{nav icon=home, name=Main Page > icon=info-circle, name=PureOS > icon=list-ul, name=Tips & Tricks > How to format USB thumbdrives, SD cards and External Hard Drives } # How to format USB thumbdrives, SD cards and External Hard Drives in PureOS --- Open the application `Disks` {F420105, width=800, alt=Disks} Then in `Disks`: 1 - Select the correct device to be formatted (USB, SD Card, External HDD), from the left side panel IMPORTANT: Be absolutely sure you selected the device you want to format. You do not want to risk accidentally deleting the wrong drive. 2 - Press the `wheel` button 3 - Select the option `Format partition` {F420109, width=800, alt=Disks} Next: 1 - Write the name you want the device to have 2 - Select the file system the drive will have Some tips on file system options - FAT is the most common for a USB and is recognized in all operating systems (GNU/Linux, Free BSD and others) - NTFS is windows based for external harddrives, but it can be read in Linux - Ext4 is GNU/Linux specific and will not be recognized in other Operating Systems like Windows. 3 - Press `Create` {F420114, width=800, alt=Disks}