How to format a hard drive

There are many reason why you wants to format a hard drive. You may be looking to get rid of a virus. Maybe you need to start from scratch. Or you are simply going to sell your computer and you don't want anyone to be able to access your personal information.

Hard drives, in effect, are those devices where all the data that you have saved on your PC is stored through a magnetic procedure, that is, programs, files, settings and all the changes that occur.

In this article, we will explain exacty how you should go about removing all this information. The steps to follow will depend on many factors, including the number of disks you have or whether or not you have a second computer.

In this sense, you should know that you will not be able to format a hard drive of the computer you are working on at the moment. To do this, you will have to reset the device from an installation disk, a USB memory or another disk.

How to Format a Hard Drive: The Basics

What does it mean to format a hard drive?

Formatting is the process of eliminating all the data on a hard disk, something that differs from the concept of "quick format", which refers to the process of making the disk appear empty when the information is actually still intact.

You will want to do a quick format if it is a new hard drive - one that has not been previously formatted or is damaged - or if you want to reinstall Windows. Instead, you shouldn't do this if you are going to dispose of the disc or give it to someone else.

It is very important that, before proceeding, you make sure to make a backup copy of the photos, videos, music and documents saved on your hard drive that you want to keep. Deleted files can sometimes be recovered, but it's better not to risk it.

What are the partitions of a hard disk?

Before starting, it is also essential to understand what the partitions of a hard disk are. They are those small sections in which an HDD unit is divided and which are also known as logical storage units.

It is possible to format only one of these partitions without the process affecting the others. It can be useful, but that means that if you want to format the entire hard drive and use it as a single device, you will need to make sure that you format all the partitions.

Can a hard drive be formatted from the BIOS?

There are many people who are interested in formatting a hard disk from the basic input-output system or BIOS, that is, the standard that defines the interface of the program that controls all the electronic circuits of your computer.

Unfortunately, this is not possible, as a hard disk from Windows itself, but you will need to get another recovery CD, DVD or USB memory and use an external formatting tool like DBAN at the same time.

Can a hard drive be formatted quickly?

It is possible to format a hard drive quickly, but this method is not the one you should follow if your intention is to permanently delete the information on the HDD. A quick format will only eliminate the path to get to this data.

Method 1. Format a hard drive with DBAN software

As we mentioned earlier, one of the formatting tools that we can use to format a hard drive is known as DBAN or Darik's Boot and Nuke , a completely free program that will allow you to erase all your data forever.

Thus, using this software , you will be able to remove your hard drive, which will allow you to install a new operating system on it. Keep in mind that this also means that all previous information will be erased and irretrievable and that the process cannot be undone.

In principle, DBAN is intended only to create a bootable CD / DVD-R, but if you do not have a free one or a recorder, there is an alternative method that will help you do it with the help of another external program.

This is Universal USB Installer , with which you can convert the DBAN ISO image from a bootable USB memory. Simply insert this USB, open the program and follow the instructions that will appear on the screen.

Specifically, they will ask you to select from the list the Linux Distribution that you want to install on your USB, in this case, the latest version of DBAN. You must also choose the location on your computer and the USB you want to use. Finally hit 'Create'.

To be able to boot from this USB and not from the device from which you would normally do it -in most cases, the hard disk-, you will have to make some changes in the BIOS settings.

To access the BIOS, you must turn on the computer and wait for the first image to appear on the screen. Then, hit the 'Delete', 'F1', 'F2', 'F5' or 'F12' key - depending on the computer - repeatedly. This key will appear in the boot self-test or POST.

When the BIOS has opened, use the arrow keys to navigate the interface. Locate the 'First Boot Device' menu to configure the primary boot disk and select the USB option.

Once you have saved the changes, you will be able to exit the BIOS, insert the bootable USB in question and reset your computer. When powered on, the DBAN program should automatically open.

Then, it will be enough for you to follow the instructions that will appear on the screen again to be able to carry out the elimination of the hard disk. To avoid erasing the data on the USB as well, be sure to disconnect it before the formatting process begins.

Method 2. Format a redundant group of independent or RAID disks

There are so-called redundant groups of independent disks or RAIDs, data storage systems that use multiple units, either hard disks or SSDs, which allow greater capacity, integrity and fault tolerance.

