Urescue Format Tool: Download and Format USB or SD Cards

Updated by

Tracy King 

Updated on April 22, 2024

Nowadays, USB formatting tools are quite popular. So, let's guide you through them.

URescue is one of the leading USB formatting tools out there. However, it's not the only one that leaves many users confused. Mainly because choosing the right tool to format your USB or SD card shouldn't be a difficult choice, but the abundance of tools makes it so.

The purpose of this guide is to show you how USB tools such as Urescue format work, and whether or not you should use such programs to format your USB/SD card. So, let's dive into the subject and get started.

Do you need to format your USB or SD card? There is one benefit of formatting your USB or SD card, and that is it is known to increase the lifespan of your removable storage device. However, before doing so, it is crucial to back up your data.

However, many people believe that you need to format a new USB drive or SD card before using it. Is there any truth to this? Not really, since most brand new SD cards or USB flash drives are actually pre-formatted right out of the factory.

However, users might encounter issues like drive corruption or slow performance, making it difficult to transfer data quickly. Or, if the formatting is incorrect, it may not work properly on the respective system, such as NTFS format on Mac devices.

If you need to format your SD card to remove existing photos or videos, slide the lock switch on the side like this:

So, if you run into either of these two problems, formatting is an option.

• USB is working slowly or not at all
• SD card is full or not detected in the camera/phone

In this case, you can format your SD card or USB in two ways. One is to format it with Windows Explorer. The other is to use a professional tool like Partition Master Professional.

In short, you don't have to format a new USB or SD card, but you can format one that you're currently using to improve its performance, fix any errors, or just make it run faster and free up space.

Regarding the Urescue formatting tool

Urescue is a formatting tool for disks, but with limited use. The utility provides firmware update and formatting options. However, it is said to work only with USB devices that have UT161, UT163, UT167, or UT190 controllers.

That's why it's mostly used in ADATA USB devices. That's mainly because they use these controllers, along with others from ITE Tech. So when people run this tool in 2024, many will see the "Device not found" message.

Don't worry; this is an older tool that doesn't support many newer SD cards and USB devices.

Format USB Flash Drive with Urescue in UTF-8

Assuming you're lucky and your device is supported by Urescue, it should detect it without issues. Once your USB drive is connected, format it by following these steps:

Step 1: Launch the Urescue formatting tool.

Step 2: Choose the repair option, either Quick or Thorough (recommended).

Step 3: Click “Repair”.

Step 4: Wait for it to finish.

After the format is complete, you'll see this option:

After you click “OK,” you should find your USB device back in My Computer/This PC.

More recommended USB/SD Card formatting tools

Frankly, considering Urescue was released in 2013, it is quite outdated at this point – over nine years old. There are much better options available today for formatting USB or SD cards. Several reasons exist why these alternatives work.

Therefore, we have compiled a list of the best/recommended USB and SD card formatting tools. Here they are:

Tool 1: Format USB or SD Card via Partition Master

The first (and the best) tool on our list is AOMEI Partition Assistant. This tool works with all kinds of hard drives, SSDs, and the like, which is why it's considered overkill for formatting USB and SD cards – it has so many handy options.

But why is this tool the top pick? For starters, it's incredibly convenient and user-friendly. Additionally, it offers excellent support for Windows 10/11, something that older tools lack. However, let us outline a few reasons for you:

• The design of this tool is unparalleled;
• It is perfect for converting SD cards larger than 32 GB to FAT32 format;
• Solves issues with SD cards, USB devices, external storage, and the like.

Here's how to use this tool to format your USB device/SD card:

Step 1. Launch Partition Master, right-click on the partition of the external hard drive/USB/SD card you want to format and choose “Format”.

Step 2: Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click OK.

Step 3: Click Yes in the warning dialog to proceed.

Step 4. Hit the “Run 1 Task” button on the top left to preview the changes and then click “Apply” to start formatting the external hard drive/USB/SD card.

Tool 2: Format the USB or SD card using HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

HP Disk Format Tool for Windows is a formatting tool designed specifically for Windows computers. This utility allows you to format various USB devices without any limitations regarding the model or controller. Moreover, it's very simple to use this tool to format your USB device.

You need to do this:

Step 1. Download and run the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

Step 2. Select the USB device you want to format.

Step 3: Select “File System”.

Step 4: Under "Format Options", select "Quick Format".

Step 5: Begin formatting.

Step 6: Wait for it to finish.

This will format your USB/SD card in a matter of seconds.

Tool 3: Format USB or SD Card via Panasonic SD Format Tool

Next up on our list is Panasonic's SD Card Formatter, or simply SD Card Formatter. This tool lets you quickly format USB devices or SD cards. Once again, it's a viable alternative to Urescue, and here's how to use it:

Step 1: Download and install the tool.

Step 2. Run the Panasonic SD Card Formatter tool.

Step 3: Select your “USB/SD Card”

Step 4: Select "Quick Format."

Click "Format" to begin formatting.

If the software doesn't immediately detect your USB, try plugging it into a different port and click the “Refresh” button. This usually does the trick.

Tool 4: Format Samsung SD Card via Disk Management

The last resort is to use the built-in Windows Disk Management to format the SD card. This is one of the easiest methods, but it may not always fix errors on your SD card or USB flash drive. Still, you can try the following:

Step 1: Press Win + X and open Power Options, then choose Disk Management.

Step 2: Scroll down in Disk Management to find your USB drive/sd card.

Step 3: Right-click on the drive and select "Format."

Step 4: Select the "File system".

Step 5: Click "Quick Format."

Step 6. Click OK to begin.

This will ensure that your USB/SD card is formatted correctly, and it's a viable alternative to the Urescue formatting tool.

Frequently Asked Questions about Formatting a USB or SD Card

If you have more questions, please check our FAQ section to address your concerns.

1. What is the best USB formatting tool?

One of the best is AOMEI Partition Assistant. The latest storage solution in this toolbox is an excellent USB formatting option for several reasons:

• Extremely user-friendly design
• Able to format large capacity SD cards (32GB and above) to FAT32
• Permits repair of damaged or unformattable USB devices/SD cards
• Can clone the entire data of a USB/SD card

As such, and as mentioned earlier, the tool's sophistication and features make it somewhat of a sledgehammer to crack a nut for the sole purpose of formatting a USB device, given its intent for much more extensive data-wiping operations.

How to fix a flash drive that won't format?

If you can't format your USB device, it might be due to a few reasons. It could be bad sectors, physical damage, or most importantly, write protection. The latter is the most common in many USB devices and flash drives.

And how do you fix it? With the help of Partition Master tool. Again, this utility works not only to format USB devices but also to remove write protection or any other error that might be preventing the complete formatting of your USB.

3. Should I format my USB drive as NTFS or FAT32?

The problem with FAT32 is that it has a 4 GB limit. In other words, while it may be suitable for phones and cameras (SD cards), it's not ideal for larger storage needs, as it doesn't allow formatting devices larger than 4 GB.

On the other hand, NTFS is the fastest file system and is more compatible with the latest devices and operating systems. However, if you frequently switch between a Mac and Windows, you may want to use FAT32 since it's the only format supported by both operating systems.

Thus, you can use the Partition Master tool to format your SD card/USB device to be 32 GB or larger.

Conclusions

These are some of the best alternatives to Urescue, which is outdated and doesn't support most USB storage devices in use today, whether USB flash drives or SD cards.

You can use Partition Master with confidence, it effectively meets most of your needs for formatting USB/SD cards. It's worth downloading and trying!