Step 3: Click on the File System drop-down and select one of the file system formats: Step 2: From the right pane, right-click on the USB drive you want to format and select Format from the contextual menu that opens. Step 1: Press the Windows + E keys to open File Explorer and click on This PC on the left column. Follow the steps below to format your USB drive using File Explorer: However, the File Explorer needs to detect your USB drive first to format it. The File Explorer offers a quick and direct way to format USB drives on your Windows 11 PC. We’ve compiled the top ways to format a USB drive on your Windows 11 PC. There are multiple ways to format a USB drive on your computer. However, sometimes you may need to format your USB drive to eliminate malware lurking on it, fix corrupted partitions or select a compatible file system that allows your USB drive to work across Windows and macOS.

Formatting a USB drive might seem easy as you can click the delete button to erase all the files the USB drive might store.

Windows 11 thumb drive