How to format a USB drive or SD card on Ubuntu
written by Arun Kumar March 18, 2020
Format USB drive
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Now and then, we need to format our USB flash drives and SD cards for
various reasons. Some of these include changing the file system (NTFS, FAT,
FAT32, etc.), deleting all current data, or remove a virus or malware
present in the drive.

In this post, we are going to look at how you can format your USB drive or
the SD card on the Ubuntu operating system. Most of these methods will also
work with other Debian based operating systems like Kali Linux, elementary
OS, Zorin OS, Parrot, Tails, Debian, and many more.

Ubuntu OS enables users to format their drives in several ways. For this
article, we will look at both graphical ways and command-line tools.
Format a USB drive using Graphical tools

Some of the graphical disk management tools that we will use include
Gparted, the Disks utility, and File manager.
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1. Using the Disks utility

Disks utility is the default disk management tool for all Ubuntu systems. It
is pre-installed and thus comes at the top of the list. With a clean and
straightforward user interface, this tool is easy to use even for beginners
getting started with Linux distributions.
Disks Utility

Disks Utility

This tool comes bundled with amazing features like Drive formatting, Edit
partition, Edit file system, Repair file system, create and restore
partition image, and many more. Let’s focus on the formatting feature.
Disks Utility Features

Disks Utility Features

Step 1) Plug the USB drive into your PC. Ensure it is working and listed on
the file manager.
USB drive listed in file manager

USB drive listed in the file manager

Step 2) Launch Disks utility from the applications menu.
Launch Disks from application menu

Launch Disks from the application menu

Step 3) Select the USB drive you want to format. For this post, we will work
with an 8 GB USB drive.
Select the USB drive to format

Select the USB drive to Format

Step 4) Click on the Settings button and select the Format option.
Format

Format

This action will open a window with several options to choose before
formatting your USB drive. You will need to enter the Volume name, which
will become the new label for your USB. Select whether to Erase all data in
the USB drive. This process is efficient if you don’t want anybody running
data recovery tools on the USB; however, it will take longer. Lastly, you
will need to select the file system to use ion the drive (NTFS, EXT4, FAT,
or Other).
Set options on the USB drive

Set options on the USB drive

Step 5). Once done, click on the Next button present on the top-right corner
of the window. A window will open listing your selected drive and giving you
a warning that all data will be lost. If you are contented with the
information contained, click Format.
Format the USB drive

Format the USB drive

The process of formatting the USB drive will begin. Time-taken will matter
on the options set, the processing speed of your PC, and the general write
speed of your USB drive. Once done, you should be able to see it listed on
the files manager.
2. Using File Manager

Formatting a USB drive using the file manager is the easiest method. This
method makes use of the Disks utility that we discussed above, but you
don’t have to go the long process of launching the Disk utility. Instead,
we use the right-click context menu.

Step 1) Plug your USB drive into the PC.
Step 2) Open the file manager window and check that it is listed as shown
below.
USB drive listed in file manager

USB drive listed in the file manager

Step 3). Right-click on the USB-drive and choose the format option.
Format

Format

Set the Volume name and select the file system of choice. Once done, click
on the format option.
Set options on the USB drive

Set options on the USB drive.

When the process is completed successfully, you should be able to see your
USB drive listed on the file manager with the new volume name.
3. Using GParted

Gparted is an open-source disk management tool for the Linux system.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t come pre-installed in Ubuntu. Use the command
below to install GParted for your Ubuntu OS via Terminal.

sudo apt-get install gparted

Once the app is installed, launch it from the applications menu.
launch gparted Applications menu

launch Gparted Applications menu

Since it requires root privileges to run, a window will pop-up prompting you
to enter the root password. The GParted window will open, and it will start
loading your disks. Note, while using GParted, you will not be able to
access unmounted drives and partitions.
Gparted Window

Gparted Window

Gparted comes with quite an intuitive user interface with a lot more
functionalities compared to the Disks utility. Additionally, if you are
working with a dead hard drive, you can download the ISO file, create a
bootable USB drive and use it to boot your PC or laptop and work on the hard
-drive.

Let’s look at the step by step procedure of formatting a USB drive with
GParted.

Step 1). Select the drive you are working on, from the top-right corner. You
can see the image below.
Select the USB drive to format

Select the USB drive to Format

Step 2). If the USB drive were already mounted, the format option would be
grayed. Therefore, we need to unmount it. Right-click on the USB drive and
select the Unmount option.
Unmount USB drive

Unmount USB drive

Step 3). Once the drive is unmounted, we can now start the formatting
process—right-Click on the USB-drive and select, “Format to” option.
You will also need to choose the file system you want to use on the drive.

This action will be added as a pending operation. You can add as many
operations as you like.
Pending Operations

Pending Operations

Step 4). To complete the formatting process, you need to click the “Apply
all operations” button. It’s a green tick icon at the top of the Gparted
window.
Apply all Operations

Apply all Operations

Step 5). A window will pop-up, warning you that the operation will lead to
complete loss of data on the USB drive. Click the Apply button to continue
or Cancel to stop the process.
Click Apply to Continue Formatting.

Click Apply to Continue Formatting.

The formatting process will start. A progress window will load, displaying
the general progress.
Formatting Progress Gparted

Formatting Progress Gparted

Step 6). Once the operation is complete, a window will open to notify you.
Click the close button.
Format process complete

Format process complete

Your USB drive is formatted! Close the Gparted window, and you should now
see your USB-drive listed on the file manager.
Format a USB drive using the Command-line (Terminal)

Other than the use of Graphical tools, Ubuntu enables users to format drives
using one of its most potent utilities – Terminal. The method is
recommended for users with a good experience working with Linux commands.

Step 1) Insert your USB drive and Launch the Terminal.

Step 2) Identify the drive you want to format by running any of these
commands.

sudo df -h

df command

df command

sudo fdisk -l

The Fdisk command

The Fdisk command

Note, you should be very careful here; otherwise, you will end up formatting
the wrong drive. For this post, we will work with dev/sdb1.

Step 3). If the USB drive is mounted, we will need to unmount it. Execute
the following commands.

sudo umount 
e.g., 
sudo umount dev/sdb1

Step 4). Now give a command to format the drive. It will differ depending on
the file system you want to use. Execute any of the commands below, keeping
a focus on the different file systems.

sudo mkfs.vfat /dev/sdb1
sudo mkfs.ntfs /dev/sdb1
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1

When the process is complete, your drive should be formatted to your desired
file system. You should be able to access it from the file manager.
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Conclusion

That’s all about the best methods of formatting the USB drive and SD cards
on your Ubuntu PC by GUI, as well as the command-line methods. Most of these
methods should also work with other Debian based operating systems.

Is there any other method you use which we have not listed here? Feel free
to let our readers know in the comment section. If you find this article
useful, don’t forget to share the link with friends.