However, if you ever wish to recover your USB drive, the additional space may have just been unallocated.

Whenever the partition pattern is modified, the drive’s size might appear to change. If that’s the situation, even formatting the disc will not restore the lost space.

If you cannot locate the disk partitions on the USB drive for whatever reason, there’s no need to worry. This article will enlist two methods to recover lost/unallocated space on the USB drive.

Important Note: It would be best if you make a backup of all of your data before beginning the recovery process.

What is Unallocated Space on a USB?

Unallocated storage is a space that has not been formatted or separated and thus is not used for data storage. In a short, unallocated space on a USB drive is worthless and unavailable. But how can unallocated space on a USB occur? Let’s have a look at this in the following section.

Why Does Your USB Drive Have Unallocated Space?

Because a USB drive is detachable, it is more vulnerable to malware and viruses than a hard disc. As a result, the USB device unallocated space issue is frequent. There can be other reasons like:

• File systems
• Broken system files can all result in unallocated space on a USB device

Data loss always occurs when a partition is converted to unallocated space in such instances. Fortunately, you can quickly recover your data from a USB drive with unallocated space.

How to Recover Unallocated Space on USB Drive?

This issue may annoy you since you don’t understand how to resolve it. Don’t worry. There are simple solutions.

When you accidentally lose all of your data or for other reasons, utilizing a recovery application is the best approach to retrieve all deleted data from a USB device. You may restore all lost/inaccessible files from a USB drive with the USB Drive Recovery tool. This program is intended to recover any forms of data, including photographs, audio, and movies.

Regardless of why the contents were lost from the USB flash drive, all data may be simply restored utilizing the program. It thoroughly examines the disk for missing files and easily recovers them.

Following are two methods to recover Unallocated space on a USB drive.

1. Using Disk Management Utility

Under this procedure, we will be using the disc management utility to regain lost or unallocated space on a USB drive. Use the steps given below:

• Step 1: To begin, launch the Windows RUN dialogue box by clicking the Windows Key + R combination.
• Step 2: In the RUN dialogue box, type diskmgmt.msc and press the Enter key.
• Step 3: In Disk Management, right-click just on Unallocated space under your USB device and choose New Simple Volume.
  
• Step 4: Select the Next option in the New Simple Volume Wizard.
  
• Step 5: You must now specify the volume size. Simply select the volume to be recovered and press the Next button.
  
• Step 6: You would now be prompted to enter a drive letter. Simply click the Next button after assigning a drive letter.
  
• Step 7: At this point, you must format the newly created volume. Choose NTFS as the file system and check the ‘Perform a quick format box. Tap the ‘Next’ toggle when you’re finished.
  

That concludes the first method. This will allow you to recover any unallocated space on the USB device. Now, let us move on to the second method.

2. By using Diskpart

Because Disk Management can’t remove or format certain files, you might discover there’s no method to use unallocated space. Then you may move to the next method called Diskpart, which will undoubtedly assist you in reclaiming the missing storage on the USB device.

Before you begin, make a backup of the data since improper Diskpart actions might result in irreversible data loss.

• Step 1: Attach the USB device that is causing the issue to your computer. Open Run dialogue by pressing Window + R. After that, type “diskpart” inside the Run dialogue or search field and hit Enter to launch the Diskpart application.
  
• Step 2: Type the “list disc” command to get a list of all available discs with a given disc number on your system.
• Step 3: Type “choose disc” to find and pick the USB device. The disc number of the USB device is 2, so just put “select disc 2” into the command line.
• Step 4: Type “clean” to erase all partitions and volumes on the specified disc, which in this case is the USB drive.
• Step 5: To make a primary partition, type “create partition primary.” If you wish to makeover than one partition on the USB device, use the following format to indicate the partition size: Make a main partition [size=n]. Run the command “create partition primary size=3000” to create a 3000MB partition, for example.
  

You also recover unallocated space on USB by using some third-party apps, i.e., AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard edition or EaseUS Partition Master, etc.

