The "Windows was unable to complete the format" error message can occur when you try to format a USB drive, memory card, or other storage device in Windows. This error message can be caused by a number of different issues, including write protection, bad sectors on the storage device, or a damaged file system. Here are some steps you can take to fix this error:
Check for write protection: Some USB drives and memory cards have a physical switch that can lock them in a read-only mode, which can prevent formatting. Make sure this switch is in the unlocked position. If your device does not have a physical switch, check the properties of the device in Windows Explorer to see if it is write-protected. If so, disable the write protection.
Use disk management: Open Disk Management by right-clicking on the Windows start menu and selecting "Disk Management" from the context menu. In Disk Management, right-click on the storage device that you want to format and select "Format". Follow the prompts to complete the format.
Use Command Prompt: Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type "diskpart" and press Enter. Then type "list disk" and press Enter to display all disks connected to your computer. Identify the disk number of the storage device that you want to format, then type "select disk x" (where "x" is the disk number) and press Enter. Next, type "clean" and press Enter, then type "create partition primary" and press Enter. Finally, type "format fs=ntfs quick" (or "format fs=fat32 quick" for a different file system) and press Enter. This should format the storage device.
Use third-party software: If the above methods do not work, you can try using third-party formatting software such as EaseUS Partition Master or HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. These tools may be able to format the storage device even if Windows cannot.
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