How to Format a Flash Drive Without Losing Data (100% Safe)

In this video tutorial, I will explain to you how to format a USB without losing data. ✅ Disk Drill USB data recovery tool: www.cleverfiles.com/usb-flash...
💾 Learn more about situations when a flash drive needs to be formatted: bit.ly/3AwPQ17
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:53 Why flash drive says it needs to be formatted?
02:28 Recover your data from byte-to-byte backup
05:36 Format a flash drive without losing data
06:16 Conclusions
Formatting sometimes is a necessary evil, but there are ways to use it to your advantage with virtually none of the downside. Does formatting a USB delete everything? After watching this, you will know.
Something real quick that I have to mention and get out of the way before we get started with anything else is that do not continue to use your USB flash drive until you have the ability to watch this video all the way through to the end at least once. That'll greatly preserve your data and drastically increase your chances of a successful recovery.
Sometimes, unfortunately, your computer doesn't really leave you much choice. Sometimes metadata or other key data on the drive that allows it to function properly becomes corrupted or straight up missing. And a format is the only way that you can restore optimum functionality to that piece of hardware.
I'm going to be showing you two methods. Both methods will be involving a piece of data recovery software called Disk Drill. I choose this data recovery software every time because it allows for multi-approach situations just like this. And it puts you on the cutting edge of data recovery and protection, all in one software suite. And you can recover up to 500 megabytes of files for free on all windows PCs.
Method #1:
1. Download and install Disk Drill.
2. Select the Drive Backup feature from the left pane.
3. Choose your USB drive and click the Byte-to-byte Backup button.
4. Pick a suitable location for the backup.
Once the backup is complete you can scan your byte-to-byte backup image to recover your data. To do that:
1. Launch Disk Drill.
2. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
3. Select the Attach disk image option.
4. Choose the byte-to-byte backup of your USB drive to mount it.
5. Select Data Recovery from the left pane and select the mounted image.
6. Click Search for lost data to scan the image.
7. Click Review found items to see the content of the image.
8. Select all files you want to restore.
9. Click Recover and choose the destination.
Now you can format your USB drive in any way you want since we already have a backup and our data is safe.
Method #2
So how to format a USB without deleting everything? If you're feeling slightly risky and times of the essence for you, then here's a faster way to achieve pretty much the same result. So the initial steps are really the same. Connect your USB flash drive to your PC and download and install Disk Drill. But we're essentially just going to be skipping the entire backup part.
1. Open “This PC”, which will allow you to see all the drives easily.
2. Right-click on your USB drive icon.
3. Click the ‘Format’ option.
4. Set the options the way you want them and click ‘Start’. Make sure quick format is selected and hit OK.
And once formatting is completed, go ahead and open up Disk Drill and select your USB drive, choose your scan method and hit start. And upon completion from here, you can review the data, recover your data, all that just like in method number one, nothing really changes there.
And now you know the answer to the question - can you format a hard drive without losing data?
I honestly hope that you guys got a lot out of this video and if you did always be sure to leave us a 👍 down below, and also if you have any questions, comments, or things you want to see me cover in a future video, be sure to let me know down below in the comment section as well.
#flashdrive #datarecovery

[@alina-m]

“You need to format the disk before you can use it” - is like a nightmare! 😮

[@codeXsnippet]

hell yes

[@Yianakirby5]

Thank you so much! I was so worried that all of my mom's medical work files would be gone forever. I can't thank you enough!!

[@LURKING323]

This program is well worth it boys.. bought it a while back and it’s very impressive.. you won’t be disappointed

[@kathyramirez9594]

did you have to purchase the program/app?

[@MarkHammerFriend]

Thank you for providing this. I have been stuck for years. Just hobbling along, moving files with lots of difficulty.

[@prabhdeeprandhawa2886]

I LOVE YOU! YOU ARE SUCH A LIFR SAVER! GOD BLESS YOU WITH ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!!!

[@cleverfiles]

Happy to help!

[@kazkhan6556]

Thank you so much for this. You are a lifesaver. Why wouldn’t you choose the way you formatted the 2nd option? It was more simplified

[@honour11]

Bro thank you so much you have saved me a lot bro wish you all the best in life!

[@cleverfiles]

Glad I could help!

[@Mechanexon]

Thank you so much, i thought my games were gone!

[@allyfrom61ally72]

Thank you Andrew, this video has been a life save for my business. Most of my photos have been recovered now and I am forever grateful.

