Utility for formatting flash drives. Program for formatting a USB flash drive. Low-level formatting of the flash drive

Comprehensive protection against malware infection of your computer through USB storage devices data. Blocking occurs in automatic mode when connecting a storage device to the USB port. You can produce manual check for viruses and completely block the "flash drive" or external HDD.

The source of frequent cases of virus penetration into the system is not only downloaded files from global network or remote Internet resources, but also removable devices data storage. In most cases, anti-virus software products, but as a rule, they are not able to block a number of types of threats spread through removable media information (flash drives, external hard disks, smartphones, digital cameras and many other devices that are connected via the USB port and are capable of transferring data).

Free utility USB Disk Security this is one of the best software solutions to block the penetration of malicious products onto your computer with external devices storage. The tool will completely exclude the possibility of autorun an infected application located on a USB device. Thanks to this blocking function, you can protect your system from the most common method of virus penetration from USB sticks - using system file"autorun.inf".

Installed utility USB protection Disk Security always monitors connections from outside USB drives in real time. When a new device is detected, the program immediately activates all necessary tools and will display a dialog box with suggestions for further action... One of the features of USB Disk Security is minimal usage system resources and the lack of the possibility of "conflicts" with other installed anti-virus programs.

Thanks to the well-thought-out protection algorithms used in USB Disk Security, there is no need to frequently update the anti-virus signature databases. This property of the program allows you to protect an offline computer running Windows operating system without connecting to the Internet.

For one hundred percent protection of your computer against viruses through the USB port caused by the actions of third parties, the program has a built-in tool for blocking access to connecting storage devices via the Universal Serial Bus (USB).

HDD Low Level Format Tool – free utility for complex formatting hard drives, flash cards, memory cards.

The program carries out low-level formatting of storage media, that is, it destroys all partitions, all user data and MBR. After such a deletion, no cybercriminals will be able to recover data from the media!

Low-level formatting completely erases data from the drive, filling the free space with zeros. Even after a major failure, this formatting method can bring the drive back to life.

Main features of HDD Low Level Format Tool:

  • Low-level formatting and the ability to resize 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.
  • Supported manufacturers: Hitachi, Seagate, Toshiba, IBM, Samsung, Fujitsu, Western digital and many others.
  • Low-level formatting of flash cards (SD, MemoryStick, MMC formats)... It is enough to insert the card into a desktop card reader and run the utility.
  • Support for work in UltraDMA mode.
  • Function of fast cleaning of information.
  • Displays SMART data. The only limitation is the fact that the application does not work with external hard drive boxes and external chassis.
  • If error warnings appear while copying information.
  • If you are using a disc with a different type of controller.
  • If you have tried absolutely everything, however, none of the recovery methods have given positive results.

Usually, if we need to format a flash drive, we use standard procedure in the operating room Windows system... But this method has several disadvantages. For example, even after cleaning the storage medium special programs can recover deleted information. In addition, the process itself is completely standard and does not provide for the execution of fine tuning for a flash drive.

Low-level formatting is used to solve this problem. In some cases, this is the most ideal option.

The most common reasons for low-level formatting are:

  1. The flash drive is planned to be transferred to another person, and personal data was stored on it. In order to protect yourself from information leakage, it is best to perform a full erase. Often this procedure is used by services that work with confidential information.
  2. I can't open the contents on the flash drive, it is not detected operating system... Therefore, it should be returned to its default state.
  3. When accessing a USB drive, it freezes and does not respond to actions. Most likely, it contains broken areas. Low-level formatting will help restore information on them or mark them as bad blocks.
  4. When a flash drive is infected with viruses, sometimes it is not possible to completely remove the infected applications.
  5. If the flash drive served as an installation distribution for the operating system Linux systems, but is planned for future use, it is also better to erase it.
  6. For preventive purposes, to ensure the reliability and performance of the flash drive.

In order to carry out this process at home, you need a special software... Among existing programs This is best done 3.