Conclusion

It is normal to lose unallocated space on a USB drive at a certain point. In such a scenario utilizing the finest USB drive data recovery techniques, you may simply restore unallocated space on a USB flash drive.

The two methods listed in this article are easy to apply and very effective for regaining unallocated space on a USB drive.

So, without further ado, try these methods to fix your USB drive problems.

You may now quickly transport terabytes of data by using USB flash drives. These are little stick-like gadgets that plug into a PC’s USB port and enable quick storing and transferring. If you already own a PC or laptop, you may have a few of these with you.

To use a USB drive is straightforward; plug it into a system, and after it is detected, you should use a file explorer tool to transfer files to it.

However, some complications might arise that prohibit the USB drive from working normally. Even if you are using the best flash drives, you may face some of the problems. This is what we’ll be discussing today as we look at the most frequent USB flash drive issues.

How to Fix USB Flash Drive Not Recognized

When you connect a USB device to a PC, it is usually identified and issues a drive letter. But when you plug the USB drive, and nothing happens, and you get an error screen that says “USB Device not recognized.” When this happens, you must attempt the diagnostic procedures given below.

Follow the steps to fix USB Flash Drive on Windows/Mac.

3 Ways to Fix USB Flash Drive Not Recognized On Windows

Based on the fundamental cause of the issue, you may need only complete any one of the three procedures. To fix your issue, follow the following methods step by step.

Method 1: Scan Flash Drive to Find the Issue

• Insert the USB drive into the PC.
• Navigate to My Computer and right-click on the USB drive. Then, Click on the Properties.
• Navigate to the Tools tab and click on “Check.”



• The scan takes a while. When it’s completed, it’ll tell you what’s wrong with the flash drive.

Method 2: Reformat the Flash Drive

• Right-click the USB drive and select Format. The Format box will appear.
• Toggle between NTFS and FAT32 under File system. Press the Start button.

Method 3: Perform driver updates

• Open the Run command and enter MSc into the box. Click the OK button.



• The Device Manager will be launched. Locate the Universal Serial Bus (USB) controllers.



• Right-click on the Generic USB Hub in the expanded menu. “Update Driver Software” should be selected.

One of the three methods will fix your problem, and you can start using your USB flash drive on Windows.

3 Ways to Fix the Flash Drive Not Recognized Problem on MAC

Follow the steps to fix your USB drive on MAC.

Method 1: Manually Connect the Flash Drive

• Navigate to Application and choose Utilities.
• A pop-up window will open, and you should click on the highlighted commands in the figure below:



• Click External Devices under Devices to manually connect the unidentified flash drive.

Method 2: Retune PRAM

• Turn off your MAC.
• Hold down the Command-Option-P-R key while pressing the Power button. This should be done before the appearance of the grey screen.



• The MAC should restart automatically. Allow it to go after the startup chime.

Method 3: Format Mac’s Drive

• Hit the Command-Spacebar icons simultaneously, insert the USB drive, and navigate to the Application folder. Select the Disk Utility option.



• The flash discs that need to be repaired can be found in the left panel.



• To finish the operation, click the Erase button.

How to Fix Corrupted USB Drives without Formatting?

A Flash drive can get damaged for a variety of reasons, including a power outage, inappropriate use, being disconnected without ejecting, and USB issues such as file catalogs corruption.

In most cases, you will be instructed to reformat the USB drive to make it functional again. However, you will lose all of the files stored on that USB device. Today, we’ll teach you how to repair infected USB devices without losing any data.

Change the Drive Letter of the USB Drive

Often your PC is unable to assign a drive letter for unexplained reasons. To resolve this issue, it is preferable to reassign the drive letter manually.

• Plug the USB drive into the PC.
• Launch Computer Management, locate the mouse icon on This PC, right-click it, and then pick the manage option.
• Select Disk Management from the Storage menu.
• Right-click the disc volume and select Change Drive Letter and Paths from the menu that appears.
• Select the Change option.
• Select a drive letter from the drop-down list.

