How To Format A Hard Drive On Windows

If you know which bulldoze you want to format and which file organisation to choose, so go immediately to our instructions for formatting a difficult drive in the following department.

If not, skip down to read nigh the differences between formatting a main and secondary drive, and make sure you acquire about the relevant file systems — NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and APFS — and sympathize which one to choose.

How to format a hard drive on Windows

Formatting a hard drive on Windows is largely the same whether yous're using Windows 10 or vii. But information technology'southward a picayune dissimilar if you're formatting the primary drive, a secondary internal drive, or an external hard drive.

How to format a primary drive (C:) on Windows

Your C drive (C:) is your main drive where the operating system (Os) is located. You lot can't format the master drive while it's running, for the aforementioned reason that y'all can't repair a car engine while driving. To become around that, we'll run Windows from an installation DVD or a USB drive. That means your primary drive won't be in use, so we're able to work on it.

Note that this procedure volition delete the Os and all files, but it won't permanently erase them. (Read virtually deleting vs. erasing below.)

If you have a Windows 10 or Windows 7 startup DVD, you can skip the next paragraph.

If not, y'all'll demand to create a bootable Windows USB drive. Make sure yous have an external USB (also chosen a thumb drive or wink bulldoze) prepare. And so, download the software you lot demand:

• Windows ten: Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool hither.

• Windows vii: Download the Windows seven Os and then the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool here.

For either Windows 10 or 7, follow the instructions to create the bootable USB bulldoze.

At present that you have either the startup DVD or the USB, you're set to format your drive. Here'southward how to format your primary hard drive on Windows ten or vii:

1. Insert the Windows 10 or Windows vii startup DVD or make sure your bootable USB drive is plugged in.

2. Reboot your PC.

3. The Windows startup app should launch automatically. If not, you'll come across a message that says Press whatsoever fundamental to boot. Do and so — yous may meet a message that says Windows is loading files.

4. The Windows setup wizard will launch. Select your desired linguistic communication and time, and click Next.

   

5. Click Install at present and wait while Windows completes the setup procedures. Annotation that Windows is not actually existence installed, so don't worry if you lot don't have a product fundamental (if prompted, select the box for no product cardinal).

6. Follow the next steps to choose your desired version of Windows and have the terms. When prompted with a choice of Types of Installation, cull Custom: Install Windows merely (advanced) for Windows 10 or Custom (advanced) and and so Drive options (advanced) for Windows 7.

7. On the side by side screen, select Format. Choose where you desire to install Windows. Select the Primary bulldoze and click Next.

   

8. Click Format and you'll run across a warning that this drive "might contain important files or applications from your figurer manufacturer. If yous want to format this partition, any data stored on it volition be lost." Click OK if you know you want to proceed.

9. Your mouse will show a decorated sign during the formatting process, and will plough back into an arrow once information technology'south complete. (That'due south the just sign that the formatting is complete.)

10. Now your bulldoze is formatted, and everything is gone. But now you don't have an Os on your computer, so y'all need to install one.

11. Reboot your figurer.

12. Download Windows OS from your DVD or USB bulldoze.

How to format an internal or external bulldoze on Windows

Aside from the primary C bulldoze (C:), you lot tin can also format an internal drive or an external difficult drive. Your Windows hard drive may be partitioned into several different drives. Smaller internal drives with names similar D, Due east, F, etc. are your internal drives. An external drive is hardware like a USB bulldoze or some other external storage device.

It's much easier to reformat all of those drives, because they don't have an operating organization. The process is the same for internal (non-C) drives and external drives.

Here's how to format either an internal or external hard drive:

1. First upwardly your computer every bit usual, simply concur downward the WINDOWS fundamental and blazon in R to open the Run dialog box.

2. When the box opens, blazon in diskmgmt.msc and then click OK.

   

3. The Deejay Direction window will open. Select the drive yous want to format (internal or external) by right-clicking and choosing Format…. If you want, you can besides rename your drives here.

   

4. A Format box will pop up where y'all can choose the file system for your drive. (See beneath for our guidance on file systems.) Decide if you want a quick format vs full format. Click OK and yous're washed.

