TestDisk: Flash Drive="CHS and LBA don't match" [SOLVED]
*e2fs commands like tune2fs, mke2fs and dumpe2fs are only working for ext2-4 formatted partitions.
Since you already changed that in fdisk or formatted in gparted to some fat* , *e2fs progs won't work somehow. Probably there would come a multicall binary one day, like kmod or busybox managing most filesystems, probably when WindowsOS start to use a new filesystem, giving fat and ntfs to open source.
Since you already changed that in fdisk or formatted in gparted to some fat* , *e2fs progs won't work somehow. Probably there would come a multicall binary one day, like kmod or busybox managing most filesystems, probably when WindowsOS start to use a new filesystem, giving fat and ntfs to open source.
The drive partitioning->formatting seems to be corrupted in some way such that it is either:
1. Not recognized as one or the other...
Because it's neither completely one or the other.
Or...
2. Both sets of formatting are seen and are conflicting.
It's all beyond my understanding.
I tried using a program->command that would work with EXT3...
And then used a prog->command that works with FAT32...
And neither succeeded.
1. Not recognized as one or the other...
Because it's neither completely one or the other.
Or...
2. Both sets of formatting are seen and are conflicting.
It's all beyond my understanding.
I tried using a program->command that would work with EXT3...
And then used a prog->command that works with FAT32...
And neither succeeded.
Rabid Stick
Hi Sylvander,
Could you please humour me & try my suggestion.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 544#689544
p.s. I sent you a PM as you had marked the thread as solved but then continued to post.
Could you please humour me & try my suggestion.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 544#689544
p.s. I sent you a PM as you had marked the thread as solved but then continued to post.
Regards ETP
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[url=http://tinyurl.com/kennels2/]Kennels[/url]
[url=http://tinyurl.com/pxzq8o9][img]https://s17.postimg.cc/tl19y14y7/You_Tube_signature80px.png[/img][/url]
[url=http://tinyurl.com/kennels2/]Kennels[/url]
Typing from FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP...
[All I have that resembles an XP OS]
Previously:
1. Downloaded [within Slacko-5.3.3.1] the files:
16Meg5493.img
win32diskmanager-v0.7-binary.zip
To a folder in my FAT32 partition sda2->[now E: in MiniXP].
Unzipped the zip file, and got all of the enclosed files, including the Win32DiskImager.exe file.
2. Rebooted using the FalconFour's UBCD, chose the MiniXP OS.
3. Once in there, used Windows Explorer to navigate to the Win32DiskImager.exe file, right-clicked it and chose to Open.
The following warning was displayed:
File Error:
...while querying the properties.
This usually means something is currently accessing the device; please close all applications and try again.
Error 1: Incorrect function.
Clicked OK, and the warning window closed, and the program window was properly displayed.
4. Used the navigation icon to choose the image img file.
The full path and file name was correctly displayed in the window.
I clicked the WRITE button to write data in image file to device.
Got warning asking if I was sure.
Told it to proceed.
5. Got 2nd warning:
Write error:
...when attempting to write data [img file] to handle.
Error 19: The media is write protected.
6. What now?
[All I have that resembles an XP OS]
Previously:
1. Downloaded [within Slacko-5.3.3.1] the files:
16Meg5493.img
win32diskmanager-v0.7-binary.zip
To a folder in my FAT32 partition sda2->[now E: in MiniXP].
Unzipped the zip file, and got all of the enclosed files, including the Win32DiskImager.exe file.
2. Rebooted using the FalconFour's UBCD, chose the MiniXP OS.
3. Once in there, used Windows Explorer to navigate to the Win32DiskImager.exe file, right-clicked it and chose to Open.
The following warning was displayed:
File Error:
...while querying the properties.
This usually means something is currently accessing the device; please close all applications and try again.
Error 1: Incorrect function.
Clicked OK, and the warning window closed, and the program window was properly displayed.
4. Used the navigation icon to choose the image img file.
The full path and file name was correctly displayed in the window.
I clicked the WRITE button to write data in image file to device.
Got warning asking if I was sure.
Told it to proceed.
5. Got 2nd warning:
Write error:
...when attempting to write data [img file] to handle.