Method 1: HDD Low Level Format Tool

Method 2: ChipEasy and iFlash

This utility helps well when a flash drive fails, for example, is not detected by the operating system or freezes when accessing it. It should be said right away that it does not format the USB flash drive, but only helps to find a program for its low-level cleaning. The process of using it is as follows:


You can read more about using the iFlash website in the article on recovering Kingston drives (method 5).

If there is no utility for your flash drive in the list, then you need to choose a different method.

Good time!

It is not uncommon with SD cards and USB flash drives all sorts of troubles happen: sometimes they are not readable, sometimes copying takes too long, then all sorts of errors appear (what, what formatting is required, etc.). Moreover, it happens sometimes for no reason and no reason ...

In this article, I want to recommend a dozen utilities that have helped me out more than once or twice. With their help, you can work with flash drives and drives. different manufacturers(Silicon Power, Kingston, Transcend, etc.), i.e. it is universal software. I think the material will come in handy for everyone who periodically encounters similar problems.

For testing and diagnostics

CrystalDiskMark

A very useful little utility. Allows you to quickly get data on the speed of reading / writing. Supports not only USB flash drives, but also classic HDDs, SSDs, external hard drives, etc. drives (seen by "Windows").

Note: in most cases, they are guided by the first line "Sec" (sequential read / write speed). Read - read, Write - write.

USB Flash Benchmark

Developer site: http://usbflashspeed.com/

Another utility for testing the speed of flash drives. Allows you to get not only some numbers, but also compare them with other drives (i.e. evaluate your USB flash drive with other device models). This can be done due to the fact that the test results are saved on the site of the same name (along with flash drive models).

By the way! If you are thinking of buying a fast USB flash drive, just go to the website http://usbflashspeed.com/ and see the top 10. Thus, you can acquire what other people have already experienced in practice!

H2testw

A small utility from German programmers. Designed to scan USB drives for their real volume (approx. : some flash drives, for example, Chinese manufacturers- come with a "fake" overestimated volume) ... In these cases, it is enough to drive the flash drive using H2testw, and then format it correctly.

How to find out the real volume of a flash drive and restore its performance (using H2testw) -

Flash Memory Toolkit

Flash Memory Toolkit is a good service suite USB devices... Allows you to perform a whole range of the most necessary actions:

  1. testing drives for errors in reading and writing;
  2. data recovery from flash drives;
  3. viewing properties and characteristics;
  4. the ability to create a backup of a flash drive;
  5. low-level test of the speed of the drive.

Flashnul

Developer site: http://shounen.ru/

This program can diagnose and fix many software errors (especially when it is not clear what is happening with the flash drive at all: that is, no errors are displayed). In addition, it supports almost all flash drives: USB flash drives, CompactFlash, SD, MMC, MS, XD, etc.

Possibilities:

  1. reading and writing testing: the availability of each sector of the media will be checked;
  2. checking the integrity of files on the USB drive;
  3. the ability to make an image of the contents on a USB flash drive (it can be useful for data recovery);
  4. the possibility of sector-by-sector image recording to a USB device;
  5. some operations can be performed for other types of media: HDD, CD, Floppy disk, etc.

ChipEasy

A free and very simple utility for obtaining complete information about a USB flash drive. It will be very useful in cases where the marking on the flash drive itself has been erased (or it was not there at all).

What data does ChipEasy provide:

  1. VID
  2. manufacturer;
  3. controller model;
  4. serial number;
  5. information about the firmware;
  6. memory model;
  7. Max. current consumption, etc.

Flash Drive Information

The utility is similar to the previous one. Allows you to find out all the information about the drive (flash drive, memory card) in 2 mouse clicks: model, controller, memory, etc.

For formatting and repair

HDD Low Level Format Tool

Program for low-level * formatting of hard drives, SD cards, flash drives and other drives. I would note its "unpretentiousness": even if other utilities freeze when trying to access a USB flash drive (or do not see it), the HDD Low Level Format Tool can help in most cases ...

