HDD Low Level Format Tool - A free utility for comprehensive formatting of hard drives, flash cards, memory cards.
The program provides low-level formatting of storage media, that is, it destroys all sections, all user data and MBR. After such a deletion, no cybercriminal can recover data from the media!
Low-level formatting completely deletes data from the drive, filling the free space with zeros. Even after serious crashes, this formatting method can bring the drive back to life.
Key features of HDD Low Level Format Tool:
- Low-level formatting and the ability to change the size of the drive within 281 474 976 710 655 bytes.
- Support for a large number of interfaces, including S-ATA (SATA), IDE, SAS, SCSI, USB (where without it!), Firewire. Any of these types of media will be formatted quickly and efficiently.
- Among the supported manufacturers: Hitachi, Seagate, Toshiba, IBM, Samsung, Fujitsu, Western Digital and many others.
- Low Level Flash Card Formatting (formats SD, MemoryStick, MMC). Just insert the card into the desktop card reader and run the utility.
- Support for UltraDMA mode.
- Fast data stripping function.
- Display SMART data. The only limitation is the fact that the application does not work with external boxes for hard drives and external chassis.
- If you receive error warnings when copying information.
- If you are using a disk with a different type of controller.
- If you tried absolutely everything, but not a single recovery method gave positive results.
Any of the applications reviewed by us effectively deletes information completely, connects via usb port to external devices, HDD, SD memory cards, etc. The most popular ones are able to find bad sectors, resize volumes, format flash drives for Unix systems. But each special program has its own audience, so we will choose the best in several categories.
We really liked the toolkit. Flash memory toolkit. Using the utility is a pleasure. Its context menu provides access to all the necessary functions. The developers “screwed” even the benchmarks, which is already worthy of respect! However, there were some drawbacks - the latest version of the program dates from the time of Windows XP, which means that the utility's operation algorithms are outdated. Also its high cost discourages.
An alternative is the combination D-Soft Flash Doctorand MiniTool Partition Wizard Free. Both tools are free. You can download programs from the official site in the latest edition, updates come out regularly, functionally they complement each other.
Suitable for home use JetFlash Recovery Tool- proprietary utility for flash drives and hard drives Transcend. Its interface is intuitive, it is as simple as possible. But again, there is only one limitation - only brand devices and a number of compatible chips are supported.
Devoid of such shortcomings USB Disk Storage Format Tool. It was developed by HP, but is compatible with any equipment. The program not only restores the flash drive, but also erases all information from any HDD at a low level, which will be useful, for example, as part of the pre-sale preparation of the laptop.
Sorry, but the application from HP does not always find damaged devices. To do this, there is a "one-button" Ezrecover. The algorithm of its action is simple - we find the device, click on it, reset it programmatically and erase it on the default settings.
The main features of the program Low level format toolappreciated by professionals. It is very likely to identify a damaged drive, meticulously format and remap sectors, but it does not know how to do trivial things - create partitions. The application will be able to add functionality MiniTool Partition Wizardor Acronis disk director.
I also want to pay attention to SD Formatter - This specialized service software was developed for memory cards of cameras and smartphones. He himself will select the best recovery algorithm and conduct it qualitatively. Fine tuning is present.
And if you are not only repairing flash drives, but conducting tests, you can’t do without Flash memory toolkit. The utility is a bit outdated, but its benchmarks and diagnostic methods are relevant.
Today on the Internet you can download many programs (prog) designed to format a flash drive, which this article will help you choose.
You have to resort to formatting a USB drive in several cases:
- the device began to work slowly
- the need to rebuild the file system
- a virus or malware on the flash drive
Most often, flash drives are formatted using standard Windows tools (). But, despite its simplicity, this method does not save all problems. Download and install a program for formatting flash drives will be a more effective option.
List of the most popular flash formatting software
There are a number of programs for recovering a USB drive: HP USB Disk Format Tool, HDD LL Format Tool and Dr. Uni Flash Disk, as well as narrow-profile utilities.
HP USB Disk Format Tool
The application is absolutely free, helps in most cases. With it, you can restore a previously damaged USB drive.
HDD LL Format Tool
This program is suitable not only for formatting flash drives, but also memory cards, hard drives and other things. The whole procedure is carried out at a low level, effectively restoring problem sectors and the volume of the drive.
Dr. Uni Flash Disk
The utility from PQI quickly copes with formatting any flash drive, restoring its volume, or treating bad sectors.
Highly specialized programs
A narrow-profile program for formatting a flash drive, which can be downloaded on the Internet, is the last chance to restore a USB drive. In particular, you will need the exact model of the memory chip, under which the appropriate utility is selected.
Hello friends. In this article, I want to tell you how to format a USB flash drive in different ways so that you can choose the best one for yourself. A flash drive today is the most common and convenient medium for a wide variety of information. But after a certain period of time, it is necessary to carry out the formatting procedure, for a number of very different reasons:
- quick deletion of all files on the media
- cleaning flash drives from viruses
- the appearance of errors when writing or reading
- slow media operation
- the need to create a bootable flash drive
Formatting will also be useful if, for example, you want to copy a file larger than 4 GB to a USB flash drive, then you need to format from FAT32 format to NTFS format.
As you can see, there can be a ton of options for this operation, let's look at the difference from quick and full formatting (we will talk about this later in the article).
