Windows XP

• 1). Plug the thumb drive into a USB port, then log on to the computer using an administrator account.
  
  
• 2). Click the "Start" button, then right click the "My Computer" icon and select "Manage." Select "Device Manager" from the new window.
  
  
• 3). Find the thumb drive under the "Disk drives" heading. Right-click it and select "Properties."
  
  
• 4). Open the "Policies" tab. Select "Optimize for performance," then click the "OK" button. Close the Device Manager window.
  
  
• 5). Click the "Start" button, then select "My Computer."
  
  
• 6). Right click the thumb drive icon and select "Format." Select "NTFS" from the "File system" drop-down menu. Click "Start" to format the drive.
  
  

Windows Vista / Windows 7

• 1). Plug the thumb drive into a USB port, then log on to the computer using an administrator account.
  
  
• 2). Click the "Start" button and select the "Control Panel." Double-click "System and Maintenance," then open the "Device Manager."
  
  
• 3). Find the thumb drive under the "Disk drives" heading. Right-click it and select "Properties."
  
  
• 4). Open the "Policies" tab. Select "Optimize for performance" and then click the "OK" button. Close the Device Manager window.
  
  
• 5). Click the "Start" button and select the "Control Panel." Double-click "System and Maintenance" and then open "Computer Management."
  
  
• 6). Select "Disk Management" from the navigation list.
  
  
• 7). Right-click the thumb drive icon and select "Format." Select "NTFS" from the "File system" drop-down menu and then click "Start" to format the drive.