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Questions tagged [disk-formatting]

Disk formatting is the process of preparing a data storage device such as a hard disk drive, solid-state drive, floppy disk or USB flash drive for initial use. Use this tag for questions regarding formatting an HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, SD card, etc.

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354 votes
13 answers
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How to format a USB flash drive?

In Windows there is a straightforward "Format" option in a flash drive's right-click pop-up menu. Where's that in Ubuntu?
Ivan's user avatar
  • 57.5k
260 votes
10 answers
243k views

Can't format Ubuntu installation stick

I've made an USB installer stick from Windows with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS , now I'm trying to format it from Ubuntu. When I try to format I get this error : This partition cannot be modified because it ...
Nephilim's user avatar
  • 2,601
177 votes
7 answers
682k views

How to format a USB or external drive?

Using Ubuntu 11.10, how do I format an external or USB drive? I don't find an option to 'format' when I right click. In the new version, the drives don't come up on the desktop, but instead come on ...
Sudeep Halappa's user avatar
85 votes
2 answers
472k views

How to format a USB drive? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How to format a USB flash drive? How do I clear everything (data, viruses) from a thumbdrive? How to format a pen drive in Ubuntu? I have this pen drive which I made ...
Vipin Verma's user avatar
  • 5,464
75 votes
6 answers
100k views

Is it recommended to format an external drive to ext4?

I have a new 2TB external hard drive I will be using for additional storage and backup. I will only use it on two Ubuntu machines. Is it recommended to format the drive to ext4? Are there any ...
geoffrey's user avatar
  • 2,379
59 votes
7 answers
206k views

How do I clear everything (data, viruses) from a thumbdrive?

Say I used some thumbdrive on a public Windows computer and I copy some data to my Ubuntu computer with it. I cannot be completely sure that the Windows computer was clean, and it might have put ...
Martin Ueding's user avatar
46 votes
5 answers
176k views

Can't format / delete locked partition from GParted?

I can't format my hard disk for Ubuntu installation. It has Fedora installed in it. I wonder how to unlock the locked partition to delete and format it, since I am stuck at installing Ubuntu. I am now ...
owl's user avatar
  • 4,971
39 votes
3 answers
274k views

Unable to open /dev/sdb read-write (Read-only file system)

As in the title, I'm unable to format it as it says read-only. I've tried couple of searches and the solutions too. Even I tried GParted to see I have any luck. Unfortunately below is what I get. ...
AzkerM's user avatar
  • 10.3k
28 votes
2 answers
43k views

GUI tool for formating to exFAT

I just formated a partition to exFAT using the terminal command sudo mkfs.exfat -n. Is it possible to do the same thing using a GUI? Before people comment that the Terminal command works just fine (...
Fiksdal's user avatar
  • 2,131
28 votes
5 answers
23k views

Reinstalling Ubuntu without formatting /home, as well as without any old config files?

I have /home on a separate partition. I want to reinstall Ubuntu. I don't want to lose my personal files in /home (I already have a backup but I would like to avoid the hassle of restoring the backup)....
Mizt H's user avatar
  • 281
16 votes
2 answers
42k views

What is the best way to format a USB stick such that it can be used with both Linux and Windows?

What is the best way to format a USB stick such that it can be used with both Linux and Windows 10? Also what is the best practice for formatting a USB stick? Is it best to format the USB stick only ...
Reme's user avatar
  • 303
8 votes
1 answer
5k views

How to format a SD card easily in KDE?

First I want to clarify that I know how to format an SD card with programs like KDE Partition Manager or GParted. What I am really looking for is an easy way to do that, such as right-clicking in ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 183
8 votes
1 answer
31k views

How do I format or partition a read-only USB drive?

Whenever I try formatting my Sandisk Cruzer Glide 16GB, I get this error message on Gparted. GParted 0.11.0 --enable-libparted-dmraid Libparted 2.3 Create Primary Partition #1 (ntfs, 14.42 GiB) on ...
Johnny Boy's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
10k views

Cannot dual boot MacOS & Ubuntu

I encountered this issue quite often and tested a few solutions so I hope this will help. Initially, I was aiming at dual-booting MacOS and Ubuntu on a Macbook Pro, which worked after few attempts but ...
James69's user avatar
  • 31
3 votes
1 answer
12k views

GParted won't format FAT32 partition

I get this error when attempting to create a FAT32 partition with GParted: mkdosfs: failed whilst writing FAT I've tried creating a new partition table first, wiping the drive (with 0's), and ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 141
3 votes
0 answers
99 views

recovery of USB drive after accidental formats of its entire block

Yes, I was dumb enough to not check that I formatted the whole block as fat32, then NTFS and multiple attempts to rejuvenate it using dd-ing a blank disk image file. On inspection of size using ...
crazo7924's user avatar
  • 130
3 votes
0 answers
101 views

