Clean and reuse USB(Solved)

[BoDill]

I am posting here in hopes of quickly getting a simple answer to my question (I tried asking “format a USB stick” and got 119 pages of answers, “reuse old USB” got 44 pages).

For you who don’t remember me, I am 75 years old and have virtually no memory. Sometime over the years I tried Linux and since then, abandoned Windows. I have a few computers in different parts of my home, and intend to get another used computer soon.

I have an old 8GB USB stick that I used years ago to load something onto a computer. I assume that I'll have to remove the old stuff before I can reuse it.

So, is my 8GB USB stick enough to download Mint 20.2 “UMA”?

How do I clean it? (Or reformat it, or whatever the proper term is). I found instructions on a website that told me to open Terminal and enter “sudo fdisk /dev/sdu” (or something very close to that?), which didn’t work at all.

If there is a place for someone like me to get the information about cleaning my USB stick, that would be greatly appreciated. If the information is among “119 pages”, perhaps you could tell me what page to explore?

If I am to use something like the “Terminal”, is there something I must do to be sure that I am formatting my USB stick and not my hard drive?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

BoDill

[motoryzen]

So, is my 8GB USB stick enough to download Mint 20.2 “UMA”?

Yes...plenty..I think even a 4GB usb thumb drive is big enough

How do I clean it? (Or reformat it, or whatever the proper term is). I found instructions on a website that told me to open Terminal and enter “sudo fdisk /dev/sdu” (or something very close to that?), which didn’t work at all.

I've always used "Usb Stick Formatter" found in a Cinnamon menu simple search or used either Disks ( aka Gnome-disks) gui application ..OR gparted depending on if it tried to give me crap about formatting it. One of those always worked in the end.

Just remember to pay close attention to which drive you're doing the formatting on be it terminal OR a gui application

When in doubt, don't be afraid to click that X to close that window or back space or back arrow button ( whichever is most applicable) to not go forward. Better to delay than to nuke precious data on the wrong drive. I've been there. Not pretty.

I found this to be reasonably simple to understand yet covers two gui methods and the terminal method ( at least the only one I've found that seems reasonable and simple enough to better ensure you don't nuke the wrong drive by accident)

https://phoenixnap.com/kb/linux-format-usb

[RIH]

You can do it through a terminal but there is also a GUI for idiots like me as well..

Enter your USB into the computer & open up Nemo File Manager.
On the left hand screen you should see your USB drive listed under devices..

usb.png (33.96 KiB) Viewed 2281 times

Right mouse click on the USB & select Format from the drop down menu

usb 1.png (10.04 KiB) Viewed 2281 times

A pop up box will appear.

You can adjust the Format type from the default of FAT32 by using the drop down arrow- I think that NTFS is probably best for your 8GB USB
You can also alter the default Volume Label to something more suitable for your uses.
Press Format & it is quickly done..

[rene]

... but note that you don't in fact need to format it if you're immediately going to overwrite it again anyway with a Mint .iso. I.e, you can use USB Image Writer immediately (which is also installed by default on Mint).

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Another vote for USB Stick Formatter. It's always worked for me and is easy to use (a huge plus for this flatulent geriatric).

Edit: BTW, if you are wanting to put a new ISO on it, just use USB Image Writer without bothering to format it first.

[RollyShed]

It appears you want to burn a new .iso to an already used USB stick?

I did it a couple of days ago. The stick already had an old mint .iso on it BUT.

I simply burnt the .iso I wanted on to the stick, no questions. It then worked as I wanted it to, no wiping of the stick first.

Been there, done that.

[rickNS]

As already mentioned you don't need to reformat the stick if you intend to use it for a "boot stick" again.

If. in the future you do want to use it for regular "storage" you will then need to reformat it, and also remove the boot flag, then you can use Gparted or cfdisk.

[RollyShed]

If you want to burn a new iso all you need to use is USB Image Writer.

A far simpler method is -

Right click on the .iso file and the menu should have (third down?) "Make bootable USB stick"

Couldn't be simpler.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

If you want to burn a new iso all you need to use is USB Image Writer.

A far simpler method is -

Right click on the .iso file and the menu should have (third down?) "Make bootable USB stick"

Couldn't be simpler.

Sonuvagun, you're right. Learn something new everyday.

[RollyShed]

Sonuvagun, you're right. Learn something new everyday.

I think I read it on this forum so this is a "the forum at work" thing. Us grey haired passing on to other grey haired?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Sonuvagun, you're right. Learn something new everyday.

I think I read it on this forum so this is a "the forum at work" thing. Us grey haired passing on to other grey haired?

I do NOT have grey hair. I work hard to hide it!

[mikeflan]

I guess your Avatar was taken a while ago, because you have gray hair there

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I guess your Avatar was taken a while ago, because you have gray hair there

Darn, you weren't supposed to look at that.

[BoDill]

To All,

Since I posted this two days ago, I have not tried any of the proposed solutions yet, for reasons too complicated to explain (I own my own business, etc. etc).

I just wanted you all to know that I fully appreciate your time and support, and when I DO get to fixing my situation, I will post anything of value that I learn, and try to put it in the simplest terms for the benefit of others who, like myself, are not computer literate.

As usual, thank you for your time and attention......

BoDill

[BoDill]

To All,

The computer to which I was going to use a stick to load Mint 20.2 is back at the shop where I bought it. It turned out to be a VERY flawed machine. Among other things, the battery was down to "8%" and would not take a recharge. It took it back to the dealer who I bought it from, and he apologized and promised me a different and better computer.

If and when this gets straightened out, I still plan to put Mint 20.2 on a stick for this upcoming computer and others. Again, I will let you know what I learn...

BoDill

[BrandNewUser]

If you want to burn a new iso all you need to use is USB Image Writer.

A far simpler method is -

Right click on the .iso file and the menu should have (third down?) "Make bootable USB stick"

Couldn't be simpler.

It's so simple.

[BoDill]

To All,

I have not added to this post since September 23 because the computer in question is not yet available. This is a small town with only a couple of people who service computers, and only one who will supply me with a used one. I expect him to take awhile, so I am OK with the delays, but I don't want you to think that I have forgotten about this post.

As I said before, anything that I learn from this, I intend to report here in terms that a novice like myself can understand.

Thank you for your time, help, and patience.

BoDill

[BoDill]

To All,

First, thank you!!

Below is a link to a website that explains how to clean and reuse a USB stick.

https://phoenixnap.com/kb/linux-format-usb

Since I am not at all good with computer stuff, I highly recommend this site for someone like me. It gives step by step instructions in clear language.

I hope this helps someone like me.......

BoDill

[Moem]

That's great that you found a helpful set of instructions.
Now I'm just wondering whether you missed all the folks on this thread telling you that you don't actually need to clean the USB stick in any way, if you're going to use it for installing Mint (or any other OS)?
It's helpful to know how to format a USB stick*. But in this case, no such action is needed.


* This is my method:
1) Open file manager
2) Insert USB stick in computer
3) See the USB stick show up in the file manager
4) Rightclick it
5) Choose 'Format'

[BoDill]

To Moem,

I am embarrassed to tell you this, but I haven't figured out how "Open file manager" yet. This something that I have looked for before, and have not found a simple answer. I have found a few things that indicated that they were a "file manager", but I could not figure out how to make them work, at least not with a USB stick.

Is there a tutorial or something?

Thank you in advance....
BoDill