If the problem is connected to assigning a drive letter, then your corrupted flash drive may be repaired.

Check Utility

This is the most straightforward approach to repair a USB drive that is not physically damaged and can be detected and provided a letter by your PC. In theory, the provided method will not result in data loss.

• Plug the USB drive into your PC.
• Click on This PC/My Computer.
• Right-click The USB Drive and select Properties from the menu that appears.
• Navigate to the Tools tab and then to the Check button.
• Your system will next attempt to restore faulty sectors on its own.
• Return to the screen, right-click the pen drive icon, and then select Eject to remove the device from the USB connection.

Use CMD Commands

When the drive is destroyed or corrupted, it will never open again. The CMD command is the best option if you don’t want to lose your vital data when formatting the USB.

• Connect the USB to your computer.
• Type “CMD” into the search field and hit Enter.
• Run “chkdsk USB drive letter: /f” or “chkdsk /X /f USB drive letter,” replacing “USB drive letter” with the drive letter of your infected flash drive.
• Because this process causes Windows to recover file system errors automatically, no further action is necessary.

How to Fix a Broken Flash Drive

To fix your broken USB drive, prepare the required equipment and utilities: precision soldering iron, tiny flat head screwdriver, cable strippers, solder, cable, and magnifying lens.

• By using a screwdriver, remove the outer shell of the flash disc. Take care not to damage the PCB board or the NAND.
• Use a magnifying glass or your naked eye to verify the damages. If there is still a problem, you will see a broken link between the stem and the PCB board.
• Strip one side of the cable (0.6cm) and join the four wires together.
• Locate the PCB pads and solder the wires to them with care. Start with the black wire on the left, followed by the green, white, and red wires.
• Your data storage item should be ready to use following these simple procedures.

How to Fix a Flash Drive That Won’t Read

There might be several factors why the USB port is not reading the USB drive. The following are typical ones that you are probably aware of:

• Unexpected removal of a USB drive from a PC while transferring data is in the process make it unreadable.
• If the flash drive becomes infected with malware or a virus, your computer will neither be able to read it.
• A sudden computer shutdown caused by a power outage while the USB flash drive is attached to the system corrupts the file system. It eventually renders the flash drive illegible.

Solution1: Repair Logical Errors

• Right-click on your USB drive and then click on properties.
• A pop-up box will be open; you simply click on “check” under the “tools” after that, your problem will be solved.

Solution 2: By Using CMD

• First, open “CMD” from “start”.
• Type chkdsk *: /f /r /x. Replace USB drive letter with #.

Conclusion

To summarize, maintaining a USB flash drive is not difficult. These suggestions are simple to implement and do not require the assistance of a professional.

These procedures can help you extend the life of your USB drive while also keeping your data secure.

Simply, external hard drives are a nice addition to the whole set of handy utilities and tools that make your life much easier. Now, if you have one of them, you probably want to use it, and that usually demands that you format it in a way that will suit your Operating System, size of your files, etc. For that reason, it is good to know how you can manage that and here are the easiest ways you can do it.

How to Format Your External Hard Drive

Formatting your hard drive is no hard task and can be done with ease and in multiple ways. However, have in mind that not all formats are equal, and that, for instance FAT32 can be read by both Mac and Windows, yet it can only hold files that are up to 4GB in size. exFAT, on the other hand, doesn’t have that sort of limitations; nonetheless, it doesn’t work with Time Machine and File History.

NTFS is probably the best format for Windows because it accepts all file sizes and works with both Time Machine and File History, but in the case of Linux and Mac, it can only be used for reading such files. In other words, be sure what sort of files suit you, and following that do the formatting.

How to Format Your External Hard Drive on Windows through Windows Explorer

If you own a Windows machine the best format choice is the NTFS, and the whole process of formatting the drive can be done in the following way:

How to Format Your External Hard Drive on Windows with the Help of Disk Management

In the case you want to explore additional ways to format your external hard drive, you should know that that can also be managed through the Disk Management feature.

