How to Increase the Storage Space on USB Drives
- 1). Click on "Start," then "Control Panel", then select "Category" in the "View by" drop-down box located in the upper right-hand corner of the control panel screen.
- 2). Click on "Appearance and Personalization," then "Show hidden files and folders" under the "Folder Options" section. The folder options screen now appears.
- 3). Click on "Show hidden files, folders, or drives" in the Advanced settings box, then uncheck the checkbox labeled "Hide extensions for known file types" and "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)." Click on "OK" then "Apply" to finish.
- 4). Insert your USB flash drive into a USB slot in your computer. A screen showing the contents of your USB flash drive will now appear. You will now be able to view icons and files that were not previously visible. Select the files and delete them. If you are unsure of a file's purpose, type the name of the file in a search engine to find out what it is. Delete the all hidden files you don't want.
- 5). Click on "Start," then "Computer," then right click on the USB flash drive and select "Properties" to see how much space you freed.
