Resetting a USB stick using Linux (2024)

To uninstall Tails from a USB stick, and use it for something else, you have toreset it.

The content of the USB stick is lost in the operation, but an attackermight still be able to tell that Tails was installed on that USB stick usingdata recovery techniques.

1. Make sure that the USB stick that you want to reset is unplugged.

   See Also

   Fixed: The Last USB Device Malfunctioned Windows 10 Error - MiniTool Partition WizardHow to Format USB Drives in LinuxUSB ports not working well? 7 ways to troubleshoot.[SOLVED] How to Fix a Broken USB Stick and Recover Data

2. Choose Applications▸ Utilities▸ Disks to start theDisks utility.

   A list of all the storage devices on the computer appears in the left paneof the window.

3. Plug in the USB stick that you want to reset.

   A new device appears in the list of storage devices. This new devicecorresponds to the USB stick that you plugged in. Click on it.

4. In the right pane of the window, verify that the device correspondsto the USB stick that you want to reset, its brand, its size, etc.

5. To reset the USB stick, click on the buttonin the title bar and choose Format Diskto erase all the existing partitions on the device.

6. In the Format Disk dialog:

   See Also

   (Solved)How to wipe a USB drive?

   • If you want to overwrite all data on the device, choose Overwriteexisting data with zeroes in the Erase menu.

     Overwriting existing data does not erase all data on flashmemories, such as USB sticks and SSDs (Solid-State Drives).

     See the limitations of file deletion.

   • Choose Compatible with all systems and devices (MBR/DOS) in thePartitioning menu.

7. Click Format.

8. In the confirmation dialog, click Format to confirm.

9. To make sure that all the changes are written to the USB stick, click on thebutton in the title bar.

If Tails is your only Linux system, you can generally reset a Tails USB stickdirectly from that USB stick while running Tails.

1. When starting Tails, add the toram bootoption in the Boot Loader.

   See using the Boot Loader.

2. If Tails starts as usual, follow the instructions for resetting a USB stickusing the Disks utility.

   If the system fails to start, that means that the computer does not haveenough memory for this operation mode. Try with another computer, or findanother Linux system, such as another Tails USB stick, to do the reset from.