How to Format Your External Hard Drive on Mac

In the case you own the Mac, this what needs to be done:

The computer storage components are evolving swiftly with the growing competition. Every big company wants to make the best hard drive with sizeable storage units and a sustainable design to last longer than before. But that doesn’t mean it will last forever.

Hard drives are mechanical devices with moving parts, and like any other automatic device (like cars), the components inside are bound to wear out, break or even fail. So it is essential to keep a lookout for signs of a failing hard drive. Or, it could cause you extensive losses in the form of data and money in case of a dead hard drive.

While there are ways to recover data from a dead hard drive, it could go the other way very quickly as well. So it is essential to establish some insight on methods to show symptoms of a failing hard drive and how to test if your hard drive is failing. Let’s jump straight into it.

Symptoms of a Failing Hard Drive

Some common signs of a failing hard drive include overheating and slow performance of the system, disk errors, and strange noises. But how can I find out if my hard drive is failing? Here are some signs that will point you towards that.

Sluggish performance of your PC

If the commands in your computer are taking a lot longer than usual to run, it could very well be because of a failing hard drive. To define what we mean by commands taking longer than customary time, the PC will take more time to transfer data, open folders, or run programs.

You can reformat your PC to optimize its performance, or you can try defragmentation, but if both these solutions do not work, it will be best to make a backup of your data and buy a new hard drive.

Loud Unusual Noises

Hard drives are mostly silent, but sometimes we hear a repetitive sound of loud clicking and grinding noises. It could very well lead to malfunctioning of a component in a hard drive or even its complete failure. For example, a spindle is responsible for keeping the platters in position and rotates them when commanded. It moves them at a pace, and if the component isn’t working as required, it can lead to strange noises.

So if you hear these strange noises, then it is better to have a look at it or find a professional who can distinguish the noises and tell if it is coming from the hard drive or not. If it is, then act quickly!

Blue screen of Death

When you are looking for the hard drive failure symptoms, one of the most common signals is the Blue screen of Death (BSoD) stop error. The main thing that prompts it is the data corruption on the hard drive. If you want to know how to check if the hard drive is failing windows 10, this Blue screen of Death is a good indicator.

Other factors can cause a BSoD stop error, but coming across it is a concern for hard drive failure.

Corrupted and Missing Data on your Hard Drive

Sometimes we save a file, and a day later, it goes missing. And sometimes, the files do not open and give an error on clicking. Both these instances, if happening frequently, are likely indicators of a potential hard drive failure.

This error is primarily caused by hard drive failure, but system errors such as registry error, RAM decline, virus, etc., can also generate this error.

What to do Next?

There are a number of things that you can do after diagnosing hard drive failure.

• Your data is at risk, so the first thing you can do is make a backup of your data in case of a sudden failure of the hard drive. You can use an external hard drive or an online backup drive like Google Drive and/or OneDrive.
• Buy a new hard disk. Most HDDs and SSDs are readily available online and in tech stores.
• In case of recovery and testing, go for a software solution. There are plenty of software programs like ScanDisk, TestDisk, Chkdsk, etc., available that are designed for recovery and testing of your hard drive.

Some of the best USB flash drives or pen drives with extensive performance and speed can be bought from most tech stores, as they are readily available and cheap.

The advantages of using a USB flash drive make it essential for users to keep an eye on health and the USB flash drive life expectancy.

Some users complain about the speed of their USB flash drive as it usually deteriorates after using it for a while.

So, how long a pen drive lasts? Let’s jump straight into it.

How long does a USB Flash Drive Last?

If you want to store data in a USB flash drive and put it away for five to ten years, it will be safe and will work again when needed.

But if you continue to use it regularly as most users do, you can expect wear and tear in its condition.

USB flash drive life expectancy cannot be predicted with an exact number, but theoretically it last for 5-10 years depending upon the number of write cycles.

What is a Write Cycle?