Error 19: The media is write protected.
6. What now?
Rabid Stick
Hi Sylvander,
Any Windows OS should suffice but the imager does need to be run from the hard drive.
Note what step2 requires:
[quote]1. Delete all partitions on your target device.
2. Unplug any sticks or cards other than your target device.
3. In XP use Win32diskimager to write the image to the target.
Stop after writing the image (step 3) and attempt to boot from it on your own PC.
If it boots to a menu stop the countdown then select “power off
Any Windows OS should suffice but the imager does need to be run from the hard drive.
Note what step2 requires:
[quote]1. Delete all partitions on your target device.
2. Unplug any sticks or cards other than your target device.
3. In XP use Win32diskimager to write the image to the target.
Stop after writing the image (step 3) and attempt to boot from it on your own PC.
If it boots to a menu stop the countdown then select “power off
Regards ETP
[url=http://tinyurl.com/pxzq8o9][img]https://s17.postimg.cc/tl19y14y7/You_Tube_signature80px.png[/img][/url]
[url=http://tinyurl.com/kennels2/]Kennels[/url]
[url=http://tinyurl.com/pxzq8o9][img]https://s17.postimg.cc/tl19y14y7/You_Tube_signature80px.png[/img][/url]
[url=http://tinyurl.com/kennels2/]Kennels[/url]
So, the drive was partitioned and formatted with ext3 fs. Then the drive was reformatted as FAT -no mention about the partition type. Later drive was unmountable.
Let me say again:
1. Let the drive be unmounted before you start(I know it is unmountable at the moment)
2. If the drive is not partitioned or has the wrong partition type, then run fdisk or cfdisk and cretae the partition with type '83' for normal linux filesystems.
3. format the drive using mke2fs or mkfs.ext2:
mke2fs -F 32 /dev/sd(drive and partition number)
Now, it should be mountable. In the case of the OP, the current situation seems to be that number 1 and number 2 are already done. Please try number 3 again (if it was even done before) and then see if the drive is still unmountable.
Let me say again:
1. Let the drive be unmounted before you start(I know it is unmountable at the moment)
2. If the drive is not partitioned or has the wrong partition type, then run fdisk or cfdisk and cretae the partition with type '83' for normal linux filesystems.
3. format the drive using mke2fs or mkfs.ext2:
mke2fs -F 32 /dev/sd(drive and partition number)
Now, it should be mountable. In the case of the OP, the current situation seems to be that number 1 and number 2 are already done. Please try number 3 again (if it was even done before) and then see if the drive is still unmountable.
Did the above [correctly?], and got this:
I'd tried step 2 again, and the partition type was Linux/83 in fdisk.
Then I wrote the changes, then tried step 3.
Code: Select all
# mke2fs -F 32 /dev/sdb1
mke2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
mke2fs: invalid blocks count '/dev/sdb1' on device '32'
#
Then I wrote the changes, then tried step 3.
Here's what I get:
Is this good?
Code: Select all
# mkfs.ext2 /dev/sdb1
mke2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
61568 inodes, 246272 blocks
12313 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=255852544
8 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
7696 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
32768, 98304, 163840, 229376
Writing inode tables: done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done
This filesystem will be automatically checked every 34 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first. Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.
#
Looks OK.
Now run
OR
in case e2fsck counts blocksizes of 1KiB while other e2fs-tools might count 4096Byte blocks .
Now run
Code: Select all
e2fsck -b 32768 -v -f -c /dev/sdb1
Code: Select all
e2fsck -b $((32768*4)) -v -f -c /dev/sdb1
1. 9:00 a.m.= Running the 1st command at present.
There is a HUUUUGE long list of problems detected on various inodes [7358 to 7558 at present].
I'm agreeing to fix each of them.
Been at it for 15 min so far.
Will keep clicking Y if my fingers hold out, and report back if/when the series completes all fixes.
2. 9:26 a.m.= Now at this stage:
Notice I improperly hit Y twice before e2fsck [yye2fsck], but it appears it caused no problem.
Will continue...
3. 9:41a.m.=looks like it's just repeating the previous stage.
