This post explains how to restore a USB drive to full capacity using Windows 10/11.
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Run Windows tool DiskPart
Go to Start > Run command or press Windows + R.
Type diskpart and press Enter
2. Select disk
Type:
DISKPART> list disk
Identify the disk that corresponds to the USB. Be sure it is the one. We assume on this post that the correct disk is X.
Then type:
DISKPART> select disk X
3. Delete disk
Type:
DISKPART> clean
4. Create partition
Type:
DISKPART> create partition primary
5. Format USB
Go to Computer and right click on the USB drive, then select “Format…”.
Select the desired options and click “Format”.
External References
- “How To Restore USB Drive Back To Original Full Capacity/Size“, Jaime Wagner
THANKS!
Thx fam, helped me after making my USB as Kali linux bootable disc.
After creating primary partition the 64GB disk only formats to 14gb??
God bless you, this was really helpful
Thanks a lot! that was very helpful.
I tried above method and worked great on one flash drive. On the second drive I keep getting this message – Virtual Disk Service error:
There is no media in the device.
Why does Windows think it’s a virtual disk, and how do I change it’s mind?
Hi Randy,
As I have read, it is possible that the USB has reached its end-of-life or USB records were damaged due to unsafe ejection.
In any case, you can try any of these solutions:
A. Go to Disk Management, find the USB, click on Action > Rescan Disks and reboot
B. Go to Device manager, find the USB drive under “Disk drive”, right click on it and click on update USB driver
C. Use a third-party app to fix USBs
Hope it helps!
Thanks a lot. This saved me and I learned as well. May God bless you.
After clicking format, my system keeps telling me: windows was unable to complete the format, please what next can I do?
Hi Charlie,
There can be many reasons why you are getting this error. I would recommend that you search for “Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format” in any search engine (e.g., Google).
For instance, you can check this URL:
https://www.easeus.com/partition-master/fix-windows-was-unable-to-complete-the-format.html#:~:text=If%20your%20device%20is%20locked,software%20and%20unlock%20the%20device.
Hope it helps!
Thanks a lot! that was very helpful after having used the USB to install Linux mint!
Dude thanks alot, It helped
That was helpful. Thanks a lot
Thank you, this helped me to restore the USB back to its original size, which earlier had some partitions
Thanks man ! super clear
Works like a charm. Thank you very much.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, wanz!
Additional help for people who get the “unable to format” error
Repeat the steps from the top, but after step 4 please add the following lines in Diskpart:
4. create partition primary
5. format fs=fat32 [or if you want it in ntfs use: format fs=ntfs]
6. assign
The formatting in step 5 took a while for my 32gb USB, but it worked.
Thank you…. It was most helpful that I was able to recover my device.
A million thanks james
It took me a mere 10 minutes to get it done after trying to get the job done with software and still failing. I truly appreciate the help.