow the appropriate steps:

Apple silicon

Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
Turn on your Mac and continue to hold the power button until you see the startup options window, which shows your bootable volumes and a gear icon labled Options.
Select the volume containing the bootable installer, then click Continue.
When the macOS installer opens, follow the onscreen instructions.

Intel processor

Plug the bootable installer into a Mac that is connected to the internet and compatible with the version of macOS you're installing.
Press and hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key immediately after turning on or restarting your Mac.
Release the Option key when you see a dark screen showing your bootable volumes.
Select the volume containing the bootable installer. Then click the up arrow or press Return.
If you can't start up from the bootable installer, make sure that the External Boot setting in Startup Security Utility is set to allow booting from external media.
Choose your language, if prompted.
Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions.

Learn more

For more information about the createinstallmedia command and the arguments that you can use with it, make sure that the macOS installer is in your Applications folder, then enter the appropriate path in Terminal:

Big Sur: /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
Catalina: /Applications/Install macOS Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
Mojave: /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
High Sierra: /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia
El Capitan: /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia

A bootable installer doesn't download macOS from the internet, but it does require an internet connection to get firmware and other information specific to the Mac model.