How to format a USB drive for Startup disk?

Question

I want to make a bootable live USB from Ubuntu 14.04. When I insert a free USB, Startup Disk Creator says Capacity: 7.5GB; Free 0.0GB.

This is a free and working USB, as I can copy file on it. I tried to format it several times with GParted and Disk, but still the same result.

When I hit Erase in Startup Disc Creator, it gives the following error:

org.freedesktop.DBus.Python.gi._glib.GError: Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/dbus/service.py", line 707, in _message_cb
    retval = candidate_method(self, *args, **keywords)
  File "/usr/share/usb-creator/usb-creator-helper", line 239, in Format
    block.call_format_sync('dos', GLib.Variant('a{sv}', {'erase': GLib.Variant('s', '')}), None)
gi._glib.GError: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.UDisks2.Error.Failed: Error synchronizing after initial wipe: Timed out waiting for object

How can I safely format and create a live USB?

format it first in Disks to FAT. Then Startup Disk Creator should be ok. — doug, Jun 30 '14 at 12:58
The same problem is solved [here][1]. [1]: http://askubuntu.com/questions/477049/startup-disk-creator-shows-no-free-space-on-my-usb-stick/502019#502019 — radinho, Jul 24 '14 at 12:00
Amazing this is the error message for using the wrong file system type. WTF? — James T Snell, Nov 11 '14 at 18:27
I managed to do it with Gparted http://askubuntu.com/questions/22381/how-to-format-a-usb-flash-drive. — umpirsky, Dec 05 '14 at 12:19

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 30 '14 at 12:23

The error "Failed: Error synchronizing after initial wipe: Timed out waiting for object" comes up with a bug report at ubuntu launchpad see - https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/usb-creator/+bug/1307627. Try using another usb just to eliminate a hardware fault.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 30 '14 at 14:14

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If you have windows/Mac, format it to FAT/NTFS partition and try again. Obviously there should be some other Linux solution, but this is the quickest ;)

answered Jun 30 '14 at 14:14

mac

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The better answer is to use gparted to format the drive to FAT32. – user21627 Dec 18 '14 at 01:39

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 22 '14 at 13:48

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I had the same error. in my case, I discovered I had mapped some days before another device (my phone) as /dev/sdb in /etc/fstab file, for automounting. I removed the entry, restarted, and then I can use the startup disk utility as expected.

answered Dec 22 '14 at 13:48

cesarpachon

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How to format a USB drive for Startup disk?

3 Answers3