Back up any data on the USB drive
Check the USB drive’s capacity and file system needs (ex: FAT32 for compatibility, exFAT for large files, NTFS for Windows-only)
Insert the USB drive into the computer
Open Disk Management (Windows)
Press Windows key + X
Select Disk Management
Right-click the USB drive (correct size/label)
Select Format
Choose a file system (FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS)
Set Allocation unit size to Default
Set Volume label
Select Quick Format
Click OK
Open Disk Utility (macOS)
Open Disk Utility
Select the USB drive in the sidebar (not just a partition)
Click Erase
Choose a format (MS-DOS (FAT) for FAT32, exFAT, or APFS/Mac OS Extended if needed)
Enter a name
Click Erase
Use Terminal (macOS) optional
List disks: `diskutil list`
Erase drive: `diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 NAME MBR /dev/diskN` (replace FAT32/NAME/diskN as needed)
Format using File Explorer (Windows alternative)
Open File Explorer
Right-click the USB drive
Select Format
Choose file system (FAT32/exFAT/NTFS)
Select Quick Format
Click Start
Finish formatting and safely eject
Windows: Click Safely Remove Hardware, then eject the USB drive
macOS: Eject from Finder or run `diskutil eject /dev/diskN`