Peculiarities:

  1. most manufacturers (Hitachi, Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, etc.) and interfaces (SATA, IDE, USB, SCSI, Firewire) are supported;
  2. when formatting, absolutely all information from the disk is cleared (partition table, MBR);
  3. recover information from disk after formatting with using HDD Low Level Format Tool - Almost Impossible!

MyDiskFix

A free small utility designed for low-level formatting of failed flash drives. It will come in handy in cases where your flash drive cannot be formatted using standard Windows tools, when the flash drive shows an erroneous volume, or a write error occurs.

Note: before formatting in MyDiskFix, you need to find out how many real-working sectors are on your flash drive. This can be done, for example, using the H2Test utility (which was given above).

USB Disk Storage Format Tool

Small utility for formatting HDD / USB Flash drive (file systems supported: NTFS, FAT, FAT32). By the way, USB Disk Storage Format Tool does not require installation, does not freeze if it works with faulty flash drives, from which you need to wait for a response for minutes (like, for example, the standard formatting utility in Windows).

Peculiarities:

  • fast and safe formatting of the drive;
  • at full formatting through the utility, all data from the flash drive is deleted (later, not a single file from it can be restored);
  • scanning the drive for errors;
  • creating partitions with the FAT 32 file system larger than 32 GB;
  • tested with 1000 different flash drives (Compact Flash, CF Card II, Memory Stick Duo Pro, SDHC, SDXC, Thumb Drive, etc.), and various manufacturers (HP, Sony, Lexar, Imation, Toshiba, PNY, ADATA, etc.) ).

Format USB Or Flash Drive Software

A specialized utility for working with malfunctioning USB drives... Allows you to format and restore the operation of the flash drive. I would also note its very simple interface (see the screen above), and the ability to work without installation.

Peculiarities:

  • file systems support: FAT, FAT32, eXFAT, NTFS;
  • simple and user-friendly interface;
  • the ability to complete and fast formatting;
  • the ability to "see" drives that the explorer refuses to "show";
  • the ability to integrate into the Windows menu;
  • compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10.

Transcend RecoveRx

Multifunctional program: allows you to recover files from flash drives, format them, and protect them with a password. In general, this program is intended for flash drives from the manufacturer Transcend, but I cannot help but note that the formatting option works for flash drives of other manufacturers.

RecoveRx is quite an omnivorous program: it supports USB sticks, memory cards, MP3 players, external hard drives (HDD) and solid state drives (SSD).

JetFlash Recovery Tool

This utility will help in cases where the standard Windows tools simply do not see the USB flash drive. Only USB sticks from Transcend, JetFlash and A-DATA are officially supported (unofficially - much more).

Important! Keep in mind that the program, in the process of repairing (restoring) a flash drive, produces complete removal all data from it! If you have the opportunity to save something from a faulty flash drive - do it.

Peculiarities:

  1. simple and free utility (only 2 buttons!);
  2. compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10 (also works with older OS Windows XP, 2000 (other OS - work is not guaranteed));
  3. only 3 manufacturers are officially supported: Transcend, A-DATA and JetFlash;
  4. automatic recovery of the drive (from the user you need to press only 1 button);
  5. low system requirements;
  6. no utility installation required.

SD Formatter

Formatting Canon SD Card to SD Formatter

This utility is designed to repair and restore memory cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC, microSD. The developers have specially oriented their product for the needs of photographers, video operators, and specialists in the maintenance of such equipment.

The drive is restored in auto-mode. Suitable in a variety of cases: in case of software errors, virus infection, failures, due to misuse, etc.

Note: in the process of working with a flash drive - SD Formatter will delete all data from it!

D-Soft Flash Doctor

Small portable program for diagnostics and repair of broken flash drives (low-level formatting, soft reset). In addition, he can create images from flash drives / memory cards and write them to other storage media.

