A program for fast formatting of flash drives. Flash drive recovery software

HDD Low Level Format Tool is a handy small program for formatting your hard drive, as well as any storage devices that are connected to your computer. It supports any interface, including USB, SATA, SCSI, IDE, Firewire. Works with devices from manufacturers such as Samsung, Fujitsu, Maxtor, Seagate, IBM, Toshiba, Quantum. It can also work with flash cards if the computer supports a card reader.

This utility destroys all data recorded on the media, including boot sectors with logical partitions. Using low-level programming, this program deletes data in such a way that it is not possible to recover it later. Keep this in mind before starting work.

The program is provided on the Internet for free use. After downloading the distribution kit of the program, and running it, you will see the following window in front of you.

Installing the program is extremely simple. So we will not dwell on it.

After installation, you will be prompted to read the license agreement, and they will also inform you that you can use the program for free as much as you want, however, by paying only $ 3.30, you will be able to use the program with the best speed and receive constant updates. We have chosen a free use case. In the future, this window will appear every time you start the application.

This hard disk formatting program has a very simple interface. After starting, you will see a window like this.

Above is the name and version of the program, and it is also indicated that we are using a free version. On the right is an active link to the developers' site.

The main part of the window is occupied by a list of storage devices, which in this moment connected to your computer and available for work. Here you can find various information about the device, including the type of interface used to connect, model, serial number and memory capacity.

Of course, we won't be using our hard drive to test the program. Therefore, we will conduct an experiment on a 4 GB flash drive. Having selected this device (it is the second in our list), we press the button "Continue >>>"

Here's what we see in the future.

Here you can see the current date and time, again the name and version of the program, as well as the device connected using USB 2.0 and the amount of its memory. Next, the data about the device should be indicated, but in our case they are not available.

The next tab contains a log of events and displays the process of formatting. There is a button to start and stop formatting. You can also check the box and select the quick option.

On the third tab you can get S.M.A.R.T. information about the device.

Before starting the formatting, the program asks whether you want to start this process exactly.

After launch, the formatting process is displayed in the window.

The speed does not rise above 4.3 Mb / s. This is the feature free version... Paid, obviously, has no speed limits. The process as a whole is going on rather quickly, so there are no complaints here. Within about 10 minutes, the formatting of the flash drive was completed. Note also that when working with hard drives, the speed will definitely be higher.

Thus, this program will help not only format any disk drive, but also restore the operation of a flash drive or flash card if it is not detected by your computer.

Good day everyone!

You can argue, but flash drives have become one of the most (if not the most) popular storage media. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few questions regarding them: the most important among them are the issues of recovery, formatting and testing.

In this article I will present the best (in my opinion) utilities for working with drives - that is, those tools that I have used myself many times. The information in the article will be updated and updated from time to time.

The best programs for working with a USB flash drive

Important! First of all, in case of problems with a flash drive, I recommend visiting the official website of its manufacturer. The fact is that on the official website there may be specialized utilities for recovering information (and not only!), Which will cope with the task much better.

For testing

Let's start with testing drives. Let's consider programs that will help you determine some of the parameters of a USB drive.

H2testw

A very useful utility for determining the real volume of any media. In addition to the volume of the drive, it can test the real speed of its operation (which some manufacturers like to overestimate for marketing purposes).

Check Flash

A free utility that can quickly check your flash drive for performance, measure its real read and write speed, completely delete all information from it (so that no utility can recover a single file from it!).

In addition, it is possible to edit information about partitions (if they are on it), make a backup copy and reanimate the image of an entire media partition!

The utility's operation speed is high enough and hardly any competing program will do this job faster!

HD Speed

This is a very simple, but very convenient program for testing flash drives for read / write (information transfer) speed. In addition to USB drives, the utility supports hard drives, optical drives.

The program does not need to be installed. Information is presented in a clear graphical representation. Supports Russian. Works in all Windows versions: XP, 7, 8, 10.

CrystalDiskMark

One of the best utilities for testing information transfer speed. Supports various media: HDD (hard drives), SSD (newfangled solid state drives), USB sticks, memory cards, etc.

The program supports the Russian language, although it is as easy as shelling pears to start a test - just select a medium and press the start button (you can figure it out without knowing the great and mighty).

An example of the results - you can see the screenshot above.

Flash Memory Toolkit

Flash Memory Toolkit - this program is a whole set of utilities for servicing flash drives.

Full feature set:

detailed list of properties and information about the drive and USB devices;
a test to find errors when reading and writing information to a medium;
quick cleaning of data from the drive;
search and recovery of information;
backup of all files to media and the ability to restore from a backup;
low-level testing of information transfer rate;
measuring performance when working with small / large files.