Finishes with this:
3. 9:41a.m.=looks like it's just repeating the previous stage.
4. Second command gives this:
There is a HUUUUGE long list of problems detected on various inodes [7358 to 7558 at present].
I'm agreeing to fix each of them.
Been at it for 15 min so far.
Will keep clicking Y if my fingers hold out, and report back if/when the series completes all fixes.
2. 9:26 a.m.= Now at this stage:
Code: Select all
*** journal has been re-created - filesystem is now ext3 again ***
Restarting e2fsck from the beginning...
yye2fsck: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks...
Superblock has an invalid journal (inode 8).
Clear<y>? yes
*** ext3 journal has been deleted - filesystem is now ext2 only ***
Resize inode not valid. Recreate<y>? yes
badblocks: Input/output error during ext2fs_sync_device
Checking for bad blocks (read-only test): done
/dev/sdb1: Updating bad block inode.
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Journal inode is not in use, but contains data. Clear<y>? yes
Inode 7217 is in use, but has dtime set. Fix<y>?
Will continue...
3. 9:41a.m.=looks like it's just repeating the previous stage.
Finishes with this:
Code: Select all
Recreate journal<y>? yes
Creating journal (4096 blocks): Done.
*** journal has been re-created - filesystem is now ext3 again ***
Restarting e2fsck from the beginning...
e2fsck: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/sdb1
The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2
filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
e2fsck: io manager magic bad!
#
4. Second command gives this:
Code: Select all
# e2fsck -b $((32768*4)) -v -f -c /dev/sdb1
e2fsck 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
e2fsck: Invalid argument while trying to open /dev/sdb1
The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2
filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
#
Seems that the Verbatim brand flash drive just decided to retire because of Osteoporosis .
You can of course, if being tired to hit y all the time, use the -p or -y option for fsck. Or the -n option first for getting an overview.
The second $((BLOCK*4)) might be helpful for the mount-FULL command then :
You can of course, if being tired to hit y all the time, use the -p or -y option for fsck. Or the -n option first for getting an overview.
The second $((BLOCK*4)) might be helpful for the mount-FULL command then :
Code: Select all
mkdir -p /mnt/sdb1
mount-FULL -t ext2 -o sb=$((32768*4)) /dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1
Hi Sylvander,
if none of your recent experiments have produced a mountable filesystem on your flash drive, I have found one other thing that you might try.
First, just to verify that nothing has changed, try this one last time:
If you still get the familiar:
showing that your partition is still type b (W95 FAT32), then your attempt on Wednesday to change it to type 83 (Linux) did not succeed, even though you did your best to write it to the drive. This means that your partition table is still unwritable, and no miraculous recovery has happened since we first established that it was unwritable at the beginning of last week.
(On the other hand, if by some miracle the partition type has changed, please report that, and ignore the remainder of this post.)
The write error that you got when you tried Win32DiskImager.exe is a further indication that the drive doesn't want to be written to.
So, I did some searching and found that some manufacturers provide utilities to fix a drive that is no longer writable. Unfortunately, I could not find such a utility on the Verbatim web site.
But I found an interesting post by someone who used a utility provided by another manufacturer to fix a Verbatim 1GB drive:
The URL given by 'Guest' seems to be no longer valid, but I did track down what looks to be possibly a newer version of the same utility at this URL:
http://ap.apacer.com/support/download/r ... ,0,/page/4
Clicking the symbol in the Download column will download a .zip file with this name: Repair_v2.9.1.1.zip
Note that this is not a Linux utility, it's for certain versions of Windows. I have no idea if it will work with "FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP", which is apparently the closest thing you have to Windows. But it might.
Before you decide whether or not you want to try this utility, you should consider these three things:
1. I have had no experience with this utility, nor do I have a Verbatim drive (or even an Apacer drive) to test it on. All we know is that one person posted an answer to a question at fixya.com and claimed that the utility fixed a "Verbatim store 'n' go 1 GB" flash drive. That is a hopeful sign, but certainly no guarantee that it will work for you.
