The operation of formatting a hard disk containing any data may be necessary for its total cleaning before using it from scratch. The procedure itself in Windows is not complicated and does not require any additional software.
Instructions
Step 1
Start Windows Explorer by pressing CTRL + E or double-clicking the My Computer shortcut on the desktop.
Step 2
Find and right-click the drive you want to format. In the context menu that appears, select the "Format" line. In this way, you will open a window that allows you to set some settings for the upcoming formatting operation.
Step 3
Select a formatting method. If you check the checkbox next to the words "Quick (clear the table of contents)", then the data contained on the disk will not be destroyed. Only the table of contents of the disk will be erased, that is, the operating system will no longer have data about where and what is located on this media, but will consider it empty. All new data will overwrite the old files. This type of formatting takes much less time, so if there is no need to overwrite existing files, then it is better to use this method.
Step 4
Check the box next to "Use compression" if you want to slightly increase the amount of data that can fit on the disk after formatting. However, it should be borne in mind that the compression procedures for each saving of data and unpacking for each reading will significantly increase the load on the computer processor.
Step 5
Assign (if necessary) a custom name for this disk in the Volume Label field and select a sector size in the Cluster Size field, and then click the Start button to start the formatting procedure.
Step 6
The described cleaning method does not apply to the disk on which the current operating system is located. To format it, boot from another disk. If your computer has only one system disk, you can, for example, create a DOS diskette and use it as a boot disk. Formatting operation in DOS is very simple, just type in the command line "format D:", where D is the letter of the drive to be formatted, and press the Enter key. To create such a bootable floppy disk, insert it into the drive and open the format window for this drive as described above. This will activate the lower item in the settings window - "Create a bootable MS-DOS disk". Check the box next to it and create a bootable floppy disk.
