Restoring a USB drive like a SanDisk back to factory settings means resetting the drive to its original out-of-the-box state. This process will erase all data and partitions currently on the USB drive and reformat it.
It’s important to understand that restoring to factory settings will delete all files and folders on the drive. Before restoring, you’ll want to backup any important data you want to keep. The drive will essentially be wiped clean and returned to its blank unused condition.
Back Up Any Important Data
Before restoring your SanDisk USB drive to factory settings, it’s important to check if there are any files you want to keep on the drive. Any data on the drive will be erased during the restore process. According to EaseUS, “It’s always necessary to create a backup of important files on USB. You can choose to copy files and folders to a computer hard drive, external storage device, or cloud storage.”
To back up your USB drive:
- Insert the USB drive into your computer.
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the USB drive.
- Check for any personal files, documents, photos, videos, etc. you want to keep.
- Select those files and copy them to a location on your computer hard drive or external storage device.
- You can also upload files to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive for backup.
- Eject and safely remove the USB drive after backing up your files.
Now your important data is backed up and you can safely restore the USB drive without worrying about data loss. It’s always a good idea to regularly back up your USB drive to avoid losing any valuable files and information.
Formatting vs Restoring to Factory Settings
There is an important difference between simply formatting a USB drive and restoring it to factory default settings. Formatting a drive erases all data and prepares it for reuse, but does not modify the drive’s partition table. Restoring to factory default will erase all data and partitions, and recreate the drive’s original partition layout.
According to this Quora post, restoring to factory settings “returns the system to a brand new ‘fresh from the factory’ state.” All custom partitions created by the user will be removed. Formatting alone will erase data but leave the existing partitions intact.
For a thorough restoration to original state, restoring to factory default settings is preferable to a simple format. The restore process recreates the USB drive’s original partition table and settings, while formatting only erases data. However, formatting may be sufficient if the goal is simply to wipe all data from the drive before reusing it.
Requirements
Restoring a SanDisk USB drive to its factory settings is a fairly straightforward process that doesn’t require any special tools or software. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) with an available USB port
- The SanDisk USB drive you want to restore
- An internet connection (optional) to download any necessary USB drive software or drivers
That’s it! The process of restoring your USB drive is built right into your computer’s operating system. All you need is the USB drive itself and a computer to connect it to in order to reset it. While added software or tools are not required, you may choose to use a dedicated utility like SanDisk’s SecureAccess or RescuePRO Deluxe for more advanced options. But the standard restore/format function on any modern OS will suffice for most situations.
Preparation
Before restoring your SanDisk USB drive, it’s important to take a few preparatory steps:
First, safely eject the USB drive from your computer. This ensures no data is being written to the drive so the restore process goes smoothly without corruption or data loss. On Windows, click the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon in the system tray and select your drive. On Mac, drag the drive icon from your desktop to the Trash.
Next, download any required software or tools for restoring the drive. SanDisk provides a USB Flash Drive Formatter tool for Windows that can format and restore their drives. For Mac, you can use Disk Utility which is pre-installed. Make sure the software is from an official source before downloading.
Finally, backup any important data on the drive before proceeding. Restoring will wipe all data, so copy files you want to keep to a separate location on your computer or another external drive.
With these preparatory steps completed, you’re ready to safely restore the USB drive and return it to factory conditions.
Locate Restore/Format Option
The process for locating the restore or format option will vary depending on whether you are using Windows, Mac or Linux. Here are the steps for each operating system:
Windows
On Windows, the restore/format option can be found by following these steps:
- Open File Explorer and locate the SanDisk USB drive.
- Right click on the drive and select “Format…” from the menu.
- The “Format Removable Disk” window will open.
This window contains the restore and format options for the USB drive. Make sure to backup any important data before selecting one of these options.
Mac
On Mac, the restore/format options can be accessed by:
- Opening Finder and locating the SanDisk USB drive on the left sidebar.
- Right clicking on the drive and selecting “Erase” from the menu.
- This will open the “Erase” dialog box which contains options to reformat the drive.
As with Windows, be sure to backup data before erasing or reformatting the disk.
Linux
For Linux distributions like Ubuntu, here is how to find the format option:
- Open the file manager and locate the USB drive.
- Right click on the drive and select “Format” from the menu.