2. Apacer offers this utility for Apacer drives, not Verbatim drives. While it is very possible that the design of the Verbatim drive is similar to the design of the Apacer drive, and that the utility will work properly with a Verbatim drive, as reported by 'Guest', running a utility on a piece of hardware that the utility was not designed for is generally not a good idea, as it might even cause damage. While we hope that we can believe 'Guest', running this utility is something that should probably be done only when all other options have been exhausted, just in case 'Guest' is wrong, and the utility would damage your drive. (Of course, as it is now your drive is unusable, so unless you can find an official Verbatim utility there is probably nothing else you can do to fix this, so any further damage would not leave you any worse off than you are now.)
3. As I've said before, it is quite possible that your drive has physically died. In that case using the utility will obviously not help. (On the bright side, if it has died, using the utility wouldn't hurt, either. )
Anyway, this is something to try when you reach the end of your rope, and are on the verge of tossing the drive out of the window. (I probably would have reached that point long ago. You have more patience than I.)
And, despite all I said above about why this utility might not work, I still think that it might be your best bet. Unless you want to spend time on what might be a futile search for an official Verbatim utility, I can think of nothing else to try.
If it was my drive, I'd try mounting it one more time just to be sure none of your recent experiments helped. Then I'd try the utility.
But I can certainly understand if you choose not to.
Good luck.
if none of your recent experiments have produced a mountable filesystem on your flash drive, I have found one other thing that you might try.
First, just to verify that nothing has changed, try this one last time:
Code: Select all
fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Code: Select all
Disk /dev/sdb: 1010 MB, 1010826752 bytes
196 heads, 9 sectors/track, 1119 cylinders, total 1974271 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0009dcf9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 2048 1972223 985088 b W95 FAT32
(On the other hand, if by some miracle the partition type has changed, please report that, and ignore the remainder of this post.)
The write error that you got when you tried Win32DiskImager.exe is a further indication that the drive doesn't want to be written to.
So, I did some searching and found that some manufacturers provide utilities to fix a drive that is no longer writable. Unfortunately, I could not find such a utility on the Verbatim web site.
But I found an interesting post by someone who used a utility provided by another manufacturer to fix a Verbatim 1GB drive:
On that same page (http://www.fixya.com/support/t259854-tu ... rbatim_4gb) other people reported success with that utility, although they don't say if they had Verbatim drives.On 2008-May-11, at fixya.com, 'Guest' wrote:I solved write protection on my Verbatim store 'n' go 1 GB by this program "HT203 Handy Steno 2.0 Repair Tool" which format FLASH DISK from http://emea.apacer.com/en/support/downloads.asp . I know its different manufacturer but its working.
The URL given by 'Guest' seems to be no longer valid, but I did track down what looks to be possibly a newer version of the same utility at this URL:
http://ap.apacer.com/support/download/r ... ,0,/page/4
(If it no longer appears on that page (page 4), look on the other pages, or try a search from http://ap.apacer.com/support/download/.)Utility HT203 8 2.0 Repair Tool English WinME/2000/XP/Vista 139.72kb 2008/03/14
Clicking the symbol in the Download column will download a .zip file with this name: Repair_v2.9.1.1.zip
Note that this is not a Linux utility, it's for certain versions of Windows. I have no idea if it will work with "FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP", which is apparently the closest thing you have to Windows. But it might.
Before you decide whether or not you want to try this utility, you should consider these three things:
1. I have had no experience with this utility, nor do I have a Verbatim drive (or even an Apacer drive) to test it on. All we know is that one person posted an answer to a question at fixya.com and claimed that the utility fixed a "Verbatim store 'n' go 1 GB" flash drive. That is a hopeful sign, but certainly no guarantee that it will work for you.
2. Apacer offers this utility for Apacer drives, not Verbatim drives. While it is very possible that the design of the Verbatim drive is similar to the design of the Apacer drive, and that the utility will work properly with a Verbatim drive, as reported by 'Guest', running a utility on a piece of hardware that the utility was not designed for is generally not a good idea, as it might even cause damage. While we hope that we can believe 'Guest', running this utility is something that should probably be done only when all other options have been exhausted, just in case 'Guest' is wrong, and the utility would damage your drive. (Of course, as it is now your drive is unusable, so unless you can find an official Verbatim utility there is probably nothing else you can do to fix this, so any further damage would not leave you any worse off than you are now.)