FC-Test

A benchmark for measuring the real speed of reading / writing hard disks, flash drives, memory cards, CD / DVD-devices, etc. Its main feature and difference from all utilities of this kind is that it uses real data samples for work.

Of the minuses: the utility has not been updated for a long time (problems with newfangled media types are possible).

Flashnul

This utility allows you to diagnose and test USB Flash drives. By the way, during this operation, errors and bugs will be fixed. Supported media: US and Flash drives, SD, MMC, MS, XD, MD, CompactFlash, etc.

List of operations performed:

read test - an operation will be carried out to identify the availability of each sector on the media;
write test - similar to the first function;
information safety test - the utility checks the integrity of all data on the carrier;
saving media image - saving everything that is on the media into a separate image file;
loading an image into a device is analogous to the previous operation.

For formatting

HDD Low Level Format Tool

A program that has only one task - to format the media (by the way, both HDD hard drives and solid-state drives - SSD, and USB-flash drives are supported).

Despite such a "meager" set of features, this utility is not in vain in the first place in this article. The fact is that it allows you to "return" to life even those carriers that are no longer visible in any other program. If this utility sees your media, try low-level formatting in it (attention, all data will be deleted!) - there is a good chance that after this format, your flash drive will work as before: without failures and errors.

USB Disk Storage Format Tool

A program for formatting and creating bootable USB drives. Supported file systems: FAT, FAT32, NTFS. The utility does not require installation, supports USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 - does not see. Note: this port is marked in blue).

Its main difference from the standard tool in Windows for formatting drives is the ability to "see" even those media that are not visible by standard OS tools. Otherwise, the program is quite simple and concise, I recommend using it to format all "problem" flash drives.

Format USB Or Flash Drive Software

The utility will help in those cases when the standard formatting program in Windows refuses to "see" the medium (or, for example, will give errors during operation). Format USB Or Flash Drive Software can format media into the following file systems: NTFS, FAT32 and exFAT. There is a quick format option.

I also want to note the simple interface: it is made in the style of minimalism, it is as easy as shelling pears to understand it (the screen is presented above). In general, I recommend!

SD Formatter

Simple utility for formatting various flash cards: SD / SDHC / SDXC.

The main difference from the standard program built into Windows is that this utility formats the media in accordance with the type of flash card: SD / SDHC / SDXC. It is also worth noting the presence of the Russian language, a simple and intuitive interface (the main window of the program is shown in the screenshot above).

Aomei Partition Assistant

Aomei Partition Assistant - large free (for home use) "Harvester", which presents huge number functions and capabilities for working with hard drives and USB drives.

The program supports the Russian language (but by default, English is still set), works in all popular Windows operating systems: XP, 7, 8, 10. The program, by the way, works according to its own unique algorithms (at least, according to the statements of the developers of this software ), which allows her to "see" even "very problematic" media, be it a flash drive or HDD.

In general, to describe all its properties is not enough for a whole article! I recommend giving it a try, especially since Aomei Partition Assistant will save you not only from problems with USB drives, but also with other media.

Recovery software

Important! If the programs presented below are not enough, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the large collection of programs for recovering information from different types carriers (hard drives, flash drives, memory cards, etc.):.
If, when connecting the drive, it reports an error and asks to format it, do not do it (perhaps, after this operation, it will be much more difficult to return the data)! In this case, I recommend that you read this article:.

Recuva

One of the best free software to recover files. Moreover, it supports not only USB-drives, but also hard drives. Distinctive features: fast scanning of media, a fairly high degree of search for "remains" of files (that is, the chances of getting a deleted file back are quite high), a simple interface, step by step wizard recovery (even completely "beginners" can handle it).

For those who will scan their USB flash drive for the first time, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the mini-instructions for recovering files in Recuva:

R Saver

Free * (for non-commercial use on the territory of the USSR) program for recovering information from hard disks, flash drives, memory cards and other media. The program supports all the most popular file systems: NTFS, FAT and exFAT.

The program sets the parameters for scanning the media independently (which is also another plus for beginners).

Features of the program:

recovery of accidentally deleted files;
the ability to reconstruct damaged file systems;
recovering files after formatting the media;
data recovery by signatures.

EasyRecovery

One of best programs for data recovery, supports a wide variety of media types. The program works in all versions of new Windows: 7, 8, 10 (32/64 bits), supports the Russian language.

One of the main advantages of the program should be noted - a high degree of detection of deleted files. Everything that can be "pulled out" from a disk or flash drive will be presented to you and prompted to restore.

Perhaps the only negative is that it is paid ...

Important! How to get back deleted files in this program can be found in this article (see part 2):

R-STUDIO

One of the most popular data recovery software, both in our country and abroad. A wide variety of media are supported: hard drives (HDD), solid state drives (SSD), memory cards, flash drives, etc. The list of supported file systems is also striking: NTFS, NTFS5, ReFS, FAT12 / 16/32, exFAT, etc.

