Restore USB Flash Disk Back to Full Capacity
Often malware infects the USB disks in such a way that the capacity
of the USB disks is reduced. For example, a 8GB USB flash key may show
up only as a 500kb USB key in Windows. Even after you remove the malware
or format such a disk, the capacity does not change and you are pretty
much stuck. But thanks to a tiny software called BootIce, you can now
format such a USB disk and restore them back to their original full
capacity.
BootIce is freeware for Windows. The download is in form of an portable EXE file. BootIce is a standalone Windows program so it does not require installation.
Insert the affected USB flash key in your computer and then run the BootIce software by double-clicking on the BootIce.exe.
Because BootIce needs formatting permissions, so you may see the User
Account Control window pop-up in Windows Vista/7. Just give the
administrator permissions and BootIce window would open. If you are
running Windows XP, then you need to log in with an administrator level
account.
Select the destination drive in the BootIce window. Make sure it is the affected USB key that you have inserted. Then click on the Parts Manage button as shown in the picture :
A new window will be opened, showing you the different partitions on
the selected USB drive. Here you can different parameters for different
partitions on the selected USB disk like the drive letter assigned by
Windows and the partition sizes. Click on the button labeled ReFormat USB Disk as shown :
In the Repartition and Format window, select USB-HDD Mode (Single Partition) option from the list of options given. Leave the Partition Alignment to the default (Align to cylinder). Then click on the Next button.
A tiny window showing you to choose the formatting options would
pop-up. You should choose either FAT32 or FAT16 as target file system.
Most of the USB disks originally come with FAT16 formattting, so you may
want to choose FAT16. You can choose any name of your like as the
volume label. Click OK to proceed.
You would be shown a confirmation dialog. Make sure you have backed up all the files from the target USB disk. Then choose OK to proceed for repartitioning and reformatting the selected USB flash disk.
If everything goes right, then you should see a congratulations
message after a few seconds. Now you can check the USB disk capacity in
the Windows Explorer. It should be restrored back to the original full
capacity. It is now ready for your use. You can format it again using
Windows inbuilt formatting function or just start using it right away.
You can download the BootIce software from http://bootice.narod.ru/.
BootIce is freeware for Windows. The download is in form of an portable EXE file. BootIce is a standalone Windows program so it does not require installation.
CAUTION : Formatting and repartitioning your USB
disk would cause all the data on it to be erased. Please backup your
exisiting data on the USB drive before proceeding.
Select the destination drive in the BootIce window. Make sure it is the affected USB key that you have inserted. Then click on the Parts Manage button as shown in the picture :
You can download the BootIce software from http://bootice.narod.ru/.