3. As I've said before, it is quite possible that your drive has physically died. In that case using the utility will obviously not help. (On the bright side, if it has died, using the utility wouldn't hurt, either. )
Anyway, this is something to try when you reach the end of your rope, and are on the verge of tossing the drive out of the window. (I probably would have reached that point long ago. You have more patience than I.)
And, despite all I said above about why this utility might not work, I still think that it might be your best bet. Unless you want to spend time on what might be a futile search for an official Verbatim utility, I can think of nothing else to try.
If it was my drive, I'd try mounting it one more time just to be sure none of your recent experiments helped. Then I'd try the utility.
But I can certainly understand if you choose not to.
Good luck.
npierce:
1. "partition is still type b (W95 FAT32)"
It is indeed still so.
I'm going to try running the [portable?] program [exe file] in "FalconFours UBCD->MiniXP", and report back on the result.
I have it downloaded [to a folder in a FAT32 partition=sda2 on my internal HDD], and exe extracted.
Wish me luck.
Karl Godt:
2. I'd have tried [and will try] your suggestion if/when I understand what it means, and what to actually do.
I was hoping to leave it to mature in my confused thoughts.
Any chance of more detailed explanation/instructions?
npierce:
3. Posting this from FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP.
a. Used Windows Explorer to navigate to the portable program exe file, right-clicked and clicked Open.
Result = The program reports: USB Flash disk not found.
1. "partition is still type b (W95 FAT32)"
It is indeed still so.
I'm going to try running the [portable?] program [exe file] in "FalconFours UBCD->MiniXP", and report back on the result.
I have it downloaded [to a folder in a FAT32 partition=sda2 on my internal HDD], and exe extracted.
Wish me luck.
Karl Godt:
2. I'd have tried [and will try] your suggestion if/when I understand what it means, and what to actually do.
I was hoping to leave it to mature in my confused thoughts.
Any chance of more detailed explanation/instructions?
npierce:
3. Posting this from FalconFour's UBCD->MiniXP.
a. Used Windows Explorer to navigate to the portable program exe file, right-clicked and clicked Open.
Result = The program reports: USB Flash disk not found.
For fat there is
bash-3.00#
dosfsck: invalid option -- -
usage: dosfsck [-aAflrtvVwy] [-d path -d ...] [-u path -u ...]
device
-a automatically repair the file system
-A toggle Atari file system format
-d path drop that file
-f salvage unused chains to files
-l list path names
-n no-op, check non-interactively without changing
-r interactively repair the file system
-t test for bad clusters
-u path try to undelete that (non-directory) file
-v verbose mode
-V perform a verification pass
-w write changes to disk immediately
-y same as -a, for compat with other *fsck
I had used RoxFiler to move .iso s from a fat flash drive today on an USB1 hub and Rox went after a lot of moves into zombie mode and i did a hard poweroff. Rox actually uses /bin/mv to move files and /bin/mv first copies and then deletes the source file. I was able to use Rox to mv the remaining .iso but mv failed to remove the source. I was able to mount on Target and Source.
Then i ran
because it had been to much in interactive mode. After that I was not able to mount the damaged .iso s on the fat flash drive
And I get thirsty ... Could you spend a virtual beer ?
bash-3.00#
Code: Select all
dosfsck --help
usage: dosfsck [-aAflrtvVwy] [-d path -d ...] [-u path -u ...]
device
-a automatically repair the file system
-A toggle Atari file system format
-d path drop that file
-f salvage unused chains to files
-l list path names
-n no-op, check non-interactively without changing
-r interactively repair the file system
-t test for bad clusters
-u path try to undelete that (non-directory) file
-v verbose mode
-V perform a verification pass
-w write changes to disk immediately
-y same as -a, for compat with other *fsck
I had used RoxFiler to move .iso s from a fat flash drive today on an USB1 hub and Rox went after a lot of moves into zombie mode and i did a hard poweroff. Rox actually uses /bin/mv to move files and /bin/mv first copies and then deletes the source file. I was able to use Rox to mv the remaining .iso but mv failed to remove the source. I was able to mount on Target and Source.
