How to format a USB drive without losing data?

If you want to do this, you come to the right place.

How to format a USB drive without losing data?

Format an SD Card without Data Loss: Two Situations

you could find two cases and two solutions in this post.

These portable storage devices are commonly used for transferring, storing, and backing up data.

The concern for many users is whether formatting a USB drive will result in data loss.

How to Unformat a Thumb Drive: Data Recovery and Protection

Do you know how to unformat a thumb drive or USB drive to recover files on it?

This post introduces some easy methods.

However, its important to note that a quick format does not entirely wipe the USB drive.

Safely Format a Hard Drive without Losing Data: A Full Guide

The actual data remains on the drive and could potentially be recovered using specialized tools.

Is It Possible to Format a USB without Deleting Everything?

Both quick format and full format will remove all files from the USB drive.

choose the target partition to scan

Well then, is it possible to format a USB drive without data loss?

Here are two cases:

The following content will focus on these two situations.

Case 1.

scan the whole USB drive

Formatting a Problematic USB Drive without Data Loss

Move 1.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 1.

Connect the USB drive to the computer with MiniTool Power Data Recovery installed.

select a directory to save the selected files

Launch the software and this data restore tool will list all detected partitions underLogical Drives.

you’re free to go for the partition that contains the files you want to restore to scan.

Here, we scan the entire USB drive.

select source USB drive and destination drive to back up

After scanning, this software will show you the scan results with different paths.

The destination location should not be the original USB drive because it has not been repaired.

you might go to theMiniTool Power Data Recovery License Comparisonpage to pick the most suitable license.

Move 2.

Fortunately, the Format Partition feature is free to use.

Option 2: it’s possible for you to transfer files from the USB drive to another storage gear.

Once your data is safely stored elsewhere, proceed with formatting.

you could useMiniTool ShadowMakerto do this job.

MiniTool ShadowMaker is professional Windows backup software.

Launch the software and click theKeep Trialbutton to enter the softwares home page.

ClickBackupfrom the left menu to enter the Backup interface.

ClickDESTINATIONand follow the on-screen instructions to choose a proper location to save the backup.

The destination location should have enough free space to save the backup.

When you go back to theBackupinterface, you better click theBack Up Nowbutton to start the backup process.

Wait until the whole process ends.

Now, your data on the USB drive is safe.

you’re able to format the drive without data loss.

Move 2.

These methods have been introduced in case 1.

We will not repeat them here.

Always prioritize data backup to ensure a smooth and worry-free formatting process.