Hey everyone! I tried to make a bootable Windows USB stick while using an Arch Linux setup, and I might have really messed up. I ran `wipefs -a /dev/sdb`, thinking it was a harmless step, but now I can't seem to get the USB stick back to normal.
Currently, it looks like /dev/sda has become a whole filesystem (ntfs) with no partitions showing up. When I try to format or resize it or even create a new partition table, everything fails. For example, Gparted is giving me an error about /dev/sdb not existing when I attempt to create an ext4 filesystem. Here's what I see when I check the drive using parted:
```
Model: SanDisk Ultra (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 32.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: loop
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Flags
1 0.00B 32.0GB 32.0GB ntfs
```
I'm starting to think I've bribed my USB drive for good, but maybe there's hope? Anyone have any ideas on how I could salvage it?
4 Answers
Honestly, following instructions from AI can be tricky! If you have access to another PC, I’d recommend using the Windows Media Creation Tool. It's straightforward and does all the formatting for you.
Wipefs shouldn't be able to brick a drive; it just wipes the filesystem data. The fact that both dd and Gparted are struggling to work with it indicates your USB stick might have failed for some other reason. Wipefs probably just pushed it past its breaking point.
I noticed you're confusing /dev/sda and /dev/sdb in your post. Make sure you’re not mixing those up on your actual system, as /dev/sda could be your primary OS drive!
Yeah, I mixed them up in my post. It’s all about /dev/sdb. Thanks for the reminder! No worries, it’s not my main drive.
You might want to check out some beginner tutorials on working with USB drives. If you had followed a proper guide, you would’ve realized which device you're working with. Mixing up device names can easily lead to mistakes. Try using identifiers like `/dev/disk/by-id/` for safer referencing!
That’s solid advice! I’ll be more careful next time. I actually corrected the device confusion in my post.
Thanks for that insight! It’s comforting to know I might not have completely ruined it and I can put it to rest.