My Digital Keychain Won't Format

A digital keychain is, for all practical purposes, a micro-hard drive with an embedded LCD screen. Dirt or other contaminants can get into the micro-USB port on the keychain and inhibit the flow of data from it to the computer, causing the built-in formatting command to fail. The port can be repaired using a few common supplies found around the home. The digital keychain will not be damaged in any way by the repair work that is performed on it.

• 1

  Insert the tip of the cotton swab in the distilled alcohol. Insert the moistened end of the swab in the micro-USB port on the digital keychain. Twirl the swab between your fingers. Remove the swab and dispose of it in the trash.

• 2

  Insert the micro-USB plug of the mciro-USB cable into the digital keychain's micro-USB port. Remove and reinsert the plug two times.

• 3

  Plug the other end of the micro-USB cable into the USB port of the computer. Right-click the icon of the digital keychain when it appears on the desktop. Select "Properties" from the pop-up menu.

• 4

  Select "Format" on the window that appears. Leave the "Name" field blank. Select "FAT32" from the "Formatting" drop-down menu. Click the "Start" button and wait for the progress bar at the bottom of the window to fill in from left to right. Close the window by clicking the red "X" in the upper-right corner.

• 5

  Right-click the icon of the digital keychain. Select "Eject" from the pop-up menu. Remove the USB cable from the computer's USB port and from the digital keychain.