Skip to content
Logo of IHOWD.COM

IHOWD

How We Do It Online

  • Home
  • Technology
  • Sports
  • Gaming
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Toggle search form
How to Format a Hard Drive

How to Format a Hard Drive?

Posted on November 4, 2022November 7, 2022 By Bruno Fernandes No Comments on How to Format a Hard Drive?

Every PC or Mac will eventually need to be reset from scratch, including the hard disc. Selling your computer or wanting to reinstall Windows from scratch are two frequent justifications for doing this. This article will walk you through the process of formatting a hard disc step-by-step (also called the C drive in Windows).

Table of Contents

  • Windows hard disc formatting instructions
  • How a Mac hard drive is formatted
    • How long does formatting a hard drive take?
    • What about formatting flash drives or external hard drives?
    • Formatting Removes Data, But Doesn’t Delete It Totally
    • Choose the drive that you wish to format.

Windows hard disc formatting instructions

How to Format a Hard Drive

1. Type “Disk Management” into the search bar on the Start button.

2. Choose “Create and format hard disc partitions” from the search results.

3. Right-click the drive you wish to format in the list of hard drives. Select “Format” from the pop-up menu.

4. Select the desired file system in the Format window. You should typically use NTFS, which is Windows’ default file system. Check to see if “Perform a fast format” is checked.

5. Click “OK” to format the drive when you are ready.

When Windows is running, you cannot format the “C” disc, the system drive for Windows, because the drive is already in use. Instead, you can use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to download Windows 10 to a USB flash drive and start your computer from there. You can format the C disc after Windows has started loading from the USB flash device.

See also  How to turn off pop up blocker?

Related How to Flush DNS?

How a Mac hard drive is formatted

1. Click “Go” in the Finder menu, then select “Utilities” from the drop-down menu.

2. Select “Disk Utility” from the Utilities folder.

3. Select the drive you wish to format by clicking it in the Disk Utility window’s pane on the left.

4. Select “Erase” from the window’s top menu.

5. Select the desired file system from the pop-up box. ExFAT, the MacOS default, is typically what you want.

6. Click “Erase” when you are prepared.

When the Mac is functioning normally, you cannot format the system drive since the operating system is using the drive. Holding down the Command + R keys while turning on your Mac will solve that issue; release them after the Mac logo shows. The MacOS Utilities box will appear; select “Disk Utility.” You can now select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” as the operating system and opt to delete your starting drive.

Related How to Build a Windmill?

How long does formatting a hard drive take?

How to Format a Hard Drive

Depending on the drive and the formatting method you use, formatting a hard drive can take a short while or a lengthy time. Remember that deleting files in a fast format merely removes them from the system, not completely.

You must do a standard format in order to entirely delete all files and wipe a disc (also called a normal reformat). Depending on the drive’s size and the amount of data it holds, the more thorough process can take several hours.

What about formatting flash drives or external hard drives?

Internal drive formatting procedures are the same for formatting external drives and flash drives (also known as thumb drives and USB drives). That means it’s not too difficult to understand how to format an external hard disc.

See also  How to Use Telnet?

For detailed information on formatting drives on Windows or Mac, please refer to the section above. Also, keep in mind that using the exFAT file system will make your external drive compatible with both Mac and Windows.

Formatting Removes Data, But Doesn’t Delete It Totally

Data may or may not actually be wiped when you format a drive in Windows. It’s possible that the data is still there, hidden from Windows and other operating systems but still accessible in specific circumstances, depending on your version of Windows and the type of format. The terms “deleting” and “erasing” a drive have different technical meanings.

Related Who invented the Cell Phone?

Choose the drive that you wish to format.

Make a decision regarding the hard drive you wish to format before beginning the formatting procedure described above.

The internal hard disc where the operating system (OS) is stored on Windows is known as the primary hard drive or C drive (C:). If you want to store more files on your computer, you might also have additional internal drives. When your disc is partitioned (split) between the main drive and other internal drives, this occurs.

An external hard drive is a storage device that sits outside of your computer. It can be a flash drive (also known as a thumb drive or a USB), a bigger drive, or both (HDD).

Technology Tags:format hard drive

Post navigation

Previous Post: Who invented the Cell Phone?
Next Post: How to Clean an LCD Screen?

Related Posts

How to Activate Zeus Network How to Activate Zeus Network? Technology
How to Protect Your Privacy Online How to Protect Your Privacy Online Technology
How to Use Injectserver com for Downloading Paid Apps for free? How to Use Injectserver com for Downloading Paid Apps for free? Apps
How to Use Tweakvip to Download Mod Games & Apps for Android & iOS How to Use Tweakvip to Download Mod Games & Apps for Android & iOS Apps
How to Use 320YouTube to convert youtube videos? How to Use 320YouTube to convert youtube videos? Technology
How do you get Wi-Fi on Aainflight How do you get Wi-Fi on Aainflight (American Airlines)? Technology

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Anime
  • Apple
  • Apps
  • Business
  • Celebrity
  • Common Questions
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Health
  • LifeStyle
  • Net Worth
  • Social Media
  • Sports
  • Technology

Recent Posts

  • The Andrea Riseborough Oscar Campaign: Was It Against The Law?
  • Who Are The Strongest Nfl Players In The World?
  • How Does Keanu Reeves Do His Stunts? Does He Use Stunt Double?
  • Who Is The Strongest Human In Dbz? Get To Know That We Know So Far!!!
  • Who Is The Coach Of Elena Rybakina And What Is His Net Worth? Don’t Forget To Check Out!

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

About Us

Ihowd reports on the latest and important breakthroughs in technology, gaming, sports, startups, health, and science via easy step by step "How to guide" posts.

  • About Us
  • Contact US
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 IHOWD.

Powered by PressBook Masonry Blogs