How to Format and Partition a USB Jumpdrive

Typical USB drive

Is your USB drive all cluttered up, full of commercial garbage that was installed from the factory and you want to wipe it off and start over clean? I tried using the format selection in windows with no success. I found a utility from HP that does the trick for my jump drive and will probably fix yours.

Things You'll Need

• USB jumpdrive
• Windows PC with USB port
• Internet Connection to download a file

Instructions

1. First you will need to download the USB drive software from HP. I have put a link to the software in resources.

2. Install the program by clicking on the file you just downloaded.
   HPUSBF.EXE

3. 

   Plug your USB key into the USB port on the front or rear of your computor.

4. To format the USB key with the HP USB Key ROMPAQ Setup Utility follow the steps outlined in the Readme.txt file located in the directory selected during the install wizard.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a very large USB drive then split it into two partitions to help keep track of your information easier.

• If your USB drive is also a stand alone mp3 player then there will software on it to play the mp3's, erasing it may disable the mp3 player feature.

Resources

• HP USB Formatting Tool Download