GoKawiilKnowing how to format a storage drive is a crucial bit of knowledge for any computer user. It's a common misconception that formatting is only for wiping a drive that's full of files you no longer need. Whether you find a drive that's simply not compatible with your operating system, or have the displeasure of encountering corrupted data, formatting sets your storage device back to a like-new state and wipes the slate clean.
Formatting a drive doesn't just mean wiping it clean of stored data. It also means overwriting sectors so previously stored data cannot be recovered, setting the file system up anew, and scanning for bad sectors. It's always a good idea to format a USB drive before reusing it, even if you've deleted all the files previously stored on it. Formatting will wipe out any latent ghost files, clear out any hidden malware (you never know!) and optimize the drive for stability.
But what many people don't know is that you should also format a brand new drive before using it. USB drives of all kinds come from the factory with configurations that support broad compatibility but may not match your specific needs. Flash drives in particular, from brands like SanDisk, Kingston and so on, tend to come configured with an older file storage format called FAT32, which has broad compatibility but cannot handle files larger than a few gigabytes.
Whatever your reason for formatting, it can seem daunting until you get the hang of it. So, here's how to format a USB drive on Windows, and how to know which settings to choose when doing so.