   

What'southward a "quick" format? This faster formatting option will practice a basic delete of the hard bulldoze in just a few seconds, only it doesn't truly erase or wipe anything, significant that the data is out of sight but not irretrievable. Quick formatting is a expert option if you want to clean the bulldoze simply likewise want to go along using it.

If you're preparing your computer before giving it abroad or selling it, you should do a normal format past unchecking the Perform a quick format box in the step above. This may accept several hours, simply volition more thoroughly wipe your personal information. Information technology volition likewise scan and remove any bad sectors, which prevents time to come corrupted files.

If you lot need to format a drive to utilize a different file system, you can quickly exercise that from the Windows Explorer screen. Just right-click on the drive and select Format. From at that place, you tin can select NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT.

Formatting your disk volition wipe information technology clean, but it likewise deletes your files. If yous'd like to go along your disk clean without taking the nuclear option, yous tin can perform deejay maintenance instead. Try fixing hard drive errors with CHKDSK or fixing 100% disk usage errors in Windows.

Why is Windows maintenance necessary? During the normal computing process, Windows accumulates a ton of junk that slows information technology downwards: balance files, leftover installers, temporary files, cached data, and more than.

If you don't clean up your bulldoze regularly, your machine tin start to wearisome down, freeze, or serve upwards error messages. An optimization tool like AVG TuneUp will prepare and maintain your Windows PC automatically so your drive stays squeamish and make clean and error-complimentary.

How to format a hard drive on Mac

Formatting a hard drive for Mac is pretty straightforward if you lot follow the steps carefully.

Here's how to format a Mac hard bulldoze:

1. Start upward your computer and log in.

2. Open Finder, click the Become drop-downwards carte du jour, and select Utilities.

   

3. Then select Disk Utility.

   

4. Select the hard drive you lot want to format.

   

5. Click Erase to format the drive. A window will brandish to permit you choose the file system you want, and how many times you want to overwrite the drive. Multiple overwrites volition take longer, only they're more than secure (and will prevent your files from being recovered).

Identify which drive you want to format

Before yous start the formatting process outlined above, decide which hard drive you want to reformat.

On Windows, your primary hard drive or C bulldoze (C:) is the internal hard disk where the operating system (Bone) resides. Y'all may also take additional internal drives to store more files on your computer. This happens when your deejay is partitioned (separated) betwixt the primary bulldoze and additional internal drives.

An external hard drive is located exterior of your computer, and information technology can be a flash drive (besides chosen thumb bulldoze or USB) or a larger bulldoze that tin incorporate either a solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD).

Cull the right file system

File systems are rules that govern how an OS stores and reads files. When yous format a hard drive, y'all'll be asked to cull your desired file system.

If you lot're using Windows, you tin cull betwixt NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT.

• NTFS file format: If you want to format your chief bulldoze (with your Bone), you must use NTFS (New Technology Files System), the default and modern Windows file organization. NTFS is too a expert choice for external drives, considering it'due south compatible with a wide range of devices.

• With basic file security and back up for files over 4 GB in size, NTFS is the all-time option when transferring big files. If yous want to put a movie on a USB drive to play it on your Boob tube, you lot should apply NTFS. Also, NTFS lets you lot set helpful advanced permissions.

• FAT32 file format: FAT32 (File Allotment Table 32) is an older file organisation dating back to Windows 95. It's compatible with the largest range of file types, but information technology can't store anything over 4 GB.

• exFAT: The exFAT (Extended File Allotment Table) file organisation is designed for removable storage like USB drives, SD cards, and other external difficult drives. Information technology'll allow you transfer files between different operating systems. Use the exFAT file system if you desire to motility files between Windows and Mac devices, or if yous want your files to be compatible on both operating systems.

Eventually, both NTFS and FAT32 volition become fragmented, meaning yous'll need to occasionally defragment them.

If you lot accept a Mac, yous'll generally apply the APFS (Apple tree File System).

