How can I format a USB “thumb drive” so it will be readable on OS X and Windows?

Question

I have an OS X system. I want to use it to put some files on a USB drive and then be able to loan the drive to Mac and XP and Vista users so they can get the files off it.

I also need to wipe the drive clean first to make sure there's nothing sensitive on it by accident because I'm going to be passing it around.

What the name of the filesystem format I want? What's the procedure?

Command line operations are fine.

Answer 1

You want to format the drive using Fat32, which is most readable. I'm not sure about the Mac procedure, but to format the drive in Windows you right click on it in (My) Computer and select "Format..." Set the file system to Fat32 (it should be the default, but you should make sure). Also make sure that "Quick Format" is UNselected, as it does not erase the data. Then click OK and it will start formatting the drive. It will warn you, but I'm going to reiterate (preiterate?) DO NOT REMOVE THE DRIVE AT THIS TIME. Also be aware that this will remove all the files, though not necessarily securely.

Also, depending on the sensivitity of the information and the people you are afraid might read it, you might want to do further erasing procedures. I know that the Mac allows you to delete files securely. You need to do this BEFORE reformatting the drive, or there will be no files to erase securely.

Answer 2

On leopard, you can use DiskUtility to format a volume as fat32.

1. Insert the usb drive
2. Launch Disk Utility from /Applications/Utilities/
3. Select the drive on the left pane
4. On the right pane, click on the Erase tab
5. Choose Volume Fomat as MS-DOS(FAT)
6. Click Erase