PC crashed while formating USB Stick from FAT32 to EXT4, now the USB stick won't work

I just bought a new 3.0 128gb USB Stick. The USB worked fine and everything. I could put data on it and delete it. Then I wanted to put Ubuntu on this stick to make a bootable USB stick. I followed ...
TheGameIsNeverOver's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

I can't see external storage device formatting progress

30 minutes ago I plugged in an external storage device and asked Ubuntu to format it. After I made this query, Ubuntu closed the window I was in and doesn't show anything related to the formatting ...
Roberto's user avatar
  • 81
2 votes
1 answer
945 views

How can I get rid of old Debian entries in my bootloader?

I had tried in vain to install Debian (which didn't work) and after that I have installed Ubuntu with LVM. Now I still have the boot entry for both OS (F7 key on startup). Both OSes were installed by ...
yaimo's user avatar
  • 23
2 votes
1 answer
15k views

Error wiping device: Failed to probe the device '/dev/sdb' (udisks-error-quark, 0)

I connected my 1 year old hard drive from my old PC to my new PC, at first everything worked. Then I wanted to format it and went into the "Disks" programm. There I selected the option "...
RumBugen's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
3k views

Disks app complains about "partition table of type atari" - can't partition 2nd hard drive

I'm trying to partition my 2nd 1 TB hard drive but I get this error in GNOME Disks app: Error creating partition Don't know how to create partitions This partition table of type `atari' (udisks-error-...
raidz's user avatar
  • 29
2 votes
0 answers
88 views

What should I do ? After, Removing my drive in between formating.Can you please suggest me a website [closed]

How do I format it to make it like a regular pendrive.? I was recently trying to boot the Chrome OS Flex in my pendrive in my Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system, using google guide from this website. Google ...
Feystray's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
734 views

Can't access windows partition after Ubuntu dual boot install. Any way to access files?

After installing Ubuntu, I can no longer boot into Windows. This issue was detailed here. I've basically given up on accessing windows on this laptop again. I would now like to know if there is any ...
user3175632's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
155 views

Does partitioning or formatting a partition on an external hdd on ubuntu erase the whole disk?

I have my external HDD formatted as ntfs for windows as i have dual boot and it has important data on it in addition i have plenty of empty space on it and wish to use part of it for Linux usage, so ...
Ahmed Salout's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
233 views

Two disks showing contents unknown and unable to format or partition

I recently added a new internal hard disk to my setup and now my two other data drives are suddenly showing as 'Contents Unknown' in the disks application with no option to mount them. I assume it ...
tromboneamafone's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
4k views

How to fix a unknown partition without format?

I am not able to resize or mount this unknown partition: Please help me to fix it.
Movies and Tv shows's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
633 views

Resolving udisk-error-quark 4 when trying to format a disk

I have a 128 GB ssd on an ubuntu 20.04.6 system and am trying to format it using the disk manager provided by the GUI. I am running into the error "udisk-error-quark 4". I have tried using ...
Hyeon Shaw's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
601 views

Not sure how to format existing partition from within new Ubuntu 23.10 installer

I'm trying to perform, from a bootable USB stick, a fresh install of Ubuntu 23.10 on my machine whose drive is already partitioned into a root and a home partition. Ubuntu's installer's manual ...
Turtle's user avatar
  • 76
1 vote
0 answers
236 views

(exFAT) Unable to mount or use brand new WD MyBook 14Tb external HDD

I have an issue and I can't seem to have any solution for it. I'm trying to connect a brand new WD MyBook 14Tb to my Ubuntu computer externally. The HDD is recognized and identified but the Exfat ...
DevMau5's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
0 answers
101 views

Error when I want to enter Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

I installed Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on my Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 two months ago and last Friday I tried to enter Ubuntu but got an unexpected error Last time I used it there was no problem. I tried ...
Catalina's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Formatted hard drive to ntfs with ubuntu gnome disks but doesn't work on Windows

I used GNOME Disks to format my external drive to NTFS. Now the drive works correctly when I am booted into Ubuntu but not when I am booted into Windows 10. I have a dual-boot pc and want to use this ...
Patrick's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
0 answers
284 views

After formatting USB drive, "Failed to take ownership"

I've used the GUI Disks to format a USB drive just purchased as ext4. After formatting, I get the message: Failed to take ownership of newly created filesystem: Cannot mount /dev/sda1 at /run/udisks2/...
thekevinscott's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
213 views

Unable to reformat an SSD from Ext4 to any other filesystem

Any attempt to reformat said SSD just doesn't work. I used to run Linux Mint on it but a couple months ago the OS crashed and wouldn't open past the mint logo screen then some error messages. I'm now ...
Idiotahahan's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
71 views

