In certain scenarios, you might need to thoroughly erase a USB flash drive to repurpose it. So, how do you reset a USB drive on Windows 10/11? It's not a complicated process, and there are four methods you can use for this task. Now, let's take a look at them.

USB flash drives are standard storage devices used to transfer files between computers, and some people prefer to store files on them for portability. There are times when you need to clear all data from your USB drive because it's full or you no longer require those files. Alternatively, you might want to restore the USB drive to its initial state or hand it over to someone else. A complete erasure can ensure that data remains unrecoverable and prevents potential data breaches.

So, how do you reset a USB drive on Windows 11/10? You can accomplish this in four different ways—wiping the USB drive using MiniTool System Booster or MiniTool Partition Wizard, formatting the USB without enabling quick format, and executing the Diskpart command. Now, let's proceed to the next sections to explore these methods.

How to Reset a USB Drive on Windows 11/10

When discussing "how to clear a USB flash drive," wiping is often considered a reliable and secure option since it ensures that all data is completely erased, and no data recovery software can retrieve it. MiniTool provides two tools to assist with this: MiniTool System Booster and MiniTool Partition Wizard. Let's examine them individually.

Using MiniTool System Booster

System Booster, a professional PC optimization tool, accelerates your computer through deep cleaning, app removal, disabling startup items/background processes, and more. Additionally, it allows you to recover deleted files, permanently delete files, and wipe drives. Overall, MiniTool System Booster is a comprehensive Windows optimization tool.

If you wish to wipe a USB drive, download this utility via the link provided and install it on your Windows 11/10 computer for testing.

Here's how to wipe a flash drive:

Step 1: Connect your USB drive to your PC and launch MiniTool System Booster to access its Performance tab.

Step 2: From the drop-down menu, select Toolbox and click on Drive Scrubber.

Step 3: Navigate to Drive to wipe, select your USB drive, and choose a wipe method. Then, tap on WIPE SELECTED DRIVE.

Step 4: Confirm the operation and start clearing your USB flash drive through wiping.

Using MiniTool Partition Wizard

As a free partition manager, MiniTool Partition Wizard enables you to perform basic partition tasks such as formatting/deleting/splitting/extending/shrinking/creating/wiping/resizing partitions, conducting surface tests, converting data disks to MBR/GPT, and performing disk benchmarks.

When considering "how to clear a USB drive on Windows 11/10," you can opt for this tool. To erase a USB drive, obtain MiniTool Partition Wizard and utilize its wipe feature.

Step 1: Launch this partition tool to access its main interface.

Step 2: Right-click on the USB drive and select Wipe Disk.

Step 3: Choose a wiping method and click OK > Apply.

How to Format a USB Drive (Full Format)

Some users may wonder if formatting a USB drive clears it entirely. Indeed, formatting removes all content from your USB drive. Typically, you would opt for a quick format, but data recovery software can easily retrieve formatted data. To completely erase all data on the flash drive, perform a full format.

Step 1: Open File Explorer in Windows 11/10, right-click on the USB drive, and select Format.

Step 2: In the pop-up window, choose the file system and adjust other settings, then uncheck the box for Quick Format and click Start.

How to Thoroughly Clear a USB Drive via DiskPart

When researching "how to clean a USB drive," some users consider using the clean command with the DiskPart tool alongside wiping and formatting USB. Next, let's see how to erase a USB drive using this command-line utility in Windows 11/10.

Step 1: Press Win R to open Run, type cmd, and press Ctrl Shift Enter. Click Yes in the UAC window to open Command Prompt with administrative privileges.

Step 2: Execute the following commands one by one and press Enter after each:

diskpart

list disk

select disk n: n refers to the disk number of your USB drive

clean all

Final Thoughts

How to clear a USB drive? After reading this article, you now know four common methods to achieve this. In the sections on how to wipe a flash drive, how to format USB, and how to clean a USB drive, detailed steps are provided. Follow them to get started. Hopefully, these flash drive cleaners will be helpful to you.

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