It measures the endurance or life of a USB flash drive and a solid-state drive, also known as SSD. It works by writing and erasing data on a NAND chip. A typical USB flash drive can last for 10,000-100,000 write cycles, an industry standard. You can think of it like rubber. It keeps wearing away with usage until it completely wears out.

Besides this, a USB flash drive can be worn out by physical damage. Their body is made of plastic or metal, which saves them from dust and scratches, although a severe temperature, humidity, and oxidation can damage and corrupt the data stored in your pen drive.

Best Tips to Extend the Life of Your USB Drive

Pen drive users regard it as a consumable because of its low price, but it still remains a vital data storage unit. So it is important to take care of your USB flash drive to ensure its prolonged life.

Here are some useful tips to keep your USB flash drive in good condition and prolong its useful life.

Keep in mind the Environmental Factors

You can protect your pen drive by taking environmental factors like temperature and humidity into consideration.

Keep it Cool

When you are operating a USB drive, it generates heat like any other internal hard drive. So it is vital to let the air flow freely through it to keep it cool. And when not in use, keep it in a cool place. SanDisk provides the temperature ranges of their products. As an example, the SanDisk Extreme USB Flash Drive with a capacity of 16GB to 64GB is given below:

Keep it From Water

Exposure to extreme humidity and submerging it into the water can potentially damage the flash drive. So it is essential to keep it away from humidity and water.

Keep it Clean

The memory chip of a USB flash drive is very delicate. Keep it away from the dust particles as it could cause a serious malfunctioning.

Keep your hand away from the surface of the contacts. Carry it and remove it from the edges. This will keep your pen drive clean.

Avoid Physical Damage

The most common reason for damaging a USB flash drive is physical damage. There is always a risk of dropping or smashing your pen drive if it is left hanging outside. It is better to keep your pen drive in a container; it can be a bag or a small box.

USB flash drives should be handled gently; they are small enough to be kept in a pocket, but they can roughen up quickly. And some people place the pen drive on a key chain, not an ideal thing to do.

Remove the Drive Safely

When you are done backing up the data, always remove the pen drive safely from the USB port. It is recommended to eject the drive by clicking on the Eject button on Windows. It will help the data from any potential loss in the process of ejection.

If you leave the drive plugged into your device, there is a risk of physical damage. And the operating system wears down the life of your pen drive as it keeps writings the cycles.

Always use the safely remove option on your computer, as it will stop the writing cycles, and you can avoid any extra wear and tear.

Do Not Defragment Your USB Device

Computer users often use the process of defragmentation to reduce the slowdowns and crashes that lead to a system failure. It is a process of file system maintenance.

While performing this process is deemed useful for most hard drives, however, USB flash driver users should not use this process. It can kill the flash drive. The reason being the usage of writing cycles. It wears down your USB drive. Disable defragmentation now to protect your device.

Avoid Editing Files Directly on the USB Drive

Editing files directly on the USB drive is another reason for it wearing down. It can corrupt the data as well, so it’s better to avoid it.

The data you need to edit can be copied to the hard drive on your computer. Play with the data, edit it, and when you are done, then copy them back to the USB flash drive for use. It will reduce the write operations and ultimately protect the drive.

Back Up Your Flash Drive Regularly

The article mentioned several times the chance of wearing down the USB flash drive and potential loss of data. USB flash drives have a limited life span, and no matter how well you maintain them, they stop working eventually.

It is essential to back up your pen drive regularly on your computer, or any other hardware you deem suitable.

Conclusion

To sum things up, maintenance of a USB flash drive isn’t tricky at all. These tips are easy to follow and do not need an expert to learn them. Taking these precautions will help you extend the life of your pen drive and keep the data safe and secure.

As far as the concept of memory pinning goes, this is essentially how Intel Optane can pick specific files, programs, and applications for acceleration and this is the function that Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error meddles in.

Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error – Everything that You Need to Know!

Our guide below takes a dig into everything regarding Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error, including what it is, its cause, and its fix.

So, let’s get started!

What is Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error?

