💻 How to Format a Pen Drive/FLASH DISK/SD CARD/MEMORY CARD Using Command Prompt – Simple CMD Steps (2025 Guide)

 

Ever plugged in your USB flash drive and it just refuses to open, shows errors, or you simply want to wipe it clean? Don't worry—there's a simple, techy-but-cool way to format your pen drive using Command Prompt (CMD).

In this quick guide, I’ll show you the exact steps, even if you’re not a computer genius. No software needed – just CMD!

---

✅ When Should You Use CMD to Format a USB?

CMD is powerful and comes in handy when:

• USB shows errors like “Please insert a disk…”

• You can’t format from File Explorer

• You want to fix corrupted drives

• You want to show off 😎 (kidding... kinda)

---

🛠️ What You’ll Need:

• A working Windows PC (Windows 7, 10, 11 – all work fine)

• Your USB flash drive (plugged in)

• A bit of patience (only 5 minutes!)

---

🔧 Step-by-Step: Format USB via CMD

🟢 Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator

1. Click Start

2. Search for "cmd"

3. Right-click on it and select Run as administrator

💡 Always open CMD as admin when dealing with drives.

---

🟠 Step 2: Launch Diskpart

Type the following command and hit Enter:

bash
diskpart

It will load a new interface inside CMD where you can manage disks.

---

🔵 Step 3: List All Disks

Now type:

bash
list disk

This will show all the drives connected to your PC.

⚠️ Identify your USB by size (e.g., Disk 1, 8GB or 16GB)

---

🟣 Step 4: Select Your USB Drive

Type the command below (replace 1 with your disk number):

bash
select disk 1

CMD will confirm:
Disk 1 is now the selected disk.

---

🔴 Step 5: Clean the Drive

This erases everything. Type:

bash
clean

Wait a few seconds until it says:
DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk

---

🟤 Step 6: Create New Partition

Type:

bash
create partition primary

Then:

bash
select partition 1

And:

bash
active

---

🟠 Step 7: Format the USB

To format to FAT32 (recommended for most USBs):

bash
format fs=fat32 quick

Or for NTFS:

bash
format fs=ntfs quick

Wait for the formatting to finish. It usually takes a few seconds.

---

🟢 Step 8: Assign Drive Letter

Last step:

bash
assign

You’ll see something like:
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter

Boom 💥! Your USB is now formatted and ready to use.

---

🙋‍♂️ Final Thoughts

Using CMD might look geeky, but it’s super powerful. This method helps when normal formatting just doesn’t work. So next time your flash drive acts up, don’t panic—open CMD and take control.

If this guide helped you, feel free to drop a comment or share with a friend. Stay smart and keep learning! 🧠💻