How to Format a USB Flash Drive

Level of difficulty: Intermediate

Typically, a USB flash drive could be bought pre-formatted and set to be used right away. Once it has data inside, you may wish to reformat it to make room for other data. This is accomplished by erasing the old data using the standard functions of the Windows drive. Make sure the data that is going to be erased are data that you no longer need. Otherwise, you would need to create a back up of that data by copying it and storing it elsewhere other than the flash drive. USB flash drives are made up of flash memory data storage devices of the NAND-type and are integrated with the interface USB or Universal Serial Bus. They are commonly rewritable and removable and are smaller than floppy disks. Most of the USB flash drives in the market are light weight and could weigh as little as 30 grams. Their storage capacities normally range from 64 MB up to 128 GB.

Materials Needed:
- USB flash drive
- Computer
- Microsoft Windows
Step 1
Formatting a USB flash drive involves plugging the device into a computer system via USB port that is active. Before continuing the process, make sure that all pertinent data in the flash drive have a backup. To accomplish this, simply open the data in the flash drive and copy it to another location in your computer system such as your documents. You may also opt to create a new folder where said data could be stored besides the flash drive.
Step 2
Having made a backup of the data in your USB flash drive, click on the desktop icon Computer, if your computer is running on Windows XP, or Computer, if your computer is running on the Operating System Windows Vista. This may also be done by clicking on the Start button where the Computer or My Computer could be opened.
Step 3
Locate the USB flash drive from your list of drives in the menu of the Computer or My Computer. The letter of the drive would vary depending on the type of system configuration.
Step 4
Once you have located the USB flash drive, you will have to right click on the drive listing and then select 'Format' from the menu of the pop-up. The dialog box Format Removable Disk should then be displayed.
Step 5
The last part of the procedure includes having to click on 'Start' in the dialog box Format Removable Disk. The Windows Operating System would then complete formatting the USB flash drive and call your attention when the process is finished.


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