InitDisk

While formatting a USB drive can be easily done in Windows, there are dedicated third-party applications that promise to repair problems that might occur and make the USB fully functional, even if they were believed to be broken. Such a tool is InitDisk, a user-friendly application that retrieves information about connected USB drives and allows you to run a fresh FAT format.

Given its functionality, InitDisk requires administrative privileges to run and, if you did not launch it with such rights, then a notification message will be displayed. The application requires no installation, which is quite convenient. It is one of those tiny but handy tools that often come in handy to have around.

You must also keep in mind that no standard user interface is available. In fact, InitDisk runs in a console-like window, a window that comprises all the usage instructions you need to get the task done.

Once initiated, InitDisk prompts you to connect the target USB drive that you wish to erase and reformat. Should the USB stick be already connected to the computer, you should unplug it and wait for Windows to acknowledge its removal, then reconnect it.

InitDisk displays a list of properties of a connected drive for you to see. This also helps you make sure that the drive you are about to format is the correct one, so as to avoid the inconvenience of accidental data loss. You get to see the drive size (a maximum of 2.2 TB is supported), vendor, revision number, volume-related details, and so on.

If the drive is the right one, then using the “NUKE” command will start the formatting process. To ensure maximum compatibility, the application uses an MBR and (12/16/32) partition. Please make sure you create a content backup before formatting.

InitDisk is a simple USB disk formatter, a tool that enables you to erase all the data on a removable USB drive and make sure the storage device is back in its original state. While a standard GUI would probably make it more appealing, the clear instructions in the console window make the lack of a GUI not an impediment in using it.