Why Can't I Format USB to NTFS? Follow this guide to learn the reasons and solutions [2024 Tutorial]

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Tracy King 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

Before formatting to NTFS, remember to back up any valuable USB files. Follow this guide to understand why you can't format your USB to NTFS and how to successfully resolve the issue and format your USB to NTFS.

Error: Unable to format USB as NTFS

Why can't I format USB to NTFS? If you can't format USB to NTFS on your Windows computer, don't panic. Below is a list of reasons why you can't format USB to NTFS:

• Physical damage to the USB.
• Virus or malware infection.
• Bad sectors on the USB drive.
• USB drive is locked or set as write protected.
• The current operating system does not support the NTFS file system.
• File system errors, corruption, or raw state of the USB drive.
• Unsupported file format or incompatibility with Windows.

Fix the "Can't Format USB to NTFS" Issue in Windows with a Step-by-Step Guide

First, back up your data. The methods mentioned below will help you format the USB to NTFS:

1. Method #1. Format USB to NTFS using a USB Formatting Software
2. Method #2. Clean Viruses/Malware and Format USB to NTFS in Disk Management
3. Method #3. Run CHKDSK and Format USB to NTFS via Command Prompt
4. Method #4. Format Write-Protected USB to NTFS Format

Method 1: Format USB to NTFS using a USB formatting tool

We recommend using the free Partition Master Free to format USB to NTFS. It's a free and easy-to-use disk and partition management tool for Windows.

The Partition Master tool can identify and format unsupported, inaccessible, or RAW USB devices to NTFS. Follow these detailed steps:

Step 1: Select the USB drive to format.

Plug your USB drive or flash drive into your computer. Download and launch a partitioning tool. Right-click the USB drive you want to format, then select “Format.”

Set the USB drive letter and file system

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

Step 3: Check “Yes” to confirm the formatting of your USB.

If you see any warning windows, click “Yes.” If there is important data on the disk, back it up beforehand.

Step 4: Apply the changes.

Click “Execute 1 Task(s)” first, and then click “Format” to format your USB drive.

Method 2: Clean the Virus/Malware from Disk Management and Format USB as NTFS

Using a small USB flash drive to back up or transfer data to a computer can make the process simple. But these drives are often shared and used among many computers, providing an easy point of entry for malware or viruses. A reliable antivirus program can eliminate such threats.

Step 1: Clean out the virus/malware

To clean your device from viruses/malware, follow these steps:

Step 1: First, type “Windows Security” in the search box next to the Windows logo on your screen.

Step 2. Click on "Virus and threat protection". You should now see the "Scan options" under "Current threats". There will be four different scan options available.

Step 3: If it's your first time using the program and you want to check everything, choose the "Full Scan" option. Click the radio button next to "Full Scan", then click the "Scan Now" button.

Step 4: Press this button to start a full system scan, which will show a progress bar with findings, if any. If all goes well, you'll see the message "No current threats" when it's done.

Step 5: If Microsoft Defender finds any threats, you'll receive a notification that reads "Threats found" along with a list of infected files. To remove the threats from your computer, you need to click the "Take action" button, and Microsoft Defender will get rid of them.

Now check if Windows offers a solution to the “USB not formatting” problem.

Method 2: Format USB to NTFS with Disk Management

Disk Management on Windows is another tool you can use to manage disks and partitions. Through Disk Management, you can easily create new volumes on a removable disk that won't format. Here's how:

Step 1: Right-click "This PC," select "Manage," and then click "Disk Management."

Step 2: Click on your external hard drive or USB flash drive to select it.

Step 3: Select the "Format" option and check the box for "Quick Format."

Step 4: Choose the correct file format. Then click "OK."

That problem has now been resolved.

Method #3: Run CHKDSK and Format USB to NTFS via CMD

"CHKDSK" or Check Disk is a system utility or program in the Windows operating system that scans a hard disk for file system errors. Running the CHKDSK utility helps check and fix hard disk errors, keeping your system data in order.

Method 1: Run CHKDSK from the Command Prompt

You can run CHKDSK from the Command Prompt. Here's how to do that on Windows:

1. Type cmd in the Search field of the Start menu, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.

Type "chkdsk", then press ↵ Enter. This will scan your drive for errors and notify you of any that need to be fixed, though it won't attempt to fix them without a command.

Method 2: Formatting the USB with CMD (Command Prompt)

Sometimes, due to RAW format or an invalid file system, bad sectors, or other errors, a USB might get corrupted or become inaccessible. Formatting the USB using CMD is a quick way to resolve such issues.

Here are two optional guides to help you format your USB flash drive from the Command Prompt:

Option 1: Format USB Drive on Windows 11/10

Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your computer, and press Windows + R.

<Step 2> Type cmd in the Search box, and then press Enter to open the Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type each of the following commands in turn, pressing Enter after each.

