5 Easy Ways to Format USB to NTFS Windows 11

What to know

• USB drives generally support FAT32 and NTFS format types. While FAT32 is compatible across more OSes and devices, NTFS is better suited for larger files.
• Format USB to NTFS by right-clicking on the USB drive and selecting Format, then choosing NTFS under 'File system' and Quick format.
• The Diskpart utility in command prompt also lets you easily format your USB drive to NTFS. PowerShell also lets you achieve this using its own commands.
• Disk Management is another native tool to format USB drive to NTFS. Simply right-click on the drive in Disk Management, select Format, and choose 'NTFS' as the File system.
• There are also several third-party apps like Rufus that let you format your USB drive to NTFS in no time.

USB drives are a great way to transfer data easily and efficiently. However, over time your USB drive may degrade in its performance due to bad sectors or leftover data. If you’ve been facing performance issues with your USB drive then formatting it can help you improve the same.

NTFS is the widely supported format type in Windows that can help you transfer larger amounts of data when compared to FAT32. Here are all the ways to format your USB drive to NTFS on Windows 11.

How to format USB to NTFS in 5 easy ways

You can format your USB drive to NTFS using various methods in Windows 11. Pick either of the options mentioned below to help you along with the process.

Note: Formatting your USB drive will permanently delete all data contained on it. We recommend you back up your data before proceeding with either of the guides below.  

Method 1: Using Format in Filer Explorer’s Context Menu

Make sure you have the USB drive plugged in properly.

Video Guide

Step-by-step guide with screenshots

Step 1: Press Windows + E to launch File Explorer. Now, find your USB drive here and then right-click on it.

Step 2: Click Format.

Step 3: Click the drop-down menu for File system and select NTFS.

Step 4: Select and type in a Volume label for your USB drive as needed.

Step 5: Check the box for Quick Format.

Step 6: Click Start.

Step 7: Click OK to confirm your choice.

And that’s it! You will now have formatted your USB drive to NTFS format on Windows 11.

Related: How to Create a Windows 11 Bootable USB Drive

Method 2: Using Diskpart

Video Guide

Step-by-step guide with screenshots

Step 1: Press Windows + R to launch Run.

Step 2: Type in the following and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.

cmd

Step 3: Execute the following command to launch Diskpart.

diskpart

Step 4: Now use the following command to list current drives on your PC.

list disk

Step 5: Find and identify your USB drive in this list. Use the following command to select your USB drive. Replace NUM with the disk number of your USB drive.

sel disk NUM

Step 6: Use the following command to clean your USB drive.

clean

Step 7: Type in the following command and press Enter.

create partition primary

Step 8: Now use the following command to mark your new partition as Active.

active

Step 9: Use the command below to format your cleaned USB drive. Replace NAME with a label you wish to give your USB drive.

format fs ntfs label "NAME" quick

Note: Do not remove quotes (“”) when executing this command.

Step 10: Now use the command below to assign a letter to your USB drive. Replace X with a drive letter of your choice.

assign letter=X

Step 11: Lastly use the command below to close Diskpart.

exit

Step 12: Use the same command to close CMD.

And that’s it! You will now have formatted your USB drive using CMD on Windows 11. 

Related: How to Edit ISO on Windows 11

Method 3: Using Disk Management

Disk Management is an in-built utility in Windows that you can also use to your advantage and format your USB drive to the NTFS format. Use the steps below to help you along with the process.

Video Guide

Step-by-step guide woth screenshots

Step 1: Press Windows + R to launch Run.

Step 2: Type in the following and press Enter.

diskmgmt.msc

Step 3: Scroll the bottom section to find your USB drive in the list. Right-click on it once found.

Step 4: Select Format.

Step 5: Click Yes to confirm your choice.

Step 6: Choose a name for your USB drive beside Volume label.

Step 7: Click the drop-down menu for File system and select NTFS.

Step 8: Check the box for Perform a quick format.

Step 9: Now click OK.

And that’s it! You will now have formatted your USB drive to NTFS format.

Method 4: Using PowerShell

Video Guide

Step-by-step guide with screenshots

Step 1: Press Windows + R to launch Run.

Step 2: Type in the following and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.

powershell

Step 3: Now use the following command to get a list of disks attached to your PC.

get-disk

Step 4: Identify your USB drive from the list and note down its Number from the first column.

Step 5: Once found, use the following command to clean your drive. Replace NUM with the disk number for your USB drive.

clear-disk -number NUM -RemoveData

Step 6: Type in A to confirm your choice.

Step 7: Your USB drive will now be cleared. We can now use the following command to create a new partition for your USB drive. Replace NUM with the disk number for your USB drive and replace LETTER with the letter you wish to assign to your USB drive.

new-partition -disknumber NUM -usemaximumsize -isactive -driveletter LETTER

Step 8: Now that you have a new partition on your USB, we can format the same to USB. Use the command below and replace LETTER with the new drive letter for your USB drive. Similarly, replace USB Label with a name for your USB drive.

format-volume -driveletter LETTER -filesystem ntfs -newfilesystemlabel USB Label

Step 9: Finally, use the following command to close PowerShell.

exit

And that’s it! You will now have formatted your USB drive to NTFS using PowerShell.

Method 5: Using a third-party app

Tons of third-party apps can help you format drives and disks depending on your current needs and requirements. We recommend using Rufus, as it’s free and easy to use and can even help you create bootable USB drives. Follow the guide below to format your USB drive using Rufus.

Video Guide

Step-by-step guide with screenshots

• Rufus | Download Link

Step 1: Download Rufus to your PC using the link above and plug in your USB. Now launch Rufus using the .exe file.

Step 2: Click the drop-down menu for Device and select your USB drive if not already selected.

Step 3: Now click the drop-down menu for Boot selection and select Non bootable.

Step 4: Set a name for your USB drive under Volume label.

Step 5: Click the drop-down menu for File system and select NTFS.

Step 6: Click Show advanced format options and uncheck the box for Quick format.

Step 7: Finally, click START.

Step 8: Click OK to confirm your choice.

And that’s it! You will now have formatted your USB drive using Rufus on Windows 11.

We hope this post helped you easily format your USB to NTFS on Windows 11. If you face any issues or have any more questions, feel free to reach out using the comments below.

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