what will happen if i format my thumbdrive?

Question

i would like to format my thumbdrive as i suspect somethings wrong with it. Will formatting help? what benefits does formatting have? and what should i be wary of?

Answer 1

Sometimes Windows will format a thumb drive correctly, sometimes it will completely mess it up. If it fails you can still correct the bad format in Linux with the mkfs command from the command line. Your local Linux Users Group can probably put you in touch with someone who would be happy to help out if this happens. I do not know why Windows ruins thumb drive file systems, I only know it has screwed two of mine so far with the format command. Luckily I found the Linux instructions online and am not scared of the command line. You want to make the new file system FAT16 or FAT 32 for Windows compatibility, if it comes to that.

Answer 2

I formatted mine. No problem. Nothing to be wary of, that I know of, unless your thumb drive came with its own software. I have four thumb drives. One was a cheapie freebie Office Depot gave us in return for a large purchase. Nothing but storage (computer treats it as "removable drive"). Another is a purchased Sandisk - also treated as "removable drive" and this is the one I formatted. I use it by simply copying or moving files to and fro. Finally the last two Sandisks have purchased software on 'em, which I'd *prefer* not to erase, as it makes file diddling alot easier...so I won't format those two. (Earlier this year, through ineptness, I burned out a Cruzer Titanium, grrr...$$$)

Answer 3

You will lose all the data on your thumbdrive if you format it so make a backup copy of your data before you do.

Answer 4

You "suspect somethings wrong with it". Like what? You can either put files on it or not. Not much there to "suspect".

If you format it, you will lose all data on the drive.