Make Bootable USB Stick Normal Again

Prerequisites

Assuming you’re on Arch Linux, here are the packages you need to install (adjust for your distro: e.g., sudo apt install dosfstools or sudo dnf install dosfstools).

# for using mkfs.vfat command
sudo pacman -S dosfstools

Find the device name

First find the device name. It is often /dev/sdb but can be different—pay close attention to the total size and the model to avoid wiping the wrong disk. Replace /dev/sdb below with your actual device.

For example

sudo fdisk -l

...
Disk /dev/sdb: 57.3 GiB, 61530439680 bytes, 120176640 sectors
Disk model:  SanDisk 3.2Gen1
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x16da8f38

Device     Boot   Start     End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1  *         64 2491103 2491040  1.2G  0 Empty
/dev/sdb2       2491104 3005151  514048  251M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

Or, for a quick overview:

lsblk

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
...
sdb      8:16   1  57.3G  0 disk 
├─sdb1   8:17   1   1.2G  0 part 
└─sdb2   8:18   1   251M  0 part

First one is more clear because device model is given. In my case it is SanDisk 3.2Gen1 which is mounted as /dev/sdb

Wipe everything out including partition table

This is destructive. Double-check the device (/dev/sdX) before running.

sudo wipefs --all /dev/sdb

Create a new partition table

sudo cfdisk /dev/sdb

It opens a TUI interface:

• Select the DOS partition table format (widely supported and works on most systems).
• Create a new primary partition using the default (maximum) size.
• Write the changes and quit.

Format the partition as a FAT32

This formats the new partition as FAT32 and labels partition 1 (the only partition) as A (feel free to pick another label).

sudo mkfs.vfat -n "A" /dev/sdb

Verify

Check that the partition is present and formatted:

lsblk --output NAME,SIZE,TYPE,FSTYPE,MOUNTPOINTS /dev/sdb
# or
file -s /dev/sdb1

Done!