• Partition disk
• List disks
• Select disk number (input the number of your USB drive)
• List volumes
• Select volume number (input the volume number of your USB flash drive)
• Format fs=ntfs quick (NTFS can be replaced with FAT32 or exFAT)
• Exit

CMD can also fix the “Windows was unable to complete the format” error on your computer's hard drive, USB, or any other storage device.

Option 2: Format a USB Flash Drive in Windows 8/7

If you're using Windows 8 or 7, you can format your USB drive using the Command Prompt:

Step 1: Connect the USB drive to your computer.

Step 2: Open File Explorer and note the letter assigned to your USB drive.

Step 3: Open the search bar from the taskbar, type in cmd, and once the Command Prompt appears, right-click on it and select "Run as administrator."

Step 4: Enter each of the following lines one at a time, pressing Enter after you type each one:

• Format /FS:NTFS J (replace J with the letter of your USB drive)
• Exit

For more detailed information on how to format a USB using CMD, please click on the following link:

Method 4: Format the USB as NTFS While Write-Protected

"Partition Master Tool features a write protection removal function that helps users easily format a write-protected USB device. Please follow these detailed steps: 1. First, download and install the Partition Master software. 2. Launch the software, and you will see the main interface. 3. In the left-hand list, locate and select the write-protected USB device that you want to format. 4. Right-click on it and choose "Remove Write Protection" or "Disable Write Protection" from the drop-down menu (the exact wording may vary depending on the software version). 5. Confirm the action, and the software will remove the write protection status from the USB device. 6. Now, you can attempt to format the USB device. On the main interface, click on the USB device and then select the "Format" option. 7. In the pop-up window, choose the file system and partition type, and then click "Start" to begin formatting. 8. Once the formatting process is complete, your USB device will no longer be write-protected and can be used normally. Please note that formatting will erase all data on the USB device, so back up important files before proceeding."

Step 1: Download and install Partition Master, then go to the “Toolbox” section and click on “Write Protection.”

Click on «Remove Write Protection»

Step 2: Select the USB flash drive, external USB hard drive, or SD card that you want to remove write protection from, and click Disable.

Click on Remove Write Protection

You may also like: In addition to formatting USB drives as an alternative to CMD, the Partition Master tool also serves as a great hard drive formatter for formatting and assigning various types of storage devices for different purposes, as shown below.

Appendix: How to Format a USB Drive as NTFS in Windows 7

In Windows 7, sometimes people are unable to format USB as NTFS because Windows offers the options to format USB as FAT or FAT32 but not NTFS.

Here are the steps to format a USB to NTFS on Windows 7:

Windows can format a USB flash drive only with the FAT or FAT32 file system and not with NTFS (New Technology File System). This is because there are certain drawbacks to using NTFS on a flash drive. First, saving to the drive becomes slower (though reading data from it remains the same), and you have to be more careful to safely and permanently remove the USB flash drive.

However, you can format the Flash Drive to NTFS. Follow these steps to do so.

Step 1: Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.

Step 2: Click Start, type devmgmt.msc in the Search box, and then press Enter.

Step 4: Locate your USB flash drive, and double-click it. This will open the Properties dialog box.

Step 5: Click the Policies tab.

Step 6: By default, the Quick removal option is selected. Switch this to Optimize for performance, and click OK.

Step 7: Now open “My Computer,” right-click on the USB flash drive, and select “Format.” The “Format” dialog box will appear.

Step 8: Select NTFS from the File system drop-down menu and click Start, then wait for the formatting process to complete.

Your USB flash drive is now formatted with the NTFS file system.

Final Award

Before attempting to fix the "Can't format USB to NTFS" error, remember to back up your data. If you're unable to format a USB drive to NTFS on a Windows computer, there could be various reasons, such as physical damage to the USB drive, virus or malware activity, etc. You can use a reliable USB formatting tool, the Partition Master, to format the USB drive to NTFS with just a few clicks.

Frequently Asked Questions about "Unable to Format USB as NTFS" Error (Windows OS)

< b > 1. How can I change the format of a flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS?

First, press "Windows + R" and type "diskmgmt.msc", then hit Enter to open Disk Management. Next, right-click on the partition you want to change and select "Format". Now, specify a Volume Label, choose the "NTFS" file system, keep the Allocation Unit Size as Default, and check the box for "Quick Format". Finally, click "OK".

2. Can I format my USB drive to NTFS?

First, right-click on the USB drive and select "Format" from the drop-down menu. In the Format window, choose "NTFS" from the File system dropdown. Finally, click "Start" and wait for the formatting to finish.

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

If you want to create a recovery drive, you'll need to format the USB drive as FAT32, but if you want to use the USB as a storage device, you can create an NTFS bootable USB key instead.

< b > Why can't I format my USB?

This could be due to several reasons:

This issue can be caused by viruses or malware, bad sectors on the USB drive, physical damage to the USB drive, or the USB drive being set to read-only.