The Intel Optane Memory Pinning error can occur anytime while you are busy using your PC. It can be either in the form as shown in the screenshot above or simply as an error code 0x8007007E.

This error is a bug in the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) driver, of version between 17.5.x and 17.8.x.

What causes Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error?

Beginning with the 17.5.0.1017 Intel RST driver, the way the Intel® Optane memory pinning components are installed was changed.

If you try to upgrade the Intel RST driver from an older version to a version within the range of 17.5.x to 17.8.x, the Operating System’ update attempts to use the removed files of that earlier version.

As a result, the Intel Optane Pinning Service Extension is unable to load the DLL – iaStorAfsServiceApi.dll, causing a compatibility issue that pops up on your screen in the form of an error message.

In simple words, this error is the representation of the failure of copying of files and libraries like the iaStorAfsServiceApi.dll while Windows tries to install the updated driver of Intel RST.

If you have a computer system with a fresh Operating System, having Intel RST drivers between 17.5.x and 17.8.x installed as the default, this issue won’t bother you.

How to Fix Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error

There are a total of five different methods of getting rid of the frustrating Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error. You should opt for them in the order we have detailed them below. If one doesn’t work, switch to the next one.

Look for the Missing DLL

It is one of the two most efficient ways to solving your problem. What you need to do is search your computer’s memory for iaStorAfsServiceApi.dll, and once you find it, make a connection between it and the Optane Pinning Service.

However, while this method may be very effective, it is certainly not the easiest which brings us to our other methods.

Update Your RST Driver

This is the second one of the most efficient methods. All you have to do is download and install Intel RST’s driver version 17.9.1.1009 or greater and not only will your matter get resolved, but you also won’t experience it again after a future Operating System Update.

Repair the Intel Optane Explorer Extension

Press (Windows + R) buttons on your keyboard to open the run dialog. Type in “Appwiz.cpl” and hit enter. You will be navigated to the Programs and Features Tab.

In these programs and features, search for the label named, “Intel Optane Pinning Explorer Extensions”. Once you find it, right-click on it and then select the option of “Repair” from the short menu bar.

This will prompt a repairing process to begin. After it ends, reboot your PC to apply the changes.

Uninstall the Driver

Finally, open the run dialog on your screen by pressing the (Windows + R) buttons on your keyboard. Type in “devmgmt.msc” in the space and hit enter.

You will find yourself in the Device Manager. Keep scrolling downwards until you located the label of Software components.

Once you do, expand it, and right-click on the Intel Pinning Shell Extensions field. From the short menu context that appears, tap on the “Uninstall Device” option.

On the resulting dialog, tick the checkbox next to the “Delete the driver software for this device” and proceed to uninstall.
After the process is complete, reboot your PC to apply the changes.

Uninstall the Intel Optane Explorer Extension

Follow the third method until you have reached the “Intel Optane Pinning Explorer Extensions” program. Right-click on it and select the “Uninstall” option.

Once it is uninstalled, you might be asked to restart the computer. Don’t. Instead, close the dialog and go over the list of remaining programs and see if you can find any application related to Intel Optane. If you do, uninstall it as well before restarting your PC.

Note that this method might cause your computer system’s Intel Optane to get disabled as a result of which, you will no longer be able to enjoy the acceleration it has to offer.

To re-enable it, you will need to download and install the relevant drivers from your manufacturer’s website, whether it’s Intel, Dell, or any other.

Conclusion

Following any of the problem-solving methods mentioned above, you should be able to rid yourself of the Intel Optane Memory Pinning Error.

However, if you want to steer clear of this hassle in the future, make sure that you turn off the Intel Optane module from your PC’s BIOS settings before upgrading your Windows next time around.

If that is the case, occasional defragmentation would be more than a welcomed operation and luckily it shouldn’t be a problem for you to perform.

How to Defragment Your Hard Drive in Windows 10

If you need to do this, you will be glad to know that it can be done very quickly and here’s what you need to do:

1. First, you need to type “defrag” in the Search Box

   

   and left-click on “Defragment and Optimize Drives”, when it appears among the results.