[@cleverfiles]

Great to hear! You're welcome.

[@fitcheswarren]

Wouldn't be easier to High light everything in your flash drive copy it and paste it on the main hard drive c say in documents or something like that and then reformat your usb drive that way instead of all the bull shiting around buy down loading this soft ware he just downloaded his making to much hard work for himself lol that's more or less what he just did with this software he downloaded on to his pc instead him downloading that soft ware all he had to do is open up flash drive up high lite everything with his mouse than right click on his mouse stroll down to where it says copy click on that make new folder on your desktop there move your mouse arrow on top the new folder right click on it again stroll down where it says paste click on that and wammo everything will go into that new folder on your desktop you name the new folder what you like on your desk top and once everything is in that new folder bang then you can reformat your usb drive none this bull shit downloading this software and click on this and that this and that bull shit that's how I would do it personally my self correct me anyone if I'm wrong but that's how I do it lol

[@daffyduck1937]

​@@fitcheswarrenIf your drive has bad sectors then your method won't work. Doing it this way is if your drive crashes because of bad sectors. Using this software you can make a disk image of all your data then reformat the flash drive after seeing if your data is recoverable.

[@Nurhussein2023]

it is working good with me thank you

[@karyee632]

thanks. it works.

[@cleverfiles]

You're welcome!

[@skytaylor4209]

You frickin rock

[@imaginary-unit]

Thanks, I love you.

[@cleverfiles]

You're welcome!

[@1USAUSA]

This is why I love Linux Operating System. It doesn't complain even if the filesystem is slightly damaged. It actually opens your damaged usb storage... I just plugged in my so-called damaged filesystem by Windows and there it is... all of my files are right there and accessible on Linux. 🙃🙂😉😊

[@suntoshpillay8978]

Super useful and worked 🎉

[@cleverfiles]

Glad it helped 🙌

[@dulnethsenuka]

Oh my god I didn't even thought of recovery software Somehow, Thank you for reminding me about it

[@KdeB]

You should be so proud of yourself helping so many people including myself. Thank you so much

[@cleverfiles]

Happy to help 🫰

[@user-sw2ob4iw1m]

Andrew, do you cover alternative operating systems for both phone and PC? I'd like to see you cover that along with the best media players.

[@danielastoica3354]

3:40 data recovery: attach disk image option doesn't exist any more in the current version and there is no other way to upload the USB backup. Thank you

[@rainannon]

you’re a lifesaver 😭😭

[@cleverfiles]

Not all heroes wear capes. Some just help recover important files 🫰

[@xthriteenx]

I’m trying to mod my botw on my Wii U, and it’s Sd just went nahhhh, so I really hope this works!

[@cleverfiles]

I hope it works, Zelda needs to be saved!

[@StupidGamer360]

Great recovery software, it somehow copied over everything from my flash drive while when I tried to copy everything manually, it would disconnect because of the screwed up filesystem it had. I felt like I would never be able to copy anything from it because of that. Please try Disk Drill, I beg you. Thanks for everything

[@cleverfiles]

We appreciate your feedback! 🙌🫰

[@moohebbebdaa6669]

Please, please I got ransomware a month ago, I recovery some of my files I had previously deleted, but many of them didn't open after I got them back, especially INDD files. And the program I used: disk dill pro I want your advice. Is there a way to recover the state of the files before encryption?

[@cleverfiles]

Please, contact us at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@amirnr5063]

love u❤️

[@obscurelyvague]

Help. When I install my flash drive Disk Drill does not seem to recognize it. There is no "Drive Backup" option to click on.

[@cleverfiles]

I recommend to contact support at [e-mail]

[@kaiadam6065]

downloaded the software, worked fine, a lot of files were recovered, but why does it run in the background and slow my pc down. after deinstalling it everythig went fluently edit: after installing it a second time and running it, the problem seems to have disppeared. means 5/5 stars for the program right now

[@cleverfiles]

Could you please contact us at [e-mail] so that we can investigate that? Thanks!

[@tonyhawk3108]

how to fix that what you recovered is encrypted files example word documents I recovered but it came out Files.DOC not a folder not a zip, and the files can't be opened the story of the HDD it was accidentally formatted in the factory reset in windows 10 what the hell I will do it so that I can fix it so that the files can return to normal. Please give me an idea or suggestion. It will be a great help to us. If I can fix the HDD, please help me.

[@cleverfiles]

Please, contact us at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@aregaynigusie4279]

Really Great work but the software asked me code to activate it. Thank you.

