Windows 7: How Can I Re-Format A Memory Stick?

I installed and formatted a Maxell 32 GB USB memory stick in my Dell computer which has a Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit operating system. Saved many photos on it, and then removed it. Today I re-inserted it, and the computer wouldn't read it: it advised I must format the stick before it could be used. Knowing full well I was about to wipe the thing clean, I did a "Format" operation, and it is now re-formatted to 1 MB.

Any ideas about how I can restore the thing to 32 GB capacity?

SD Card Formatter should do it. Just used it myself. Download link is on the left side of the page.

For storing data, I would format it to Fat32, not NTFS.

I previously formatted the stick to FAT32.

Downloaded, installed, and ran the SD Card Formatter.

The stick is still set to 1 MB.

Thank you both for trying to help!

Post a picturre of Disk Management where your stick shows. That may help us to better understand what is going on.

The stick memory (officially, I suppose it's a USB flash memory card) is the F Drive on the attached screen shot.

Don't know why that program didn't work. I used it fives minutes before posting about it & it got my stick back to normal.

Anyway see how this goes. You could use the 'clean all' option. That should get it back to new.

Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command

Did you trying going into computer, left clicking the card, hitting format in the pop-up menu, then hitting the 'Restore Device Defaults' button?

Can you make the screenshot such that the stick also shows in the lower pane.

First of all, thanks to all of you for your advice and suggestions.

I believe I have a hardware failure.

In addition to trying to follow your advisories, I have downloaded, installed, and launched tools available online at:

http://download.cnet.com/HP-USB-Disk-Storage-Format-Tool/3000-2094_4-10974082.html and also at:


http://www.flashmemorytoolkit.com/

Although Windows recognizes the drive, the HP tool does not. The flash memory tool kit re-formats it to 1 MB (again).

So I give up, and will return the drive to the retailer, hoping for a credit or exchange.

Again, thanks for trying to help.