Resetting a USB flash drive is a simple process that allows you to wipe the drive clean and restore it to factory settings. This can be useful if your drive is acting sluggish, files have become corrupted, or you want to erase all data before selling or giving away the drive. Resetting removes all files and partitions on the drive, so be sure to back up any important data before proceeding.
When should you reset a USB flash drive?
There are a few common situations when resetting your USB flash drive may be necessary:
- Your drive is running slowly or acting erratically
- You are unable to add or delete files from the drive
- Files on the drive have become corrupted
- You want to erase all data before selling or giving away the drive
- You want to change the file system on the drive (e.g. from FAT32 to exFAT)
Resetting the drive essentially restores it to a fresh, out-of-the-box state. This clears any filesystem errors and deletes all partitions and data. After resetting, the drive will be ready to be formatted and reused.
How to backup your USB flash drive
Before resetting your USB drive, it’s important to backup any files or data you want to keep. Here are some ways to backup your flash drive:
- Copy files to another computer: Attach the flash drive to a computer and manually drag and drop files to copy them to the computer’s hard drive or another storage device.
- Use backup software: Install backup software like Apple Time Machine or Windows Backup and Restore, and use it to create a backup file of your flash drive.
- Cloud storage: Upload important files from your flash drive to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive.
- External hard drive: Use a secondary external hard drive to create a backup of your flash drive files via drag and drop, backup software or cloud sync.
Be sure to verify transferred files after backing up to ensure the backup is complete and valid before resetting the drive.
Steps to reset a USB flash drive on Windows
Here is how to fully reset a USB flash drive on a Windows PC:
- Connect the flash drive to your Windows PC.
- Open the Start menu and type “disk management”. Select “Create and format hard disk partitions”.
- The Disk Management utility will open. Locate your flash drive in the list of disks.
- Right-click on the drive and select “Delete Volume”. This will delete all partitions on the drive.
- Right-click on the drive again and select “Create New Simple Volume”. Walk through the prompts to create a new partition and reformat the drive.
- The drive will now be reset with a fresh partition table and file system.
This process completely erases and reformats the drive, so be sure your data is backed up first. The drive will now be empty and ready to use again!
Steps to reset a USB flash drive on Mac
Here is how to fully reset a USB flash drive on a Mac:
- Connect the flash drive to your Mac.
- Open Disk Utility (located in Applications > Utilities).
- Select the flash drive in the left sidebar.
- Click “Erase” at the top of the Disk Utility window.
- Choose “MS-DOS (FAT)” for the format and “Master Boot Record” for the scheme.
- Click “Erase” to confirm. This will completely wipe and reformat the drive.
- The drive is now reset and ready to be used again.
Following these steps will delete all data and partitions on the drive. Be absolutely certain your data is backed up before erasing the drive.
Using Command Prompt to reset a flash drive
You can also use the Command Prompt on Windows or Terminal on Mac to reset a USB flash drive.
On Windows:
- Open the Command Prompt as administrator.
- Type “diskpart” and press Enter.
- Type “list disk” to see a list of all disks. Identify your flash drive.
- Type “select disk x” where x is the number of your flash disk.
- Type “clean” to delete all data and partitions.
- Type “create partition primary” to create a new primary partition.
- Type “format fs=fat32 quick” to format with FAT32.
- Type “assign” to assign a drive letter.
- Type “exit” when done.
On Mac:
- Open the Terminal app.
- Type “diskutil list” to identify the disk number of your flash drive.
- Type “diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN” where N is your flash drive number.
- Type “sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/rdiskN bs=1m” to overwrite all data with zeros.
- Type “diskutil eject /dev/diskN” to eject the reset drive.
This advanced method using the command line is more complex but works to fully reset your drive. Be very careful to select the correct disk number for your flash drive when using diskpart or dd commands.
Reset USB on Linux
Here are the steps to reset a USB flash drive on Linux:
- Open the Terminal app.
- Type “lsblk” to list all storage devices and identify your USB drive.
- Unmount the USB drive partition with “umount /dev/sdXN” where X is the drive letter.
- Reset the drive with “dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdXN bs=1M count=100” using the correct drive letter.
- Recreate a partition with “fdisk /dev/sdXN”, then create a new FAT32 filesystem.
- Mount the reset USB drive partition.
Make sure to backup any data, unmount the drive, and select the proper /dev/sdX device before using dd or fdisk to reset the drive. This will completely erase all data on the specified drive.
Other methods to reset a USB flash drive
Beyond the main methods outlined above, here are a couple other options for resetting your USB flash drive:
- Use diskpart in the Windows Command Prompt: diskpart provides a text interface to completely clean and reformat a drive.
- Low-level format tools: Software like HDD Low Level Format Tool can wipe and re-format your drive at a low level.
- Manufacturers tools: Some USB drive manufacturers like SanDisk provide their own drive utilities that can securely erase data.
- Reset hole: Some drives have a “reset hole” that allows you to reset the drive by inserting a pin in the hole.
The simplest and most reliable methods are using Disk Utility on Mac or Disk Management on Windows. But the other options can be helpful if you want to thoroughly scrub your drive clean of data.
Tips when resetting your USB drive
Here are some useful tips when resetting your USB flash drive:
- Back up data first – Be sure to transfer any important files off the drive before resetting it. Resetting will permanently erase everything.
- Use original formatting – Format the drive with the default allocation unit size for best compatibility and performance.
- Check for errors – Verify the drive for errors after resetting it, which can help identify underlying problems.
- Remove safely – Always safely eject the flash drive before removing it to avoid possible corruption.
- Consider secure erase – Use a tool like diskpart’s “clean” command to securely wipe sensitive data.
- Update USB drivers – Make sure your USB and chipset drivers are up to date after resetting the drive.
Following these tips will help ensure the reset process goes smoothly and your USB drive is restored to proper working order.
FAQs about resetting USB drives
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about resetting a USB flash drive:
Why does my USB drive need to be reset?
A USB drive may need to be reset if it’s performing poorly, files are corrupted, you want to change file systems, or you need to permanently erase all data before disposing of the drive. Resetting cleans the slate.
Will resetting damage my flash drive?
No, resetting does not damage flash drives when done properly. It simply restores them to factory state so they can be reused.
Can I reset a USB drive without losing data?
Unfortunately no, resetting a USB drive requires erasing all data as part of the process. You’ll need to backup files before resetting.
How long does it take to reset a USB flash drive?
It only takes a few seconds to initiate a reset using something like Disk Utility. The process may take 1-2 minutes to fully complete depending on the size of the drive.
Is it better to format vs reset a USB drive?
Resetting is generally better, as it cleans the “slate” completely by erasing any partition tables and partitions first before reformatting. Formatting alone does not remove partitions.
Can I use a USB drive immediately after resetting it?
Yes, the USB flash drive will be ready to use once the reset process finishes. Just be sure to reformat the drive after resetting so you can store files on it again.
Conclusion
Resetting a USB flash drive is a quick and simple process on Windows, Mac or Linux systems. Following the proper steps to backup your data, erase the drive, and reformat the partition will restore your drive to like-new condition. Just be absolutely certain your files are backed up beforehand, as resetting removes everything. With the drive reset, you can break free of performance issues and corrupted files to enjoy smooth sailing ahead.