How to Format a Flash Drive With a Password

Formatting your flash drive will improve its performance.

USB flash drives are a good way to get information from one computer to another. There will be a time when the USB flash drive will need to be formatted. Formatting your USB flash drive will improve its performance and clear any data from the device. When your USB flash drive is protected with a password, you will need to clear the security check before you are able to format the flash drive to the file format desired.

Instructions

1. Plug the flash drive into your computer. Go to the desktop and right click on the "My Computer" icon.

2. Select the "Properties" option from the small menu. Select the "Device Manager" from the next menu.

3. Right click on the USB flash drive's icon and select the "Properties" tab from the menu. Click on the "Policies" tab and then go down to the "Optimize For Performance" button.

4. Click the button and then click on the "OK" tab at the bottom of the menu screen.

5. Select the format that you want to format your flash drive to from the drop-down menu under the "File System" text. Go down to the bottom of the menu and click on the "Start" tab.

6. Enter the password to the USB flash drive from the prompt that pops up to clear the security protocol.

7. Wait for the computer to format your flash drive.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you format your flash drive, you will clear any documents on the drive.

References

• NTFS: How To Format A Flash Drive