How to Format a Hard Drive for Beginners

Format your hard drive with tools on your computer.

Formatting a hard drive removes all the data on the hard drive and returns it to a default setting. A formatted drive can be used as an external or secondary storage disk or you can install an operating system on the drive and use it as the main drive in a computer. You can format a hard drive connected to your computer with built-in tools in Microsoft Windows or Apple OSX. Formatting a drive is easy, but the formatting process might take several hours if your hard drive is exceptionally large.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7
• Apple OSX

Instructions

Formatting a Drive in Windows

1. Press "Windows + R" to open the "Run" dialog. Type "compmgmt.msc" into the text box and press "OK" to open the "Computer Management" window.

2. Click on "Disk Management" in the "Computer Management" window. If you do not see "Disk Management" in the navigation tree, click on the "+" next to "Storage" to expand the navigation tree, then select "Disk Management" to open the disk management window.

3. Right-click on the drive that you want to format. Select "Format" from the menu to open the "Format" dialog.

4. Select "NTFS" as the file system from the "File System" drop-down menu. This will apply the Windows NTFS format to your drive and will make it compatible with Windows-based computers. Give the hard drive a name in the "Volume Label" field and click "OK." A warning prompt will appear; click "OK" to begin formatting your drive.

Formatting a Drive in Apple OSX

1. Open your "Applications" folder in a finder window. Double-click on the "Utilities" folder. Double-click on the "Disk Utility" icon to open the "Disk Utility" application.

2. Select the drive you want to format from the left menu box in the Disk Utility Window. Click the "Partition" tab.

3. Select "1 partition" from the "Volume Scheme" drop-down menu. This will format your drive into one large partition.

4. Click on the "Untitled" partition in the "Partition" window and type a name into the "Volume Label" text box. Select "Mac OS Extended" from the "Format" menu and click "Apply" to begin formatting your drive.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to use your hard drive as an external drive and you will connect the drive to both Windows and Apple computers when it is finished, select the "FAT 32" format from the "Format" or "File System" drop-down list. "FAT 32" is compatible with both Windows and Apple-based computers.

• Formatting a drive will erase all data on that drive; make sure to backup any files and folders that contain irreplaceable data.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Use Disk Management to Configure Basic Disks
• Ken Stone: Formatting and Partitioning a Hard Drive in OSX