If you are one of those who have two or more disks configured as a RAID, you should know that there are several ways to format these disks. In either case, yes, you should make sure you have the data saved on another device.

Use the software that came with your motherboard or RAID controller
Go to the BIOS of your RAID controller and locate the option that allows you to format the disk or disks or reconfigure the RAID as individual disks, keeping in mind that this will delete them all
Disconnect the disk that you want to format, connect it to another Serial ATA on your motherboard but that is not part of the RAID controller, and follow the instructions that we give you in the next section using the 'Disk Management' tool

Method 3. Format a hard drive quickly with Windows

As we have previously advanced, there is the possibility of formatting a disk quickly. In this section we will go over the two main ways to do it, either directly from the device menu or using 'Disk Management'.

How to do a quick format from 'This computer'

The fastest way to format a hard drive is by going to ' This computer '. You can access this folder with the search tool that you will find next to the Windows start button. You may even have a shortcut on your desktop.

Next, select the hard drive you want to format and right-click. From the drop-down menu that should appear, choose the ' Format ' option .

When a new floating window opens, and before clicking ' Start ', review the values that will appear automatically and that refer to the file system and the allocation unit size.

In general terms, you can leave this configuration as it appears, although you must make sure that NTFS is selected as the file system and that the default allocation unit is displayed. You will have the disk formatted in less than a minute.

On the other hand, and as we have already been remembering throughout the article, for obvious reasons you cannot format the disk that includes the Windows operating system of the computer you are using at that time. If you try, you will get this message:

How to do a quick format with 'Disk Management'

You can also format a hard drive using the Windows ' Disk Management ' tool . To access it, just search for 'diskmgmt.msc' or 'Disk Management' with the magnifying glass on the toolbar.

From the list of results, select one called ' Create and format hard drive partitions '. You can also access this manager from the 'Control Panel', followed by 'System and Security' and 'Administrative Tools'.

It is true that 'Disk Management' is not as powerful as an external tool designed for managing hard disk partitions, but it is capable of formatting data and in this case it is more than enough for us.

The first thing you have to do is make sure that the hard drive you want to format appears in this manager. If it is not, you must connect it to your computer, launch the manager and wait for it to ask you if you want to initialize it. Hit ' OK '.

If your disk has a capacity greater than 2 TB, you will have to choose the type of partition GPT (GUID Partition Table), which will allow you to create more than four partitions. If it has a lower capacity, you will have to opt for MBR (Master Boot Record).

Next, right click on the unallocated space of the disk and select the option ' New simple volume ' and select the size of the partition in MB, as well as the letter that will give name to this new disk.

Now you can format the disk by right-clicking on the disk in question and selecting the ' Format ' option . You can format just one partition or the entire hard drive.

On the other hand, you can also use the 'Disk Management' tool to change the size of a partition. All you have to do is right-click on one and choose one of these two options: 'Extend volume' or 'Reduce volume'.

If that's something you plan to do, keep the following basic questions in mind:

Numbers are shown in MB and not GB
You cannot reduce the volume of a disk below the space occupied by the data stored on it
You can only extend the partition if there is unused space on the hard drive

Method 4. Restore Windows 8 or 10 to factory settings

You may not be convinced by the idea of formatting your hard drive and losing all stored data at this point, but you still want to restore your computer to fix a technical error.

Luckily, this is possible using one of the two options that we present below, depending on whether or not you want to keep all your files. You will find more information in our article on how to restore Windows to factory settings .

How to reset Windows while preserving files

If you want to keep all your files, you should choose this option. Keep in mind that the settings and all the programs that you have installed on your computer will be erased, except for those that come by default with Windows.

1 . Open the ' Windows Settings ' panel and choose the ' Update and security ' option .

2 . Now, select ' Recovery ' from the menu on the right hand side and click on the ' Start ' button that you will see under the ' Reset this PC ' section.

3 . Finally, choose the option ' Keep my files ' from the new floating window so that settings and applications are removed, but personal files are preserved.

How to reset Windows without keeping files

On the contrary, if you want to start from scratch and eliminate all files, programs and settings, you must choose this second option. In this case, you must make sure that you have created a backup copy of all your documents.