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How to Handle a USB Drive That Doesn’t Show Up Properly

If your USB drive is not visible in File Explorer but shows up in Disk Management on Windows, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Check if It’s a Bootable Device

Ask yourself:

  • Was this USB previously used for:
    • Installing an OS (Windows, Linux, Chrome OS)?
    • Recovery or rescue tools?
    • BIOS/UEFI firmware updates?

If yes, then it likely has:

  • Multiple partitions
  • Hidden/protected volumes
  • Non-Windows-compatible file systems (like EXT, SquashFS)

You can confirm in:

  • Disk Management (weird layout, multiple small partitions, some undeletable)
  • Or tools like diskpart or GParted

Step 2: Decide Your Goal

GoalAction
Keep using it as a bootable deviceOverwrite with a new image using tools like Rufus or Etcher (no need to delete partitions first)
Reclaim as regular storageUse diskpart clean to wipe all partitions, then create a new simple volume

Step 3: Wipe If Needed

If your goal is to reuse the USB:

  • Use diskpart and run clean
  • Then use Disk Management to create a new partition

Use diskpart to Clean the USB:

  1. Press Win + R → type cmd → right-click and run as Administrator
  2. Type diskpart → press Enter
  3. Type:
list disk

→ This shows all disks. Find your USB by its size (e.g., 15 GB).

  1. Type:
   select disk 1

(Replace 1 with the number of your USB disk)

  1. Type:
clean

→ This wipes the entire partition table, making the USB fully unallocated.

  1. Then type:
exit

Reinitialize in Disk Management:

  1. Open Disk Management again.
  2. You’ll see the USB as “Unallocated”.
  3. Right-click → New Simple Volume…
  4. Format as exFAT or NTFS → assign drive letter → done.

Rule of Thumb

If a USB has multiple weird-looking partitions or missing drive letters:
Always suspect it was a bootable or recovery device.

From there:

  • Read-only or unremovable partitions? → Use diskpart
  • Just missing drive letter, but one readable partition exists? → Assign letter in Disk Management