Does Formatting a USB Flash Drive Actually Delete Everything?

USB is a convenient way to store data, but what happens if you accidentally format one? Does all the data on the USB get deleted?

The answer is yes, formatting a USB deletes everything on the drive. This includes any data you may have stored on the USB. It’s important to back up any data you may have on the USB before formatting it.

In this article, we’ll explore what happens when you format a USB and whether or not all the data gets deleted.

What Happens to Data When a USB is Formatted?

Without a doubt, formatting a USB deletes all the data on the drive. This includes the data you stored on the drive and any data you may have stored on the USB.

It’s important to back up any data you may have on the USB before formatting it. In the case of a USB flash drive, this includes any files, pictures, and other files you may have stored on the drive.

What to do Before Formatting a USB?

Again, before formatting a USB, make sure you back up any data you may have on the USB. This includes any files, pictures, and other files you may have stored on the drive.

You can use an external hard drive or another USB drive to back up the data on the USB. Moreover, you can also back up the data using cloud services, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud, or use a cloud service to store your data online.

Steps to Format a USB on Windows

Mentioned below are the steps to follow if you want to format your USB on a Windows OS machine.’

• Insert the USB drive into the USB port of your PC/laptop.
• Next, go to “File Explorer” and open it.
• After opening it, double click on “This PC” from the left pane.
• Under the “Devices and Drives” section, select your USB drive and right-click on it.
• Then select the “Format” option.
• Now, use the “File System” drop-down menu and pick your desired option.
• In the “Allocation Unit Size” drop-down menu, select the default selection.
• In the “Volume Label” field, confirm the USB drive name that appears in File Explorer, e.g., HP-USB.
• Under the “Format Options” section, select the “Quick Format” option.
• Then click the “Start” button.
• Now it will take a while to format the USB.
• Once formatting the USB drive is finished, it will be all set to store documents, pictures, videos, and other files on the removable drive successfully.

Steps to Format a USB on MAC

Mentioned below are the steps to follow if you want to format your USB on a Mac OS machine.

• Insert the USB drive into the USB port of your MAC.
• Then (from Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility) launch “Disk Utility”.
• Now from the list on the left select your USB drive.
• Select the “Erase” option at the top.
• Type in the “Name” for the drive, then select a “Format” (file system).
• Now select the “Erase” option.
• Select “Done”, once complete.
• Once formatting the USB drive is finished, it will be all set to store documents, pictures, videos, and other files on the removable drive successfully.

Can I still recover data if I format a USB drive?

In fact, the answer is yes. If you format a USB drive, the data is deleted. But there are ways to recover data from a formatted USB drive. It is, however, a time-consuming process.

As mentioned earlier, formatting a USB deletes all the data on the drive. But, if you have backed up the data on the USB before formatting it, you can recover the data from the formatted USB. For this, you will need data recovery software, like EaseUS, Recuva, Test Disk, etc.

Conclusion!

Formatting a USB drive is one of the most common tasks people need to perform. This task can be performed on a variety of devices, but in this article, we have focused on formatting a USB drive on a Mac or Windows machine.

It’s important to note that formatting a USB drive is different from formatting an external hard drive. A USB drive is a type of removable storage device that connects to your computer via a USB port. It comes in a variety of sizes, including thumb drives, flash drives, and even pen drives.