With quick formatting, only the file allocation table is cleared, if desired, deleted data can be restored. With full formatting, all data is completely destroyed (overwriting with zeros), and, as a rule, this process takes longer than with fast formatting.
Everything, with the theory we are done, let's get down to practice, and I will tell you how to format the flash drive.
Advice! Before formatting, be sure to copy the files important to you to your hard drive or other removable media.
How to format a USB flash drive - 3 ways
1) Using the built-in Windows tools
Insert your removable media into the computer and open the My Computer window, you can also press a key combination:
In the window that appears, right-click on the icon of your media and select Format.
In the new window, set the necessary parameters:
Capacity - service information about the size of the medium is displayed here, it does not change.
File system - you can select the type of file system from the drop-down list (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT). I advise you to choose the type - NTFS.
Cluster size - leave unchanged.
Restore Defaults - this button returns the settings to the standard, we do not touch it.
Volume label - here you can specify any name that will be displayed when the USB flash drive is connected to the computer.
We put a checkmark in front of the Quick Cleanup item if you need to urgently clean the media memory. If the flash drive is slow and constantly slows down, or it is infected with viruses, then uncheck this box.
Click the Start button and in the next window we confirm our actions by clicking OK.
After a short period of time, an inscription should appear indicating the completion of formatting.
2) Formatting a flash drive using the command line
Press the key combination:
or the Start button - Run, and enter the command - cmd to invoke the command line.
In the window that appears, enter the following command:
format H: / FS: NTFS / Q / V: My_Fleshka
format H: is a command that starts formatting removable media indicated by the specified letter. In order to find out which letter is used by your flash drive, open My Computer.
/ FS: NTFS - this command sets the type of file system that will be used after formatting the flash drive. In this example, it is NTFS.
/ Q - this part of the command indicates quick formatting, to completely delete data, we do not use it.
/ V: My_Fleshka - volume label, or name that will be assigned to your media.
and press Enter.
A message appears of the following nature:
where we also press Enter.
That's it, the formatting process is running, wait a while before this message appears.
3) How to format a USB flash drive using HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
We unzip the program and run the exe-file (it does not require installation) from the Administrator’s names (right-click on the file and select Run as Administrator).
You will see a window in which you need to select the file system during formatting, as well as specify the name of the flash drive. Choose the formatting method - Fast (put a tick) or Full cleaning (do not put a tick), and click the Start button.
A warning window will appear, which we press the button, Yes, and the formatting process begins with the specified settings.
Depending on the selected formatting method, after a certain period of time a window appears with the formatting result, in which you must click OK.
Now you know how to quickly format a USB flash drive and deprive yourself of the problems associated with removable media.
And I have everything, bye everyone!
Currently, one of the most common and universal storage media is a flash drive. Users are able to fill their USB-drive with the necessary information, but at the same time they are lost if the device is infected with viruses or if a question arises regarding changing the file system format. Therefore, we will devote today's article to such an important concept as formatting.
Consider what programs for formatting flash drives today, and how to use them. When formatting a USB drive, most users resort to using standard Windows tools. To do this, just insert the USB flash drive into the port and right-click on it, then you need to select "Format" and determine the format of the required file system.
However, keep in mind that using the tools built into the operating system, it is not always possible to search for bad sectors, set volume labels and resize clusters. Therefore, advanced users download special programs to format their flash drives.
| The name of the program | Short description |
|---|---|
| JetFlash Online Recovery | A universal program ideal for Transcend and ADATA models. This utility will be useful in cases where your USB-drive constantly produces crashes and errors, does not allow reading information. The process of the program is to scan and search for idle memory blocks. Formatting is possible for two file systems - FAT, NTFS. There is also an automatic error correction with saving data without deleting all documents from the flash drive. |
| HP Drive Key Boot Utility | This program is one of the most powerful programs designed to format damaged flash drives. One of its advantages is that it is focused on working with hundreds of models of USB-drives. The user will be able to select the file system: FAT, NTFS or FAT32. You can also create a bootable DOS flash drive, which not many formatting programs can boast of. |
| USB Disk Storage Format Tool | Simple and easy to use utility is compatible with flash drives of different brands. It supports FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS file systems. The program scans and corrects errors, sets labels for volumes, and also performs low-level formatting at high speed. Unlike other formatters, it can create a bootable USB flash drive for Windows. |
| HDD Low Level Format Tool | Perhaps this is one of the most versatile programs that can format both flash drives of different models, as well as hard drives, memory cards. The utility is characterized by high speed and does not require installation. If you want to "return" your flash drive to life, then try this particular program! |
| MiniTool Partition Wizard | One of the simplest managers to format partitions and erase clusters. Additional features include: splitting and hiding certain sections, copying, resizing and assigning letters. Compatible with MBR and GPT partition tables. Supports NTFS, FAT, EXT, as well as Linux Swap. |
| Aomei Partition Assistant | This utility can be called a large free "combine", combining a huge number of functions and features for working with hard drives and USB drives. The program is compatible with all popular Windows operating systems, supports the Russian language. According to the developers, the utility works according to a unique algorithm, which allows it to recognize even "very problematic" media. |
| Mydiskfix | Using this utility, you can restore the real size of the "fake" Chinese flash drives, which are often sold with excessive memory. |
Choose the program that matches your request and the parameters of the USB-drive. Carefully and carefully approach the question regarding the choice of a utility for formatting a flash drive, and then the process of erasing data will not take you more than five minutes!
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