Re: how2 format a flash drive

["Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net>]

Hi,

Lee wrote:
> My question is: how do I reformat the flash drive so it's usable as a
> "normal" flash drive again?

You have to delete the partitions of the USB stick which came with
the ISO.
Then you create one or more partitions.
Then you format them to a writable filesystem each.

If it shall serve for file exchange with MS-Windows or Macs, then you
probably want just one partition with FAT as filesystem.

I would do the first and second step by program "fdisk" and the third
step by program "mkfs.fat".
If you prefer a GUI program, look for GParted or what your desktop
offers for the tasks of partitioning and filesystem formatting.

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In hindsight it would of course have been advisable to make a copy
of the USB stick to an image file before putting the netinst ISO onto it.
Assuming that the USB stick is /dev/sdc and you home directory offers
enough space for the size of the USB stick this would have been something
like:

  dd if=/dev/sdc bs=1M of="$HOME"/usb_stick.img

Later you would put it back onto the USB stick the same way as you did
with the netinst ISO image.


Have a nice day :)

Thomas