• APFS became the default file organisation when macOS High Sierra was introduced. It'll work on all types of hard drives, but is optimized for flash-based storage, including SSDs. From 1998 to 2017, HFS+ (the Hierarchical File System Plus, also known equally Mac OS Extended or HFS Extended) was used, but it was replaced by APFS.

Afterward selecting the appropriate file system, y'all can start formatting. Spring support to learn how to reformat a hard drive on Windows or go formatting instructions for Mac.

What about formatting external difficult drives or flash drives?

The steps to format external drives and wink drives (also called pollex drives and USB drives) are the same as formatting internal drives. That means that learning how to format an external difficult drive is fairly straightforward.

See above for our step-by-footstep instructions on formatting drives on Windows or Mac. And call up that if you want your external bulldoze to be both Mac and Windows compatible, use the exFAT file organization.

What does formatting a hard drive do?

Why format a hard bulldoze? As mentioned above, formatting a difficult drive can help with a diverseness of tasks.

• Quick format: Deletes or overwrites your files, which is closer to hiding them than removing them for adept.

• Normal format (also called reformat): Erases your files and completely wipes the drive, making it much more difficult to recover. This is the best choice if you want to sell or give away your reckoner or external storage device.

• Start from scratch: If things are no longer working on your machine, yous can format the drive and reinstall the OS to attempt to create a new computer environment. Make sure to back up the files yous need (or clone your difficult drive) before yous start formatting.

Is formatting the aforementioned as deleting, erasing, wiping, reformatting?

Hard disk and hard drive take the same pregnant. But people often apply other terms like delete and format interchangeably, merely they're actually quite different.

• Delete: Deleting information just moves it into a folder, out of sight, like the Recycle Bin in Windows or the Trash on Mac. While in that folder, the files tin can be recovered easily. If yous empty the Recycle Bin or Trash, the files can then be overwritten by new data.

  When your device needs to relieve new data, it can (and volition) utilize the space occupied by the deleted files. Before they become overwritten, though, you lot can nevertheless recover deleted files using data recovery software. The more recently the files were deleted, the easier it is to recover them.

• Erase: Erasing or scrubbing a file gets rid of information technology for good.

• Wipe: Wiping refers to erasing everything on a given storage device or hard bulldoze. As with erasing, you can apply information destruction software — or simply break out a hammer, unless yous want to use the device again.

• Format: Depending on your operating system, you should take a few options available for formatting. A quick format volition merely delete data on a drive, while a normal format volition erase everything (wipe the drive). The bulldoze can exist your hard drive, or a removable drive such as a USB. A full format will also scan your disk for whatever bad sectors and remove them, ensuring that you don't finish upwardly with corrupted files later on.

• Reformat: When talking most hard drives or external drives, the term reformat means the same thing as format.

Practice new hard drives demand formatting?

No. New hard drives are formatted automatically, either by default or when y'all kickoff plug them in. So you don't need to acquire how to format a new hard drive — just plug your drive and you're skilful to go.

How long does information technology take to format a hard drive?

Formatting a difficult bulldoze can be a quick or long procedure, depending on which blazon of formatting you do, and on which drive. Remember that a quick format simply deletes files, which doesn't truly remove them.

To completely erase files or wipe an entire bulldoze, you need to exercise a normal format (as well called a normal reformat). It's a more thorough process that can take several hours, depending on the size of the drive and how much data it contains.

Continue your hard drive performing at its all-time

Over fourth dimension, your difficult drive becomes cluttered with temporary files, cached data, duplicate files, apps you never use, and other junk files. All that ataxia will boring down your estimator and tin crusade crashes and freezes.

You lot can remove everything by completely wiping your bulldoze — but that's not a long-term solution. The aforementioned junk data will quickly build up again with regular computer use.

A amend option is a defended cleaning tool such as AVG TuneUp, bachelor for PC and Mac. AVG TuneUp'south Disk Cleaner and Browser Cleaner features will regularly scrub your machine clean of leftover junk data for a faster, better computing experience.

Download our free trial correct now to see what's clogging up your computer, then get rid of all that clutter to bring your auto back up to optimal speed.

Source: https://www.avg.com/en/signal/how-to-format-hard-drive

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