The program will help in cases:

accidental deletion of a file from the trash (this happens sometimes ...);
formatting the hard drive;
virus attack;
in case of a computer power failure (especially important in Russia with its "reliable" power grids);
in case of errors on the hard disk, in the presence of a large number of bad sectors;
when the structure is damaged (or changed) on the hard disk.

In general, a universal harvester for all kinds of cases. The same only drawback is that the program is paid.

Remark! Step-by-step data recovery in R-Studio:

Popular manufacturers of USB drives

It is, of course, unrealistic to collect all manufacturers in one table. But all the most popular ones are definitely present here :). On the manufacturer's website, you can often find not only service utilities for reanimating or formatting USB-media, but also utilities that greatly facilitate work: for example, programs for archiving, helpers for preparing bootable media, etc.

Note! If I have bypassed someone, I suggest using the tips from the instructions for restoring the functionality of a USB drive:. The article describes in some detail how and what to do to "return" the USB flash drive to working condition.

This concludes the report. Good job everyone and good luck!

05.01.2016

In this article, we will look at several programs for formatting flash drives. A USB flash drive is a device that allows you to store and exchange information. If, for example, a device is infected with viruses or if you want to change the file system format to NTFS, FAT 32, exFAT, you can format it.

To format a USB flash drive, you will need to use one of the following programs or utilities:

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

The utility was developed by Hewlett-Packard and is designed to format flash drives and memory cards in NTFS, FAT, FAT32. Works through a USB 2.0 port. The utility allows you to create bootable DOS devices, this is useful if you need to install Windows, for example. The program interface is easy and intuitive. Formatting your device can be done in just a couple of steps. The utility is also completely free.

HDD Low Level Format Tool

The program can return the state of USB flash drives and hard drives to their original state (factory), filling the device with zero bytes. This operation will completely remove all existing information on the media, including viruses. The program interface is quite simple. Here you can view all information about the storage medium: file system, size, serial number, buffer size and of course format it.

SDFormatter

Formatting an SD card SDFormatter

The program is designed to format SD cards that are used in phones, cameras, players. By using special formatting methods that include the appropriate SD card specifications, the utility can help in situations where other software tools are simply useless. The interface of the program is extremely simple, and in order to format the card, you need to perform just a few steps.

Formatting a USB flash drive using the Windows system utility

Also, do not forget that full formatting can be performed using standard Windows tools. To do this, simply insert the media into the USB port and click on it in the "My Computer" window right click and select the line "Format". Next, select the required file system format and format the USB flash drive. You don't need to download anything to format a USB flash drive in this way.

We format a USB flash drive using standard Windows tools

Convert.exe utility supported via command line

To change the file system, it is not necessary to erase all data from the flash drive. To format a USB flash drive without losing data, you can use the Convert.exe utility and the command line. You do not need to download any programs to format a USB flash drive.

To do this, open the command line and enter the following command:

convert<буква_флешки>: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x

in my case would be: convert F: / fs: ntfs / nosecurity / x

Formatting a USB flash drive without deleting data

We present programs for reliable formatting of a flash drive

In this article we will analyze such a question, which program to choose for formatting flash drives... Nowadays flash drives different types are used everywhere.

ATTENTION! We highly recommend reading the note on cleaning laptops. This is one of the main problems with beech breakages as a result of overheating! If all the heated air does not come out of the beech, do you think the internal parts can burn out from the increased temperature? Of course, yes, that's why you need to know this question very well.

Let's get down to business ...

Introduction

For convenience and speed of work (in moving information) - it's better not to find a flash drive. But like any device, a flash drive can fail, that is, break. Their breakdowns are different.

For example, if it is mechanical failure, such as the flash drive fell to the floor and stopped being read, or the flash drive was in the water, and so on. Such breakdowns are usually almost never even repaired, only if in a specialized repair.

But since the prices for them are now very low, then repairing them in a specialized service is not profitable, unless there was very important data on the flash drive, which can often be restored.

From this we can conclude that the flash drive is a rather fragile device and careless use of it can lead to its breakdown and loss of all data on it.

Formatting a flash drive

But it also happens that the flash drive just needs to be formatted in order to improve its performance or change the file system, install ntfs or fat32. This, of course, can be done in the standard way in the operating system ( go to my computer - right-click on the USB flash drive "properties" - format), but it doesn't always help.

But in this case, there are many various programs, which help not only to change the file system, but also to bring the USB flash drive back to life or improve the speed of its operation. We will analyze these programs in this article.

Such advice, if you decide to find a program for formatting a flash drive, then it is advisable to use the same as the manufacturer of the flash drive. For example, if you have a Kingston company, then it is advisable to select a utility for Kingston flash drives, but this is only possible, if not or do not want to bother with the search, then just use the ones presented below.

