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I have a USB flash drive which has Linux installed on it. Now what I do is insert it into my computer and boot it inside an VM. Works great.

The only problem is, that Windows always asks me to format the drive, because it can (obviously) make no sense of it.

How do I stop these popups telling me to format my drive?

Note that the answers on similar questions concerning VeraCrypt didn't work for me (I can't change the drive-letter because it is grayed out. When clicking on the disk at the bottom view, it just tells me that the view hasn't been updated and that I should reopen Disk Management or reboot my Computer. I did both 3 times.)

I also tried disabling AutoPlay (Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\AutoPlay) by unchecking "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices" and by specifically selecting "Take no action" for "Removable drives". Second attempt was to disable this using the registry also didn't work.

I say Reinstate Monica
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redxef
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2 Answers2

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There is suppose to be a way that works with Win10 by editing the registry where the Volume Identifiers are stored. A full description can be found here.

As a temporary workaround (or a final one if you don't get anything else to work) you can use a workaround though Authotkey. You can setup a script that immediately closes the format window after it comes up. Here is a description how to do it.

Concerning deleting the drive letter: I didn't try it, but you can also remove a drive letter using diskpart, did you try that option running diskpart with administrator privileges?

Another option would be to disable the autorun through the registry (so all types of autoruns are disables), here's an explanation how. But I'm not sure if this will effect the formatting dialogue.

Albin
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Regarding the option below being grayed out, make sure you are selecting the correct drive (F:) I had accidentally selected the incorrect one and the option was grayed out for me.

While the USB is plugged in, run Computer Management (compmgmt.msc) and unassign the drive letter from that disk.

  • Right click → Change Drive Letters and Paths...

  • Select F: and hit Remove

A warning will come up:

enter image description here

Click Yes.

Welz
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