Forum Discussion
How to format a usb drive when not showing on my computer?
My USB drive isn't appearing in File Explorer on my Windows 10 PC, so I can't format it normally. It's detected in Disk Management as "unknown" or "unallocated," but I'm unsure how to proceed. I need...
To format a USBd rive not showing on a Mac, pleas use the the Disk Utility app instead.
1. Press Cmd + Space, type Disk Utility, and press Enter.
2. Click the View icon in the top-left and select Show All Devices.
3. Find your USB drive in the left sidebar (select the top-level name, not just the volume under it).
4. Click the Erase button at the top.
5. Give it a name.
6. Format: Choose exFAT (works on Mac and PC) or APFS (Mac only).
7. Scheme: Choose GUID Partition Map.
8. Click Erase to confirm.
This will completely erase and format a USB drive on a Mac even it is not shown in the Finder app.