But this is not always possible to do, so that you can fully use universal drives for all types of drives.

Let's move on to downloading programs for formatting a flash drive - we present below 2 of the most effective and popular

The first program that we will analyze will be HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool... Very good tool to fulfill our goal.

Also, you can download it from the official site. The program can be downloaded from this link http://www.teryra.com/articl_comp/kak_otformatirovat_fleshky/HPUSBFW.ZIP (copy, paste into the browser and press enter). The program does not need to be installed, just run it.

It is packed into an archive, in order to run it you may need an archiver, in general, this is a standard program, how and where you can download it, see the article on how to open a rar file.

And so, HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is very easy to use. All you need is:

Run it
Indicate in the first line your USB flash drive
Next, specify the file system, preferably NTFS, although FAT32 is also possible
And check the box in the Quick Format line. There is a small nuance here. If you just need to change the file system, for example, from FAT32 to NTFS, then check the box. A checkmark indicates that formatting will be fast. If we need to fix the incorrect operation of the flash drive or it is impossible to write files to it at all, then we do not tick the box. This means that the formatting will be complete. When fully formatted, speaking simple language, some errors accumulated on the flash drive are corrected, and perhaps after this process it will work better.

Do not forget that formatting removes all information from the flash drive, so we copy if there is anything important

If everything is indicated, then click "Start":

The next program is hdd low level format tool

To download it, click here:

Install hdd low level format tool

The installation process is standard, everywhere we click further and further, only in the license agreement window we click "Accept".

The entire program is installed, the only thing is that it is paid and at startup a window will appear asking you to pay or use for a limited time. But we have enough to perform several operations.

If you don't want to pay, then choose the trial version, that is, click the bottom line "Continue for free":

The program looks like the picture below. In our case, as we can see, the program has identified two devices, these are HDD for 1.5 Tr. and a 16 GB flash drive:

How hdd low level format tool works

This program approaches the formatting process more thoroughly. It does low-level formatting (as stated, although it is believed that this process can only be started at the factory, but try anyway).

In the process of this formatting, the sectors are edited, and the broken zones are excluded. Can show technical condition hard disk(only at hard drives), for this, in the initial window for selecting devices, select your hard drive and click "Continue", and then go to the S.M.A.R.T. tab. and click on the "Get Smart Data" button:

In order to format the USB flash drive in the initial window, select it ( ATTENTION! HERE VERY CAREFULLY, WE DO NOT HURRY TO CHOOSE, otherwise you will format your hard drive and lose all the data accumulated for for a long time), click "Continue":

In the next window, go to the LOW-LEVEL FORMAT tab and click on "Format This Device" at the bottom. The process of low-level formatting will begin, it will take from 40 minutes to several hours:

This program often helps to cope with such a problem as, for example, a flash drive stopped reading or began to work slowly. It is very important to do everything slowly and deliberately. If you are in doubt, then it is better to ask someone again than to regret the hasty actions later.

Here we have considered such an interesting and popular question as a program for formatting flash drives. This is very helpful information... Thanks to her, in many cases you can save the flash drive from the problems that have arisen.

Comprehensive protection against malware infection software via USB data carriers. Blocking occurs automatically when a storage device is connected to the USB port. You can manually check for viruses and completely block the "flash drive" or external HDD.

The source of frequent cases of virus penetration into the system are not only downloaded files from the global network or remote Internet resources, but also removable storage devices. In most cases, anti-virus software products protect against malware penetration from the network, but as a rule, they are not able to block a number of types of threats spread through removable storage media (flash drives, external hard drives, smartphones, digital cameras and many other devices that are connected through the port -USB and capable of carrying data).

Free utility USB Disk Security it is one of the best software solutions for blocking malicious products from entering your computer from external storage devices. The tool will completely exclude the possibility of autorun an infected application located on a USB device. Thanks to this blocking function, you can protect the system from the most common method of virus penetration from USB sticks - using the system file "autorun.inf".

The installed USB Disk Security utility always monitors connections from outside USB drives in real time. When a new device is detected, the program immediately activates all necessary tools and displays a dialog box with suggestions for further action. One of the features of USB Disk Security is the minimal use of system resources and the absence of the possibility of "conflicts" with other installed anti-virus programs.

Thanks to the well-thought-out protection algorithms used in USB Disk Security, there is no need to frequently update the anti-virus signature databases. This property of the program allows you to protect a stand-alone computer running operating system Windows without an Internet connection.

For one hundred percent protection of your computer against viruses through the USB port caused by the actions of third parties, the program has a built-in tool for blocking access to connecting storage devices via the Universal Serial Bus (USB).