Interrupted USB Erase

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Level 1

4 points

Interrupted USB Erase

I interrupted a 7-pass erasure of a USB drive after deciding I didn't need it to be that thorough. Now the USB is "not readable by this computer." The "Initialize" option just brings up the DiskUtility program, but the USB drive does not appear there, although its storage capacity (256GB) is recognized by the USB drive reader.

Pls tell me how to fix this, using detailed directions as opposed to "do this or that thing which means nothing to me". Without paying for anything.

I am on an "Early 2015" MacBook Air. It is updated to the latest OS version (Monterey 12.4)

MacBook Air

Posted on May 28, 2022 8:46 PM

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Answer 1

May 29, 2022 6:20 AM in response to rogueKlyntar

Open Disk Utility from Finder, make sure to set it to display all devices:

Then select the drive itself (not anything below that), assuming appears, then select erase and choose you desired format and partition scheme.

If the drive still does not appear in Disk Utility, then you may have likely damaged the drive and require specialized software to recover it.

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Answer 2

rogueKlyntar Author

Level 1

4 points

May 29, 2022 4:16 PM in response to woodmeister50

"select the drive itself (not anything below that)"

This is what it shows:

Prior to this problem, it showed a subsection of "USB Disk 3..0 Media" designating the USB drive; this subsection is what I was reformatting. Now it only recognizes that there is a 256GB drive inserted (the 248.07GB), but does nothing else.

Specialized software such as...?

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Answer 3

rogueKlyntar Author

Level 1

4 points

May 30, 2022 4:19 PM in response to woodmeister50

For the "USB Disk 3.0 Media"? I wasn't sure if you meant to erase that or if you thought the subsection was still appearing. I wanted to be sure that erasing the former won't screw up the USB port itself first.

To be clear, you are saying to Erase the "USB Disk 3.0 Media" that shows in the screenshot I posted, correct?

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Answer 4

rogueKlyntar Author

Level 1

4 points

May 30, 2022 6:54 PM in response to rogueKlyntar

For the "USB Disk 3.0 Media"? I wasn't sure if you meant to erase that or if you thought the subsection was still appearing. I wanted to be sure that erasing the former won't screw up the USB port itself first.

To be clear, you are saying to Erase the "USB Disk 3.0 Media" that shows in the screenshot I posted, correct?

EDIT: If so, what do I choose for the "Scheme": Master Boot Record" or "GUID Partition Map" or "Apple Partition Map"? I will format it to ExFAT; being 256GB, how long should it take on the fastest process? Will this affect the USB's lifespan significantly?

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Answer 5

May 31, 2022 5:12 AM in response to rogueKlyntar

rogueKlyntar wrote:.... If so, what do I choose for the "Scheme": Master Boot Record" or "GUID Partition Map" or "Apple Partition Map"? I will format it to ExFAT; being 256GB, how long should it take on the fastest process? Will this affect the USB's lifespan significantly?

How you format depends on the intended use. If t be used only with Macs, he best would be GUID and macOS extended,

If it is to be used with both Macs and Windows, Master Boot Record and exFAT would be fine.

None of this will affect the life span at all. The "basic" erase that you will do will only reset the partition tables and the directory tables, like the "Quick Erase" on PCs.

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Answer 6

rogueKlyntar Author

Level 1

4 points

May 31, 2022 4:34 PM in response to woodmeister50

Ok, thank you.

lol that took no time at all. I was expecting hours.

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Answer 7

May 30, 2022 5:06 AM in response to rogueKlyntar

Did you select "Erase" as requested?

What was the result?

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Interrupted USB Erase

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