The program supports the Russian language (since the developer is from Kazakhstan), and is compatible with all modern OS Windows 7, 8, 10.

To recover files from a flash drive

R.Saver

Easy to use recovery software deleted files with different types carriers: hard drives, memory cards, flash drives, etc. Can be used for various errors, file system failures, after formatting, viral infection etc.

Supports file NTFS systems, FAT and ExFAT. For residents of Russia (when used for non-commercial purposes) the program is free.

Important!

You can learn more about working with R. Saver in the article on how to recover a photo from MicroSD card memory or USB stick -

Recuva

File recovery software from the developers of CCleaner (the famous utility for cleaning windows from junk files).

Recuva allows you to work not only with HDD, but also with USB flash drives, external drives, SSD, memory cards. The program is aimed at a novice user, so its use is very simple.

Peculiarities:

  1. all actions in the program are performed in steps;
  2. 2 modes for scanning drives;
  3. sorting files by their name, size, state, etc .;
  4. the utility is free;
  5. Russian is supported;
  6. compatible with Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits).

MiniTool Power Data Recovery

Very powerful program (with unique algorithms scan), which will allow you to recover data from broken flash drives, memory cards, external drives, CD-disks and other drives. Popular file systems are supported: FAT 12/16/32, NTFS.

From myself, I note that in my humble opinion, the algorithms of the program are actually different from other programs of a similar kind, tk. several times with its help it was possible to recover information when other software simply did not find anything ...

Note: in free version MiniTool Power Data Recovery software can recover only 1 GB of information.

Addition!

In general, there are a lot of such programs ( approx. : which can scan the drive and recover some of the deleted files)... In one of my previous articles, I have already cited a dozen of the most successful free products (most of them work not only with classic HDDs, but also with flash drives). I publish the link to the article below.

10 free software to recover deleted data: files, documents, photos -

That's all for now. Supplements for useful and interesting utilities are always welcome.

05.01.2016

In this article, we will look at several programs for formatting flash drives. A USB flash drive is a device that allows you to store and exchange information. If, for example, a device is infected with viruses or if you want to change the file system format to NTFS, FAT 32, exFAT, you can format it.

To format a USB flash drive, you will need to use one of the following programs or utilities:

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

The utility was developed by Hewlett-Packard and is designed to format flash drives and memory cards in NTFS, FAT, FAT32. Works through a USB 2.0 port. The utility allows you to create bootable DOS devices, this is useful if you need to install Windows, for example. The program interface is easy and intuitive. Formatting your device can be done in just a couple of steps. The utility is also completely free.

HDD Low Level Format Tool


HDD Low Level Format Tool

The program can return the state of USB flash drives and hard drives to the initial state(factory) by padding the device with zero bytes. This operation will completely remove all existing information on the media, including viruses. The program interface is quite simple. Here you can view all the information about the storage medium: file system, size, serial number, buffer size and of course format it.

SDFormatter

Formatting an SD card SDFormatter

The program is designed to format SD cards that are used in phones, cameras, players. By using special formatting methods that include the appropriate SD card specifications, the utility can help in situations where other software are simply useless. The interface of the program is extremely simple, and in order to format the card, you need to perform just a few steps.

Formatting a USB flash drive using the Windows system utility

Also, do not forget that full formatting can be performed using standard Windows tools... To do this, simply insert the media into USB port and in the "My Computer" window, click on it right click and select the line "Format". Next, select the required file system format and format the USB flash drive. You don't need to download anything to format a USB flash drive in this way.

We format the flash drive with standard tools Windows

Convert.exe utility supported via command line

To change file system it is not necessary to erase all data from the flash drive. To format a USB flash drive without losing data, you can use the Convert.exe utility and the command line. You do not need to download any programs to format a USB flash drive.

To do this, open command line and enter the following command:

convert<буква_флешки>: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x

in my case would be: convert F: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x


Formatting a USB flash drive without deleting data