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How to format a new external hard drive

This article explains how to create partitions and format the hard drive in order to prepare your external USB or FireWire drive. Instructions are sorted according to the Operating System. Prior to following the steps as described below, you will have to install the hard drive into your external storage enclosure, connect it to your host computer and turn on the power.

Warning:
Removing partitions and formatting a drive will destroy all existing data on that particular hard drive! Make sure you have a backup of all your data prior to making any changes to the external drive.

Disclaimer:
Information in this article is subject to change without notice. inXtron does not make any representations or warranties (implied or otherwise) regarding the accuracy and completeness of this document and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. All brand names and product names used in this document are trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

 

Windows 98SE & Windows ME

The tool used to format the drive is the so called DOS command prompt and "fdisk". You can start it by going to Start/Program Files/Accessories and selecting "MS-DOS" or you can go to Run and type "fdisk" instead.

  • The first window will be the blank MS-DOS command window. Type "fdisk" and press the Enter key. Skip this step if you came via Run.
    MS-DOS command 'fdisk'
  • Select "Y" to enable the large disk support and press the Enter key.
    Enable Large Disk Support
  • Enter "5" to change the current disk drive and press the Enter key.
    Change current fixed disk drive
  • Select the drive you would like to format but make sure to select the correct one. In this example it is disk "2" but that may be different from your setup!
    Enter Fixed Disk Drive Number
  • Enter "1" to create a primary DOS partition and follow the onscreen instructions. After you have created the partition according to your requirement, close the MS-DOS command prompt by typing "exit".
    Create DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive
  • Restart your Computer and then go to My Computer. The new drive should now appear and after double clicking on the drive icon, you will be prompted to format it. Choose FAT32 and full format, enter a name for it and format the drive. Your external drive is now ready to use! Note: FAT32 can be used on most Operating Systems including Win98SE, WinME, Win2000, WinXP, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X and Linux Systems but the maximum size of a single file is limited to 4GB.

Windows XP & Vista

The tool used to format the drive is the so called Disk Management application. You can find it by right clicking on My Computer, choosing "Manage" and then selecting "Disk Management". The alternative is to go to Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management.

  • Right-click on My Computer and select Manage.
    My Computer --> Manage
  • Go to Disk Management.
    Disk Management
  • Choose the drive you want to prepare and right-click on the gray field on the left side in order to initialize the drive. Once done, right-click on the Unallocated space for further commands and select New Partition.
    Initialize and Format the Drive
  • Follow the Partition Wizard and set up the hard drive according to your requirements. In general, we recommend creating one primary partition formatted using the NTFS file system.
    Partition Wizard
  • Go to My Computer and the new drive should now appear. If the drive has not already been formatted, you will now be prompted to format it. Select NTFS if the drive is only used on WinXP or Vista. If the drive will be used on older or different Operating Systems, you may want to select FAT32 instead. Keep in mind that on WinXP and Vista, the largest partition that can be created using FAT32 is 32GB and the size of a single file can not exceed 4GB.

Large Partition over 2TB on Windows Vista

In order to prepare a drive with a partition in excess of 2TB, you will need to use the command line interface to clear any previous partitions and then use the Disk Management tool to create a GUID Partition Table.

  • Go to Start, select Run, type "cmd" and press the OK button.
  • Type "diskpart" to start the DiskPart utility. For more info, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300415.
  • Type "list disk" to see all the available disks.
  • Select the external disk. E.g. "select disk 1".
  • Clean the partition by typing "clean" but make sure the correct disk has been selected before you execute the command!
  • Right-click on Computer, select Manage and go to Disk Management.
  • Right-click on the external disk (e.g. Disk 1) and select Initialize Disk.
  • Select the option GPT (GUID Partition Table) and press the OK button.
    GPT Partition
  • Right-click on the Unallocated space and select New Simple volume….
  • Follow the Partition Wizard to create a new primary partition and format the drive. We recommend using the NTFS file system.

Mac OS X

The tool used to format the drive is the so called Disk Utility. You can find it inside the Utilities folder.

  • Start the Disk Utility, which can be found inside the Utilities folder.
    Disk Utility
  • Select your external drive and prepare it according to your requirements. In general, we recommend to create 1 Partition and format it using the Mac OS Extended file system. If you intend to use the drive on other Operating Systems, especially on Windows, we recommend using the MS-DOS file system instead.
    Creating Partitions
  • Close the Disk Utility after you are finished and your new drive will be ready and available to use on your desktop.

Apple Partition Map on Mac OS 10.5

If the formatting process as seen under Mac OS X has failed but the drive can be successfully formatted on a PC or another computer, try following procedure instead.

  • Start the Disk Utility and select the external drive.
  • Choose 1 Partition from the volume scheme and then click on Options.
    Options
  • Select the Apple Partition Map option and click OK.
    Apple Partition Map
  • Apply these settings to format the drive. After successfully formatting it, create as many partitions as you like and feel free to go back to Options to select a different partition scheme.

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