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Tuesday, April 27, 2021

How to format a computer hard drive - Chicago Tribune

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How do I format a hard drive?

A computer hard drive stores your files, allowing you to access them at any time. The majority of the time, you want these files to remain stored properly and safely.

However, there might be times where you need to format the hard drive. This process involves erasing all of the data and files stored on the drive. Perhaps you’re donating or selling the computer, and you don’t want a random person to access your data.

Learning how to format a hard drive for a PC or a Mac computer is relatively easy, but there are some potential problems to consider first.

Copy data to external hard drive

The act of formatting a hard drive means you’re erasing all the data held in storage. If this is data that you want to retrieve again later, you need to make a copy of the data before beginning the formatting process.

These units are available with extremely large storage capacities, which is convenient for backing up an entire hard drive.

If you need help with copying the data, a data transfer software package such as Laplink PCmover Ultimate is a nice tool.

Can I retrieve data from a formatted hard drive?

Once you complete the formatting process, you cannot retrieve the data — at least not easily. Some software can help you try to retrieve data from a formatted hard drive, but this is a difficult and often expensive process.

You almost certainly need to hire a professional to handle the process. Additionally, as more time passes, the potential for a successful retrieval becomes lower. Having a backup copy available before you start the formatting process is a far better idea than hoping to retrieve data after the fact.

How to format a PC hard drive with Windows

Formatting a Windows desktop computer or a Windows laptop only takes a few steps. For an internal hard drive following this process, you're formatting a partition on the drive, rather than the primary C drive that holds the Windows operating system. You only can format an internal hard drive that has partitioning.

1. Open Disk Management

The Disk Management software built into Windows allows you to format your hard drive partitions.

Click the Windows 10 icon, followed by Settings. Type “disk management” in the search bar and hit Enter to find the Disk Management window. Click on the search result.

2. Select the partition to format

In the upper section of the Disk Management window, you can select the partition you want to format. (PCs running Windows use partitioned hard drives, meaning the operating system divides the physical hard drive into different sections that the computer treats as separate hard drives.)

Double-check that you’re selecting the correct partition. You don’t want to make a mistake in the formatting process.

3. Open the disk formatting wizard

Right-click on the partition you want to format and left-click on Format in the popup menu. This opens the formatting wizard, which will walk you step by step through the formatting process.

4. Finish the formatting process

Give the partition a new name (or keep the old name).

For a quick format, leave a checkmark in the quick format box. The quick formatting process doesn’t overwrite the files on the partition; it hides them instead.

By removing the checkmark, Windows will use a standard formatting process through which it writes blank data over the existing data, making it nearly impossible to recover the files later. Click OK to start the formatting process.

Formatting the C drive

If you’re formatting the C drive, you need to have your Windows Setup disc available. Start Windows from the setup disc, and you’ll then be able to format the C drive using the steps described earlier.

How to format a hard drive for Mac

To format the hard drive in a Mac laptop or a Mac desktop computer, you use software called Disk Utility. This software ships with all Mac computers, so it's ready to use for the formatting process.

1. Open Disk Utility

Click on Applications, followed by Utilities, to find Disk Utility.

Along the left side of the Disk Utility window, you’ll see a list of partitions available on your Mac computer hard drive.

2. Select the drive to erase

Click on the hard drive partition you want to format. With the hard drive partition highlighted, click the Erase button at the top of the Disk Utility window.

You may have to verify your selection.

3. Starting the formatting process

In the popup Erase window, Disk Utility will pick the most common type of formatting for you, unless you choose a different formatting type.

You must name the newly formatted drive (or keep the old name) to continue the process.

4. Select security preferences

To select security preferences for the formatted hard drive, click the Security Options button. You have the option of selecting what happens to the files currently on the drive during the formatting process.

The slider bar gives you the option of a fast formatting, a secure formatting or something in between.

  • Fastest: A fast format leaves the files in place on the hard drive, but they remain hidden. Someone with data recovery software could find the files on the hard drive at a later date.
  • Most secure: The most secure formatting overwrites all the data on the Mac hard drive with blank data, making it nearly impossible to recover the files later, even for a professional.

If you choose something between fastest and secure, Disk Utility will write some blank data onto the drive and will hide some data.

With the most secure option, you have the option of overwriting the data three times instead of once, making it even harder for someone to recover the data later.

Click Erase to start the process.

Kyle Schurman is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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April 27, 2021 at 05:31AM
https://www.chicagotribune.com/consumer-reviews/sns-bestreviews-how-to-format-a-hard-drive-20210426-52deibvvfrcsnggikckwcxyaeu-story.html

How to format a computer hard drive - Chicago Tribune

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