- In the “Format” dialog box, choose options like file system type and partition scheme.
- Click “Format” to reformat the disk.
Again, backup data first before reformatting the USB drive.
Perform Restore Process
Restoring the USB drive will erase all data and reset it to factory settings. Here are the steps to restore the drive on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems:
Windows
On Windows 10 and 11:
1. Insert the SanDisk USB drive into your computer.
2. Open File Explorer and right-click on the USB drive. Select ‘Format’.
3. In the Format window, under File System select ‘FAT32’. Check ‘Quick Format’.
4. Click ‘Start’ and then ‘OK’ to confirm.
The format will take 1-2 minutes to complete.
On older Windows versions like Windows 7:
1. Go to ‘Computer’ and right-click on the SanDisk USB drive. Select ‘Format’.
2. Under File System select ‘FAT32’. Check ‘Quick Format’.
3. Click ‘Start’ to begin formatting.
The format will take under a minute.
Mac
On Mac:
1. Connect the SanDisk USB drive to your Mac.
2. Open Disk Utility (located in Applications > Utilities).
3. Select the USB drive in the left sidebar.
4. Click ‘Erase’ at the top.
5. Under ‘Format’ select ‘MS-DOS (FAT)’.
6. Click ‘Erase’ to confirm.
The erase process will take 1-2 minutes.
Linux
On Linux distributions like Ubuntu:
1. Insert the USB drive and open a terminal window.
2. Type ‘sudo fdisk /dev/sdx’ (replace sdx with your drive name).
3. Type ‘o’ and press Enter to clear the partition table.
4. Type ‘w’ and Enter to write the changes.
5. Type ‘sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdx’ to format FAT32.
6. Press ‘y’ and Enter to confirm.
The format will take 30 seconds to 1 minute.
The USB drive will now be restored to factory settings on any OS. Be sure to back up your data beforehand as formatting erases everything on the drive.
Test and Reformat USB
After restoring your SanDisk USB drive to factory settings, it’s important to test it to ensure the process was successful. Connect the USB drive to your computer and open File Explorer. Verify that the drive appears and you can access it normally. Open the drive and confirm it is empty as expected after a restore. Try copying some files to the USB drive and then safely ejecting it. Reconnect the USB drive and confirm you can access those copied files.
If the USB drive functions normally after restoring it, the process was successful. If you encounter any issues accessing the drive or its content, the restore process may have not completed properly and you may need to repeat it.
Once you’ve confirmed the restore was successful, you can reformat the USB drive if desired to reinitialize it with a blank, empty file system. To do this on Windows, right-click the USB drive in File Explorer, select Format, choose your desired file system (typically FAT32 or exFAT for USB drives), give it a name, and start the format process. After reformatting, the USB drive will be blank and ready to use again.
Reformatting can help resolve any residual issues after restoring to factory settings, ensuring you have a fully reset and working USB drive.
Reinstall Drivers
After restoring your SanDisk USB drive to factory settings, you may need to reinstall some drivers for it to function properly again. The main drivers you may need to reinstall include:
USB controller drivers – These allow your computer to communicate with USB devices. You can usually find the latest version on your computer manufacturer’s website. If I clean install Windows 10, will I have to reinstall my …
USB mass storage drivers – These are required for accessing data on USB storage devices. Check with SanDisk’s website for the latest drivers for your specific model of USB drive. Will I have to manually reinstall my drivers after a clean …
Chipset drivers – The chipset drivers allow the USB ports on your computer to function. You can get these from your computer or motherboard manufacturer’s website.
After installing any required drivers, test your SanDisk USB drive to make sure it is detected properly and you can access files as expected. If issues persist, you may need to contact SanDisk support for additional assistance.
Conclusion
To summarize the key steps, restoring a SanDisk USB drive to factory settings requires first backing up important data, locating the restore option in the SanDisk software or control panel, performing the restore process, and then testing and reformatting the drive. Reinstalling any necessary USB drivers after restoring can help ensure proper functionality.
To avoid accidental data loss when using a USB drive in the future, be sure to regularly backup your data to an external hard drive, cloud storage, or multiple locations. Only store non-sensitive data on your USB drive and encrypt sensitive files. Also, eject the USB drive safely before removing it from your computer to prevent corruption. With proper backups and care when handling your USB drive, you can ensure your important files stay protected.