2. After that, select the drive that needs to be defragmented,

   

   press “Optimize” (located on the bottom right part of the window)

   

   and that is it. Your Windows 10 will now defragment your selected drive.

For everyone who requires such action, here are the three most common ways you can complete it.

How to Format SD Card on Windows 10

The first method for formatting your SD card is through File Explorer. This is one of the simplest and straightforward processes and is consisted of the following steps:

1. In the beginning, insert your SD card, memory card, or flash drive into the computer.
2. After that, enter “This PC”, by double-clicking on its desktop icon, or press Windows + E.



3. Now, you will see the inserted SD card on your computer and you need to right-click on it.



4. In the newly opened drop-down menu, select “Format”.



5. Choose the “File system” that you need, mark “Quick format” and press “Start”.



6. After a few moments or minutes, your card should be successfully formatted, and you will be able to use it.

The second method for formatting your SD card is with the help of “Disk Management”:

1. The first thing you need to do in this process, in order to format your SD card, is to go to “This PC”

   

   and right-click on it and select “Manage”.



2. After that, go to “Disk Management”,

   

   find your SD card among the listed Disks, right-click on it and choose “Format”.



3. Select the “File system” that you need, mark “Perform a quick format”, press “OK” and you have formatted your SD card.

Third and the last way to format your SD card that this guide will explain is through the “Commander Prompt”:

1. In this process, you will first have to type “cmd” in your “Search box”.



2. Right-click on the “Command Prompt” that shows up in the search results and select “Run as administrator”.



3. Confirm that you allow for this app to make changes on your computer and when the “Command Prompt” window opens, type “diskpart” and press “Enter”.



4. After this, type “list disk” and press “Enter”.



5. Type “select disk 2” (if your SD card is listed under some other number, type it instead of “2”) and press “Enter”.



6. Now, you need to type “clean” and press “Enter”.



7. Type “create partition primary” and then again press “Enter”.



8. After this, type “format fs=ntfs” (if you need the card to be in the exFAT, type “exfat” instead of “ntfs”) and press “Enter”.



9. Now, type “assign letter n” (or any other letter that isn’t taken by other drives), press “Enter”

   

   and you have finished your job of a formatting SD card.

Formatting an SSD means getting rid of everything stored on the Solid State Drive. Essentially, you might want to do this when you are selling the SSD (or your entire system). You might also want to do this if you are going to replace your SSD with a better model, or you want to remove any viruses/malware from your PC.

Lastly, it is also possible that you have bought a used SSD (or taken one out of your old system) and you want to transfer Windows to your SSD, for which a blank state is ideal. Once you learn how to format an SSD for Windows 10, you will be able to enjoy the massive increase that it brings in performance. This is especially true if you are switching over from old SATA drives, which are now being phased out of production.

Considerations Before Formatting an SSD

While they’re both partitioned similarly, SSDs and HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) have a fundamentally different makeup. This means that to know how to format an SSD, you can’t rely on past knowledge or experience of doing the same for an HDD.

Practically, this translates to selecting Quick Format instead of Full Format when prompted. Not doing so results in shortening the lifespan of your Solid State Drive, owing to its limitations when it comes to running a full read-write cycle.

You should also opt for TRIM support if offered by your system, especially while learning how to format a new SSD, since TRIM does for the SSD what defragmenting does for HDDs, ensuring properly managed files, and removing of redundant and useless data.

Of course, as is the case before formatting any drive of any kind, you should backup important data on the SSD since all data will be deleted during the format.

How to Format an SSD

If you have a Windows Computer, here is the 5-step process that you can follow to format an SSD.

