How to format a USB flash drive

How to format a USB flash drive? At least once in a lifetime every computer user asked himself this question. It is better to do this, transforming it into a special file system, which is briefly called NTFS (written in Latin letters). But often the computer operating system is configured so initially that the formatting of various flash drives occurs only in FAT32 and FAT systems, which creates a problem.

What to choose - FAT or NTFS?

A lot of experts all over the world say that the NTFS system is much better suited for working with a flash drive and preserving its durability than a similar system - FAT32. Therefore, if you need a USB flash drive, format it better in a universal NTFS system.

How to completely format a USB flash drive ?. We study the process itself.

Before formatting the USB flash drive to NTFS format, be sure to remember that after the formatting process, all the data on it will be deleted. Therefore, all your dear videos, photos and other important documents copy to another medium, or even better - to the hard drive of your PC or laptop.

And now let's look at the whole process, how to format a USB flash drive:

1. Find on the taskbar (for those who do not know what it is, explain - it's at the bottom left of the screen). Now you need to press the "start" button, after - "setup", then - "control panel" and "system";
2. After the done actions, you will see the "system properties" window. You need to go into it and open a separate tab "equipment", after - "device manager";
3. Now open the "disk devices" and you will see the name of your own flash drive. If the name you forgot or do not know at all, then look in the window "my computer" - it will necessarily display your flash drive and its name);
4. Double-click, open the USB flash drive, and you will see all its properties.
5. Now you need to open the "policy" tab and set a special "optimize for execution" switch. Now press "ok";
6. Close the "device manager" and "system properties" and think about how to format the USB flash drive;
7. Now open "my computer" and right click on the icon flash drive;
8. A list appears, from which we need to select the "format" action, and in the "Format" dialog select the option - NTFS;
9. Format the flash drive in NTFS-format.
10. And, finally, we need to switch the USB flash drive to the next mode, which is called "optimize for quick removal". How to do it? Perform all the actions listed above, from the first to the fifth inclusive, then in the "policy" tab (located in the fifth paragraph) put the "optimize for quick removal" switch and click "ok".

The flash drive after these actions is formatted in the NTFS format.

Another way of how to format a USB flash drive:

1. Click the "start" button, then "execute ...";
2. Enter the following characters and letters of the Latin alphabet in the line without errors : \ WINDOWS \ system32 \ convert.exe and click "OK";
3. After the system invites you to continue working, write carefully - C: \ Documents and Settings \ Administrator \ enter convert \ fs: ntfs \ nosecurity \ x;
4. To designate a "flash drive letter", write the one indicated in "my computer" next to the sign of your flash drive - for example, convert h;
5. On the keyboard, press the " enter " key;
6. Close the task window.

So you learned how to format a USB flash drive. The main thing is to remember that all the data stored on the flash drive can be lost, so do not forget to rewrite important information - be it your photos, reports, diplomas, etc., on your computer's hard drive.

But there are flash drives that can not be cleaned out so quickly. How to format a protected USB flash drive? This is done with the help of the following programs - alcor-m, jet-flare ricover and ashpi usb-drive storage format (all written in English letters). These programs can be downloaded from the worldwide network. Having dealt with the settings similar to the above, you will necessarily format your flash drive.