[@kathyramirez9594]

is there a way to "recover" my files on the free version? I would like to bypass making any payment, but it will only transfer over 500 mb when I have files totally 3.5 GB. What would I do next?

[@cleverfiles]

We offer a free recovery of up to 500 MB of your data if you use Disk Drill for Windows. Unfortunately, this option is not available for Mac users at this time. We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@waleskabocel5588]

Will this work if I have around 16GB of files?

[@cleverfiles]

Yes, it should work regardless of how much data you have.

[@ayyy3684]

Hello I just scanned my usb and I can’t acces the pictures or videos on disk drill the pictures aren’t clickable please help me and I think I also lost pictures on the usb

[@cleverfiles]

Contact support at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@krystalslushi]

Do you have to format the sd card before or after recovering?

[@cleverfiles]

It is not recommended to format your drive before recovery.

[@krystalslushi]

@@cleverfiles cool thanks

[@NabeelMagic]

My imac says The Disk You Attached Was Not Readable by This Computer. So i have format it and i dont want to lose my usb work. Your error message is similar to mine. But my usb is readable on Microsoft Windows computer. But i dont have a spare pc to back up my data. Will this work ?

[@cleverfiles]

If your drive is listed in Disk Drill, you can scan it. Make sure to preview your files before recovering them.

[@NabeelMagic]

@@cleverfiles how to list it to disk drill

[@NabeelMagic]

@@cleverfiles my usb isn’t readable on imac pc. I have to format it. But i have files which can not be deleted

[@caseyguajardo9350]

hello , i was using this for a sd card that had pictures on it. It says to recover i need to pay $89 but your video said it was free ?? can anyone helop

[@cleverfiles]

Thanks for commenting! We offer a free recovery of up to 500 MB of your data if you use Disk Drill for Windows. Unfortunately, this option is not available for Mac users at this time. You can find more information here: www.cleverfiles.com/help/disk-drill-mac-windows.html We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@dzerraldina5954]

Do you have an activation code?

[@user-ii4hf2kj8n]

where is the link to download disk drill? I cant find it

[@cleverfiles]

You can download Disk Drill Basic from the following link: www.cleverfiles.com/getdiskdrill

[@StephaniesShower]

I can't find a link for disk drill and the one I downloaded doesn't work the same.

[@cleverfiles]

Reach out to support at [e-mail] and we will guide you through.

[@andrewysk7181]

Is it possible to fix a corrupted flash drive without losing data?

[@cleverfiles]

It depends. Please, scan your drive with the free version of Disk Drill to check.

[@GebremikaelSera]

its best but why when i click the recovery button its ask me upgrade required?

[@cleverfiles]

We offer a free recovery of up to 500 MB of your data if you use Disk Drill for Windows. Unfortunately, this option is not available for Mac users at this time. We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@brittnh567]

What do I do when Disk Drill tells me "Not enough free space in the destination folder"? I've tried many different locations, but nothing works.

[@cleverfiles]

If you don't have enough space on your device to run a scan and process recovery, you can either free up space on your Mac, or connect an external drive and use it as Disk Drill's workspace. To do that, please open Disk Drill Preferences -> "Choose folder" and select your external drive in the Workspace folder.

[@brittnh567]

@@cleverfiles thank you!

[@derellsmith6347]

Have this same problem. Do i use the same usb device or a different one.

[@frankjames7294]

help i tried this, my flash drive says theres 7.5 gb on the drive, but when i did the scan with disk drill it says theres 0 files. HELP

[@cleverfiles]

Please contact us at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@ayyy3684]

Same thing bro I think I deleted my childhood pictures I’m so sad can someone help me please

[@officialgamer2565]

How can i send the data again at my usb when i try it says i can only send up to 500mb for free i need to get the pro version 😢

[@cleverfiles]

It is free to recover up to 500 MB on Windows. We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@officialgamer2565]

@@cleverfiles yeah but my files are 34gb

[@ayyy3684]

Yoo Samee Bru did u find out how to get data back

[@mischellebullas]

it says that i need to pay 89$ to recover my files though you said that you offer 500mb for free. i'm not a mac user

[@cleverfiles]

Please contact us at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@kamallambiggaikamallambigg9336]

can i know what is activation code??

