Formatting a figurer's hard drive is an important pace if yous're disposing of it and wish to remove all your personal data, and also if you want to completely remove an old Windows installation. We explain how to apply tools built in to Windows to completely wipe a PC or laptop drive.

Note that the procedure can be dissimilar depending on whether information technology'due south your only hard bulldoze and whether you have a spare PC or not. Y'all can't, for example, format the difficult bulldoze on which Windows is running. In lodge to do this y'all will need to boot your PC from a Windows installation disc, a USB flash drive or some other bootable bulldoze.

How do I completely wipe my hard bulldoze?

When you format a drive, it frees upwardly space for new files. But there are a different types of formatting. Beware of 'Quick Format' which leaves all your data in identify and makes the drive appear to be empty. It's merely a fast way of wiping the drive which is fine if yous're going to reuse information technology yourself, but not if yous're disposing of the disk or giving information technology to someone else.

In fact, if you lot are disposing of the drive or passing it on to someone else it's worth securely erasing the contents to make certain no personal data can be recovered.

Warning: make certain you lot have backed up any photos, videos, music and other documents from your drive before you format it. Although deleted files tin can be recovered in some situations, it'southward best to presume that no files will exist accessible one time you have used the techniques below.

The right manner to format a difficult drive or in Windows is equally follows, only if you practise have an SSD, and so check its manufacturer'south website as there might be a specific tool bachelor for formatting it.

Type diskmgmt.msc or Disk Management into the search box, or if y'all accept Windows x press Win+X then K.

That's the easiest style to launch Disk Management, but you'll also notice information technology in the Control Panel if you search for 'disk' and select the 'Create and format hd partitions'.

Disk Management isn't as powerful as a standalone partition direction tool such as Paragon Hard Disk Manager, merely it is withal capable of formatting drives.

Correct-click on the drive you want to wipe and click Format...

Every bit you can see below, this volition merely bear on the portion (called a partition) of the disk that you lot select. Sometimes a division will use up the unabridged disk, only there may exist several partitions on one disk.

How to format a hard drive

Type a name for the drive next to Book label, and choose which file system you'd like the drive to be formatted with. If it's an internal hard bulldoze, yous'll want to apply NTFS. Leave the allocation size set to default. Uncheck 'Perform a quick format' if you lot are disposing of the drive, otherwise the information won't really be deleted.

How to format a hard drive

Click OK and you volition be asked if yous're sure y'all want to wipe the drive, and so ostend that you do and the drive volition be formatted.

How do I format a new difficult drive?

When y'all install a new (boosted) hard drive in your PC, you might wonder why it doesn't appear in Windows. The reason is because it needs to be initialised and formatted. Again, you lot tin can do this in Disk Direction.

Equally Deejay Management loads, it volition analyse all your computer's drives and will prompt y'all to initialise whatever new disk that it finds.

Initialize disk

You should opt for GPT (GUID Segmentation Table) if your laptop or PC is modern and has a UEFI BIOS, or your drive is 2TB or bigger.

If you don't see a prompt, look in the list of drives and you should run across ane that says 'Non Initialized'. Right-click on it and choose Initialize Disk.

Once that's done, right-click in the hatched Unallocated space and cull New Elementary Book…

Follow the instructions, choosing how big you want the sectionalization to be (in MB - 1024MB = 1GB), and which drive alphabetic character you want (one volition be chosen, but yous can opt to change it if you wish).

When you come to format the partition, our advice is the same as in the Quick Format section above.

If you select a size for the segmentation that'due south smaller than the total capacity of the drive, say 500B on a 1TB drive, you'll end up with some unallocated space on the bulldoze which yous tin can format past repeating the process you've just completed.

Tin I format a difficult drive from the BIOS?

Many people ask how to format a hard disk drive from BIOS. The short answer is that you tin't.

If yous need to format a disk and you lot can't practise it from within Windows, you lot can create a bootable CD, DVD or USB wink drive and run a gratuitous third-party formatting tool.

I option is Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN), which is gratis for personal use. This program will totally erase and format your hard disk, but does not back up secure erasing of SSDs.

How to format a hard drive

DBAN is supposedly merely able to create a bootable CD/DVD-R, only if you don't take whatever bare discs or a burner, there is a workaround available in the grade of a separate tertiary-party programme.

Universal USB Installer volition rapidly and easily convert the DBAN ISO image you downloaded to run from a bootable USB. Only insert a bare USB flash drive, run the Universal USB Installer setup program, and follow the prompts.

Y'all will exist asked to scroll through and pick the Linux Distribution yous want to install to USB (in this case, the latest version of DBAN), followed past its location on your computer and the letter of the USB drive you'd like to install information technology to.

In one case that information is complete, click create.

How to format a hard drive

To kicking from this USB drive rather than your usual kicking device (in about cases, this would be the difficult drive), yous'll have to alter some settings in the BIOS. If you're not sure how to admission the BIOS menu, read our guide on how to enter the BIOS.

In the BIOS, navigate to the boot society settings, and change the primary boot device to the USB drive (information technology shouldn't demand to exist plugged in to brand this selection). After you lot've saved your settings and exited the BIOS, insert your bootable USB, restart your computer.

How to format a hard drive

Your PC should automatically kicking the DBAN software, which will guide y'all through the procedure of erasing your difficult drive, with options for dissimilar levels of data-wiping.

It volition treat the USB as another drive so to avoid inadvertently wiping that too, remove it later on you lot've booted into DBAN.

How practice I format a RAID drive?

If you have two or more disks configured as a RAID, in that location are diverse ways to format these drives. Before you use any of them, brand sure you dorsum up whatever files you desire to keep.

  • Use a software utility which came with your RAID controller or motherboard.
  • Become into the RAID controller'southward BIOS (expect for a bulletin during PC boot up) and expect for an option to format the drive(s) or reconfigure the RAID as individual disks (this volition erase them all).
  • Unplug the bulldoze yous want to format and connect it to a different SATA port on your motherboard which isn't part of the RAID controller. Then, follow the Windows Disk Management method below since the disk won't be visible in Windows Explorer.

Can I quick format a hard drive?

Yes, merely don't use this method if you lot want the data to be permanently erased. A quick format doesn't delete the data but instead erases just the pointers to the files.

This is the fastest, but to the lowest degree secure style to format a hard bulldoze. Open a File Explorer window (Win+E) and then right-click on the hard drive you want to wipe. You tin't format the drive on which Windows is installed for obvious reasons.

Choose Format… from the menu and a new window will appear with a few formatting options. As a note: Windows 8 users volition need to search for 'This PC'.

Quick format a hard drive

By default Quick Format is checked, and you can choose the file system and allocation unit of measurement size as well as irresolute the volume label (the drive's name). Typically, you tin leave all settings unchanged and click the Showtime push. In nether a minute your hard drive will be formatted.

Format options

You should choose NTFS as the file system for internal disks, and EXFAT for large-capacity removable drives - and ensure the Allocation Unit Size is set to 'Default'.

How to change sectionalisation size

You lot can use Disk Direction to expand or shrink a partition. Merely right-click on one and cull the advisable choice from the menu that appears. If shrinking, the partitioning will be checked to notice out how much empty space it contains.

Shrink a partition

Information technology's a niggling confusing as the numbers are displayed in MB rather than GB, but you tin can adjust the amount of space to shrink and the 'Total size after shrink' volition be updated. You can't shrink a sectionalisation beyond the signal where files are located - you may be able to free upward space by defragmenting the drive first.

Conversely you lot tin merely expand a segmentation if there is unused space on the drive. If not, the pick will be greyed out.