How to format a usb drive when not showing on my computer?

Go and check if the USB is damaged or broken. If not, then you can follow the suggestions in this post to format a USB drive safely.

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.

How to format a USB drive? The "Reinstall Driver as Disk" hack in Device Manager is a clever trick that allows you to treat a USB drive or other storage device as a CD/DVD drive, which can sometimes help in troubleshooting or formatting issues. Here’s how it works and how it can assist in formatting a USB drive:

How to to format a USB drive on PC:

1. Open Device Manager:
   Right-click on This PC or My Computer and select Manage.
   Click on Device Manager.
2. Locate your USB device:
   Expand Disk drives.
   Find your USB device in the list.
3. Uninstall the device driver:
   Right-click on your USB device.
   Select Uninstall device.
   Check Delete the driver software for this device if prompted, then click Uninstall.
4. Reinstall the driver as a disk:
   Disconnect the USB drive.
   Reboot your PC.
   Reconnect the USB drive.
   Windows should automatically detect and reinstall the driver.
5. If it doesn’t, you can manually update the driver:
   Right-click the device > Update driver > Search automatically for updated driver software.

Using a Linux Live USB to format a USB drive on a Windows PC is a practical and effective method, especially if you want to avoid using Windows-specific tools. Here’s how it works and why it’s a good option:

Why Use a Linux Live USB?

Independence from Windows: Linux tools like GParted or Disks are powerful, reliable, and run independently of Windows.
Thorough Formatting a USB drive: Linux can perform low-level and high-level formatting, partitioning, and even secure wipes.
No Installation Required: You can run Linux directly from a USB stick without installing anything on your Windows system.
Compatibility: Linux supports a wide range of file systems, including NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ext4, etc.

Benefits of using a Linux Live USB:

It’s free and open-source.

Provides powerful disk management tools.

Works independently of Windows, avoiding driver or system issues.

Can be used for other disk-related tasks as well.

Using GParted Live is a great free option for formatting a USB drive, especially if Windows tools aren't working properly. GParted is a powerful open-source partition editor that runs from a bootable USB or CD, allowing you to manage disks outside of Windows.

Here's how to format a USB drive by GParted Live:

1. Download GParted Live

2. Create a Bootable USB with GParted Live

3. Boot from the GParted USB
Restart your PC.
Enter BIOS/UEFI settings (usually by pressing F2, Del, or similar during startup).
Set the boot order to prioritize the USB drive.
Save and exit; your PC will boot into GParted Live.

4. Use GParted to format a USB drive
Once GParted loads:
Select your USB drive from the drop-down menu (be very careful to choose the correct disk).
Right-click on the existing partition(s) and choose Unmount if needed.
Delete all partitions to create unallocated space.
Right-click on the unallocated space and select New.
Choose your desired file system (FAT32 or exFAT are common for USB drives).
Click Add, then apply all operations (click the green checkmark).

5. Exit and reboot
After formatting, shut down GParted.
Remove the bootable USB.
Restart your PC normally.

You can also do this with the DiiskGenius. Formatting a USB drive with DiiskGenius is a reliable way to fix drives that standard Windows tools cannot handle, such as those with corrupted file systems or sizes larger than 32GB that need to be FAT32. Before starting, ensure your USB drive is connected to your computer and that you have backed up any critical files, as this process will permanently erase all data on the device.

To begin, launch this USB disk formatting tool and locate your USB drive in the list of disks on the left-hand sidebar. Once you have identified the correct drive, right-click on the specific partition you want to format and select the "Format Current Partition" option from the context menu. Alternatively, you can select the drive and click the "Format" button located on the top toolbar.

A dialog box will appear where you can customize your formatting settings. Here, you can select your desired file system, such as FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS, from the drop-down menu. You also have the option to give the drive a new name by filling in the Volume Label field or to enable advanced features like disk compression for NTFS drives.

Once your settings are configured, click the "Format" button to format USB drive on Windows 11/10 PC. A warning message will appear to confirm that the operation will destroy all existing data; click "Yes" to proceed. The software will then quickly format the drive and assign it a working file system, making it accessible in File Explorer again.

When a USB drive does not show up in your standard file explorer, it is often due to a corrupted partition table or a lack of an assigned drive letter. In these cases, the DiskPart command-line utility in Windows provides a more powerful way to "clean" the drive of all its current data and configuration, allowing you to build a fresh, working partition from scratch.

How to format a USB drive with diskpart

Press the Windows Key, type cmd, right-click on "Command Prompt," and select Run as administrator.

Launch DiskPart: Type diskpart and press Enter. The prompt will change to DISKPART>.

Identify Your USB Drive: Type list disk and press Enter. This displays all connected drives.

Look for the disk number that matches your USB’s storage size (e.g., Disk 1 or Disk 2).

Select the USB: Type select disk X (replace X with your USB’s number, e.g., select disk 2) and press Enter.

Wipe the Drive:  Type clean and press Enter. This removes all existing partitions and hidden formatting information.

Create a New Partition: Type create partition primary and press Enter.

Format the Partition:  Type format fs=fat32 quick (use fs=ntfs if the drive is larger than 32GB) and press Enter.

Assign a Drive Letter: Type assign and press Enter. This gives the drive a letter (like E: or G:) so it finally appears in File Explorer.

Exit: Type exit and press Enter twice to close DiskPart and the Command Prompt.

Using DiskPart is a  deep clean  method to format a USB drive that resets a USB drive to its factory-new state. By using the clean command, you bypass standard file system errors that prevent the drive from being recognized, and by manually assigning a letter, you force Windows to display the drive in your list of devices.

To free format your USB drive that isn't showing in File Explorer but appears in Disk Management as "unknown" or "unallocated," you can follow these steps. Since you want to free format a USB drive and understand that formatting will erase data, here's how to do it safely:

How to format a USB drive via Disk Management:

1. Open Disk Management:
Press Windows + X and select Disk Management.

2. Locate your USB drive:
Find your USB drive in the list. It will likely be labeled as "Disk 1" or similar, with a black bar indicating unallocated space.

3. Create a new partition:
If the drive shows as Unallocated, right-click on the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.
Click Next in the New Simple Volume Wizard.
Assign a drive letter if needed, then click Next.
Choose the file system (usually NTFS or exFAT for USB drives), set the Default allocation size, and check Perform a quick format.
Click Finish.

4. If the drive shows as "unknown" or "not initialized":
Right-click on the disk label (e.g., "Disk 1") and select Initialize Disk.
Choose GPT or MBR partition style (MBR is common for USB drives).
After initialization, follow the steps above to create a new simple volume.