Format a Flash Drive

A flash drive is a small and portable electronic device that saves data using flash memory and connects to other devices via USB (Universal Serial Bus). Formatting your flash drive will delete all of the existing data and provide with a clean drive to store your files on. You can also format a flash drive to change the file storage system to make the drive compatible with other devices and operating systems.

Steps

Windows

  1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer. Plug it into one of the USB port slots. Plug it directly into your computer and not into a hub to increase the speed of the format and file transfer.
  2. Wait for your computer to detect the flash drive. You should see a pop-up bubble in the task bar at the bottom-right of your screen notifying you once your flash drive has been installed successfully and is ready for use.
  3. Open Computer/My Computer/This PC. This window displays all of your connected drives. You can access it from the Start menu, or by pressing the Windows key + E.
    • In Windows 8.1, click the Start button (or press the Windows key), type this pc and press Enter.
  4. Right-click on the flash drive that you have just connected to your computer. It should appear in the list titled "Devices with Removable Storage" as a removable disk with the drive letter that appears latest in the alphabet.
  5. Click on "Format" from the pop-up menu. This will bring up the Format window with the window title indicating which drive you are about to format.
    • Leave the "Capacity" as is. Your computer automatically detects the capacity of your flash drive and fills it in this location.
    • Tick the box next to "Quick Format" if you want to quickly format the drive. You will still have access to all of the free space after formatting, but the original information will not be securely deleted, meaning it could Recover-Deleted-Files-from-Your-Computer.[1]
    • Keep the allocation size as the default allocation size.
  6. Choose the file system that you want your flash drive formatted in. Here are some attributes that you should keep in mind when making this selection:
    • FAT is the most basic system for storing files. This system can be slow at times, but it reduces compatibility issues because of its simplicity. Not many systems and devices use FAT by default anymore.
    • FAT32 maximizes the disk space within your drive. This system is ideal if you want to read and write to the drive on both Windows and Mac OS X systems. This format does not support files larger than 4 GB and drives larger than 32 GB.
    • exFAT allows you to store files larger than 4 GB and can be read and written in Windows and OS X 10.6.5 and later. You may have difficulty getting it to work in older systems and devices.
    • NTFS is a fast system that allows you to access your files quickly. NTFS is most suitable for drives that need to be accessed for operating heavy software. Windows can read and write on NTFS drives, but OS X can only read NTFS, not write.
  7. Start the formatting process. Press Start at the bottom of the Format window after you have finalized your selections. Confirm your action by pressing OK in the pop-up window. All the data on your USB flash drive will be deleted, and the drive will be formatted according to your specifications.

Mac OS X

  1. Connect your flash drive. Depending on whether or not it is formatted already, your drive may appear on the desktop. You can ignore it for the moment.
  2. Open the Utilities folder. Click Go and select "Utilities". If you are using an older version of OS X, click Go and select "Applications", then open the "Utilities" folder.
    • You can also press Shift + Command + U while in Finder to open the Utilities folder.
  3. Open Disk Utility. Disk Utility is a tool in Mac that will let you format a USB drive.
  4. Select the flash drive. You can see a list of your connected drives in the left frame of Disk Utility. Click the flash drive.
  5. Click the "Erase" tab. This will let you set the options for the format process.
  6. Name your USB drive. You can enter a name of your USB drive in the "Name" field. This is optional.
  7. Select your format. Choose a format depending on what you plan on using your flash drive for.
    • Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) is the best format if you only plan on using your flash drive for OS X systems. It will provide the best reading and writing performance on OS X systems. This format is required if you are using your thumb drive for Time Machine.[2]
    • exFAT (FAT64) allows you to store files larger than 4 GB, and can be read and written in Windows and OS X 10.6.5 and later. You may have difficulty getting it to work in older systems and devices.
    • Windows NT File System (NTFS) is a fast system that allows you to access your files quickly. NTFS is most suitable for drives that need to be accessed for operating heavy software. Windows can read and write on NTFS drives, but OS X can only read NTFS, not write.
    • MS-DOS (FAT) is the most basic system for storing files. This system can be slow at times, but it reduces compatibility issues because of its simplicity. Not many systems and devices use FAT by default anymore.
  8. Start the formatting process. Once you have chosen your file system and given the drive a name, click . In the window that appears, click to confirm.
    • Once the formatting is complete, your flash drive is ready to use
    • Formatting your drive will erase any data that is currently on it.


Tips

  • Compare the USB speed of your flash drive with the speed of the USB ports on your computer. You may want to consider getting a faster flash drive or installing high-speed USB ports on your computer to format flash drives or transfer data at faster rates.

Warnings

  • Make sure you select the correct drive letter before starting to format a flash drive. Selecting the wrong drive letter will format the wrong drive causing all of the data on that drive to be deleted.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/formatting-disks-and-drives-frequently-asked-questions
  2. ↑ http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1286387
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