Need help formatting a USB drive

Michael Piziak · 05-27-2020, 02:43 PM

I'm using Ubuntu 19.10 and the application called "Disks" to attempt to format a USB thumb drive.

I have attached a screenshot of the error I get when I attempt to format this usb thumb drive.

Furlinastis · 05-27-2020, 04:21 PM

Try fdisk /dev/sdb. Then mkfs /dev/sdb1. You can also search the web 'fdisk mkfs format tutorial' should find something.

Or are you trying to install linux with a USB drive? And you're trying to put the iso on the USB drive?

michaelk · 05-27-2020, 04:48 PM

It looks like you created a bootable USB from an ISO file.

If so you should delete the MBR, create a new partition and then format it.

DavidMcCann · 05-28-2020, 10:36 AM

If it's a Linux boot disk, then the computer won't see it as a sort of hard disk but as a sort of CD! To convert it back into a normal storage medium
- plug it in and then unmount it
- run the command

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero bs=1M count=10 of=/dev/sdb

- format in the usual way.

michaelsavage · 05-28-2020, 12:02 PM

If you are looking for a GUI way to format a USB, you can try mintstick or usb-creator-kde

sudo apt install mintstick
or
sudo apt install usb-creator-kde

Crippled · 05-28-2020, 02:53 PM

Use Gparted.

DavidMcCann · 05-29-2020, 09:33 AM

If it's been turned into an installer with an ISO 9660 image, then Gparted may not accept it. The dd command I gave removes the identifying part of the image so that Gparted will consider it as an unformated device.

binkyd · 06-02-2020, 02:16 PM

In "Disks" next to the Mount button there are other Options - there's a choice to "Edit partition"
That should tell you what's up.

Hermani · 06-03-2020, 06:42 AM

Can't he just remove both existing partitions with the minus sign button and then create a new partition and format it?

ceantuco · 06-03-2020, 03:33 PM

I use Gparted to remove and reformat my bootable linux USB drives.