How do I get an array of currently attached (but not formatted/mounted) hard drives sorted by size (but without the sizing data in the array)

I wanted a way to script the mounting of hard drives to a specific mount point. After some browsing, I found: https://gist.github.com/trentmswanson/9c22bb71182e982bd36f This was for MS Azure and did ...
LeviRCoding's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
932 views

How to format write protected sd card in ubuntu

I have a sd card with 16GB I try to format it using windows 10 it says this device is write protected when I try with Ubuntu like that mkdosfs -F 32 -v /dev/sdh1 it says following lines. mkfs.fat 4.1 (...
Dragon Hunter's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
147 views

Why is my SD card not formatting?

I literally tried about a millionth time that to format my card. When I got to Menu > USB Stick Format, it says that the format is confirmed, but when the local file browser is opened all files ...
Sushant's user avatar
  • 13
1 vote
1 answer
216 views

Format Windows partition (to delete all) and expand my Ubuntu partition

I have a Windows and Ubuntu dual boot. My Windows is not working anymore. I already have a back up of the files I had on Windows. Now I want to format 80% of the Windows partition to expand my Ubuntu ...
Ranma0020's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
202 views

Can't format a 2TB external hard drive

I'm using Ubuntu 16.04. My kernel version is 4.4.0-201-generic. I've got an external 2TB USB hard drive. The vendor name is very new: Generial. I can't get it to format as usual. Every time I try, the ...
Artisan72's user avatar
  • 181
1 vote
1 answer
137 views

Unformat NTFS formatted LVM partition

I accidentally formatted my LVM partition as NTFS. Now my data is lost. How do I unformat?
HAHALOSAH's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
519 views

lsusb detects sd card but neither fdisk nor parted on ubuntu 18.04

I would like to open my micro SD card but it's not mounted. The SD card reader is well detected with lsusb: Output of lsusb: But judging by the output of dmesg, there's a problem with the card: ...
S.E.K.'s user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
0 answers
4k views

How to display progress when formatting a partition?

I am creating an ext4 partition in my external USB stick from CLI. While I am able to do this successfully with mkfs, I haven't found a way to display a progress bar (or percentage) while formatting. ...
gep's user avatar
  • 23
1 vote
1 answer
53 views

Formatting a read-only drive

My HP pen drive was once used in crypto mining somewhere (I don't know how). I want to format it to regain space because copying is not allowed in this drive, but I can't do that because it is read-...
Pawan Bhatt's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

how to view the content of /dev/sda file?

I formatted a 160GB drive using: dd if=/dev/zeros of=/dev/sda bs=512 I expect the entire drive is filled with zeros, but how do I check it? I thought I could just cat /dev/sda and see all zeros, ...
user97662's user avatar
  • 157
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

How to safely "reset" the hard drive

In the course of trying different operating systems on my old Macbook Air (including Ubuntu currently), I've somehow managed to accrue a total of 13 partitions on my SSD. How can I clean up this mess, ...
Axel Lieber's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

Cannot format/restore a bootable USB

I created a bootable USB with Xubuntu iso (actually made it on a Mac with BalenEtcher), but I never replaced my Ubuntu so now I want to free the USB from being bootable. I followed the standard steps, ...
opisthofulax's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

what file systems are compatible with Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS

I am looking at buying a large (2TB or larger) external drive for backups and want to know which file formats are supported on Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS. Alternatively if you know of a drive that is ...
ubuntudonaldo's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
22 views

How to make files app to detect usb

My USB stick is not being detected by the files app even after inserting the USB it is not being displayed in files. But other apps such as disk app is able to recognize the USB. I recently formatted ...
Alan John's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Installing a new 4tb hdd not knowing to go for e.g. ext4 or NTFS as a format, some advice please

To keep it short and sweet: just bought a 4tb disk to replace a broken one. Not sure to use a linux format a.i. ext4 or NTFS. I will mainly use the disk to store music and films and some (Win-)...
Rob's user avatar
  • 89
0 votes
1 answer
125 views

It is possible to change the version from Ubuntu 24.04 to Ubuntu 20.04, without formatting

I am a new user of Ubuntu (dual-boot with W10), and I have version 24.04, it does not have the necessary packages for several programs that I need to run, the solution is to change to version 20.04. I ...
Renzo Felipe's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
388 views

Usb drive has showed a lot of partition in lsblk, but none partition really exist

I'm was trying to delete all partition in a usb drive(a sd card with 64Gb storge), and by lsblk it showed that there is 12 partition and pretty much correct total disk size(59.5/64) NAME MAJ:...
james's user avatar
  • 1