• From the Start button or Search bar, navigate to the Control Panel and select System and Security.
• In System and Security, go to Administrative Tools, then Computer Management, and finally Disk Management. (An alternative to both these steps is to go to the Run function (usually by typing Ctrl+R on your keyboard) and typing diskmgmt.msc to directly load Disk Management).
• Right-click on SSD you want to format. From the menu that appears, select Format.
• In the Format dialog box, select the File System you want (NTFS or FAT), enter the Allocation Unit Size (traditionally 9026 on a default setting, although you might want to research this based on your specific needs), and again, remember to check the Quick Format option.
• Click OK and let your computer do the rest. If your computer is jammed up and slow, it’s best not to run any programs in parallel with this process.

Common Problems When Formatting an SSD

It’s important to remember that this process will not work unless you have partitioned your SSD first – a problem people run into when trying to format an M.2 SSD. For this, you can Right-click on the SSD in the same way as Step 3 and select ‘New Simple Volume’.

Alternatively, if you want to set up Windows on your SSD, simply disconnecting the HDD and running the bootable Windows installation will send it to the SSD by default.

Also remember that if you are not able to format your SSD and run into problems such as the ‘The Format Did Not Complete Successfully’ message, you can try using third-party programs such as EaseUS Partition Manager. These programs usually get the job done.

Although you can format and do a fresh install of Windows, you may want to keep the same Windows that you have. In order to do this, you will need to transfer Windows to your new storage. We’ll tell you how to transfer Windows 10 to SSD, since that is the latest version and pretty much the only one that you should be using with an SSD.

Preparing Your System for the Transfer

Before you begin, running a quick cleanup will ensure that the transition is as seamless and quick as possible. Access ‘Disk Cleanup’ via the Windows search bar. In the pop up that appears, check the boxes for temporary files you don’t need or previous versions of Windows. Click OK and you’ll be done. This process doesn’t take too long either.

Deciding On a Transfer Tool

It is not possible for you to manually transfer windows due to the extremely technical and complex nature of the problem. As such, you will need to use one of the two transfer tools listed below:

• EaseUS Todo Backup: This program is by far the best choice for those who are not well-versed in tech. This is because of its ease of use and advanced features (some of which are available even on the free version).
• AOMEI Backupper Standard: This is a more long-term option than the previous tool, we recommend this for people who know what they are doing. This software can also be used for future backups of important data.

Back up Your Data

Once you’ve decided on and downloaded the appropriate software, you can begin the process of backing up your data. Although this should be obvious, don’t back up your data on the same hard drive. Use an external drive or cloud-based storage. This is essential to ensure that you don’t lose data in the transfer.

Also, remember that there is no need for you to back up the windows files. Only back up data that you will be using on your new SSD such as videos, documents, music, etc.

Transferring Windows 10 to SSD

Connect your old hard drive to your computer using the SATA cable that fits. Most modern hard drives use SATA III. Remember that it is not necessary for you to transfer windows to an SSD either; you can also transfer Windows to a new HDD.

Once both your HDD and your SSD has been connected, here is how to transfer windows 10 to SSD:

• Open one of the two aforementioned programs.
• On AOMEI Backupper Standard, select the option titled ‘System Clone’. If you are using EaseUS Todo Backup, select the option titled ‘Disk Clone’.
• Now, specify the HDD that currently has your Windows installed. Also specify the SSD that you want to transfer Windows to.
• If you are using EaseUS Todo Backup, remember to check the option titled ‘Optimize for SSD’. That will make sure that your SSD is partitioned properly to handle Windows. Not checking this option may lead to problems when you try to use that SSD.
• Click ‘Next’ and the Windows transfer will begin. You do not need to do anything else until the transfer is complete.

Finishing Touches

Once you are done with the transfer, you might want to format your HDD. Remember that if you do not have any reason to transfer your current Windows copy, you can simply do a fresh install.

In order to do that, you will need to format the SSD and partition it before installing Windows with a bootable drive. Then, you can use the same software that we have mentioned above to back up your files and bring them over to your new SSD.

If you are planning on formatting your old drive after the transfer is complete, remember to make sure that the transfer was done successfully by booting up your SSD before you do that. There aren’t any problems with the process usually but it is best to be sure!