Then i ran
Code: Select all
fsck.msdos -a -f -l -v -V /dev/sdd1 >>fsck_msdos.txt 2>&1
And I get thirsty ... Could you spend a virtual beer ?
Not sure what to do.
Tried this:
Tried this:
Code: Select all
# fsck.msdos -a /dev/sdb1
dosfsck 3.0.11, 24 Dec 2010, FAT32, LFN
Logical sector size is zero.
#
That's unfortunate.Sylvander wrote:Result = The program reports: USB Flash disk not found.
Not having a flash drive like yours, I can't try this, so I'm not sure what, if anything, you can do to get the program to find your drive.
Before you ran the program, did Windows Explorer recognise that the drive was plugged in?
I'm assuming that the "USB Flash disk not found" message appears immediately, before the program does anything useful. Is that correct?
A search finds that some people who have used this program say that it succeeds even when it indicates it has failed. One person even reported that it worked after getting the "USB not found" message:
(Both at: http://www.fixya.com/support/t248942-re ... lash_drive)Emooooo 84 Jun 08, 2011
. . . i have got this msg ( USB not found ) . i tried to format it from Win Xp it's worked
alcomp Jul 28, 2008
. . . Be careful to have only the flash drive you need to repair connected to your computer, as the software has no controls, and doesn’t even allow you to choose which drive you want to format - seems like it assumes the first removable drive available is the one you want to format. If the format "fails" then quit the tool , then try format in Winxp best of luck
Although it seems very unlikely that it would fix anything if it reported that it couldn't find the USB drive, it wouldn't hurt to now try formatting it in your MiniXP (a complete format, not a quick format), just in case that person was right.
Does the error message appear in a pop-up, and will the program continue if you close the pop-up?
npierce:
1. "efore you ran the program, did Windows Explorer recognise that the drive was plugged in?"
Yes; it was seen as drive d: in Windows Explorer, but it could not be opened or formatted from there.
Now checked again in MiniXP; still cannot.
2. "I'm assuming that the "USB Flash disk not found" message appears immediately, before the program does anything useful. Is that correct?"
Correct.
Checked again; still so.
3. "A search finds that some people who have used this program say that it succeeds even when it indicates it has failed. One person even reported that it worked after getting the "USB not found" message:"
OK, I'll try to use the Windows thingywhat [checked its name; it's Disk Management] to format the "device".
When attempted, the drive/partition appears to format, but the action finishes by reporting...format did not complete successfully [unable to type quotes in here].
4. "a complete format, not a quick format"
Understood.
Repeated, and didn't tick the quick format box.
5. "Does the error message appear in a pop-up, and will the program continue if you close the pop-up?"
a. Yes, it appears in a pop-up.
b. I don't think it allows any further action, just hitting OK closes the program methinks.
I'll check and report back.
Checked this; the only action available is the OK button, which closes the pop-up and the program.
1. "efore you ran the program, did Windows Explorer recognise that the drive was plugged in?"
Yes; it was seen as drive d: in Windows Explorer, but it could not be opened or formatted from there.
Now checked again in MiniXP; still cannot.
2. "I'm assuming that the "USB Flash disk not found" message appears immediately, before the program does anything useful. Is that correct?"
Correct.
Checked again; still so.
3. "A search finds that some people who have used this program say that it succeeds even when it indicates it has failed. One person even reported that it worked after getting the "USB not found" message:"
OK, I'll try to use the Windows thingywhat [checked its name; it's Disk Management] to format the "device".
When attempted, the drive/partition appears to format, but the action finishes by reporting...format did not complete successfully [unable to type quotes in here].
4. "a complete format, not a quick format"
Understood.
Repeated, and didn't tick the quick format box.
5. "Does the error message appear in a pop-up, and will the program continue if you close the pop-up?"
a. Yes, it appears in a pop-up.
b. I don't think it allows any further action, just hitting OK closes the program methinks.
I'll check and report back.
Checked this; the only action available is the OK button, which closes the pop-up and the program.