[@cleverfiles]

You can upgrade here www.cleverfiles.com/pro.html

[@DNAimbots]

How is it free when you have to pay for recovery like I hate people who act like they are actually helping by trying to market themselves by lying

[@cleverfiles]

We offer a free recovery of up to 500 MB of your data if you use Disk Drill for Windows. Unfortunately, this option is not available for Mac users at this time. We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@spygamingyt5249]

bro where is the link

[@cleverfiles]

You can download Disk Drill here www.cleverfiles.com/download.html

[@SonGordo_]

app doesnt even work...

[@cleverfiles]

Can you please elaborate? What exactly is not working in your case?

[@fletchercourtyards9311]

where's the link?

[@cleverfiles]

You can download Disk Drill here www.cleverfiles.com/download.html

[@dericktravis8483]

Does formatting a USB delete everything if I used full format?

[@cleverfiles]

No. The only way to get rid of the information is to overwrite it with the new data.

[@Clonekiller66]

The price the software is asking for is WAY too expensive! I have at least 29GB of data I desperately NEED to recover. I cannot afford the outrageous price they're asking. Is there a free software that lets me save over 29gb of data that's trapped on my USB?

[@samiyasaifi5140]

Did you find any solution?

[@craigsinclair4601]

crazy expensive if you not earning USD

[@biggdaps]

Dude you told me to do this step before running disk drill 5:55??!! Now disk drill wont recover anything because nothing is on my drive.... Bro I trusted you, why give this tip/step if its completely the opposite way you need to do it?????? Thanks to you I've lost years of my work.

[@cleverfiles]

It is important to use Quick Format here. This way, there is still a chance for recovery.

[@xioxander]

70 quid oh god you could mention ild saved 4h

[@ksskjsks631]

u said it's free for 500 mb lol I only want to retrieve my 29mb files but it say i need to pay 89$

[@cleverfiles]

Please contact us at [e-mail] for further assistance.

[@NabeelMagic]

Ahh this is for windows

[@dovrob]

u can only recover 500 mb for free. beyond that costs $90

[@farrelivanderfitzfithri7886]

There's data in the USB and can't backup said data without formatting, formatting deletes the data inside, can't open without formatting Talk about bad luck 😂

[@cleverfiles]

Update or reinstall the SSD drivers via Device Manager and attempt to assign a drive letter using diskpart commands in Command Prompt. If this turns out to be unsuccessful, seek professional data recovery services.

[@1USAUSA]

Yea, your stick is probably 16GB but what if you have a usb hardrive that is 2 Terabyte. You can't tell me you can back up all that in 11 minutes, before you have to reformat your hardrive. lol... 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@fitcheswarren]

Wouldn't be easier to High light everything in your flash drive copy it and paste it on the main hard drive c say in documents or something like that and then reformat your usb drive that way instead of all the bull shiting around buy down loading this soft ware he just downloaded his making to much hard work for himself lol that's more or less what he just did with this software he downloaded on to his pc instead him downloading that soft ware all he had to do is open up flash drive up high lite everything with his mouse than right click on his mouse stroll down to where it says copy click on that make new folder on your desktop there move your mouse arrow on top the new folder right click on it again stroll down where it says paste click on that and wammo everything will go into that new folder on your desktop you name the new folder what you like on your desk top and once everything is in that new folder bang then you can reformat your usb drive none this bull shit downloading this software and click on this and that this and that bull shit that's how I would do it personally my self correct me anyone if I'm wrong but that's how I do it lol

[@Scott-kj3bc]

If you format it to FAT32 then you can’t move files bigger than 4GB onto it

[@Nnvjdj]

Mental spotted 😂

[@hammabaki8841]

Are U kidding&)

[@HeavenlyDemon_]

You have to pay to recover ...

[@cleverfiles]

We offer a free recovery of up to 500 MB of your data if you use Disk Drill for Windows. Unfortunately, this option is not available for Mac users at this time. We do guarantee the recovery of the files you can fully preview in the free version.

[@HeavenlyDemon_]

@@cleverfiles yeah I saw went for something free and beter thanks

[@amithshetty2572]

can u mention were u got it done in free@@HeavenlyDemon_

[@ksskjsks631]

fake

[@user-or7xp8qj6m]

You speak unclear on some parts, and you didn't tell us that you have to pay for this at the end. I disliked your video. Lame.

[@cleverfiles]

We provide informative tutorials on how to recover data. You can use any tool of your choice or none at all. Disk Drill can recover up to 500MB for free, which is enough to restore a bunch of important documents. To make the text understandable, there is a subtitles feature and a text tutorial in the description. Feel free to ask particular questions.