How To Format A New Drive For Use With Windows 7, 8 or 10

March 23, 2017

Formatting a drive for use with Windows 7, 8 & 10

Before you can use a new external drive with Windows 7, 8 or 10 you will need to format it (unless it states it is pre-formatted). There are several options which we will look at to help you choose the correct format for you and show you how to ready the disk for use.

Step 1. Right-Click on the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner and select Disk Management

Step 2. If you wish to format or remove files from an existing hard drive right-click on the Disk Drive you wish to ‘clean’ and select Delete Volume. If you have a new Disk Drive you wish to format – go directly to step 3.

Step 3. Select the Disk Drive you wish to format and right click and select New Simple Volume.

Step 4. A Wizard will open to help you complete this process, so click Next.

Step 5. The Wizard will ask you to Specify Volume Size, this will be automatically set based on the Disk Drive size so click Next.

Step 6. The Wizard will then ask you to Assign a Drive Letter or Path – use the default suggested by the Wizard if you are unsure, then click Next.

Step 7. The Wizard will then ask you to Format Partition. Select NTFS if you wish to use the Disk Drive for Windows only computers to read, or select exFAT for cross platform compatibility (with Mac and Other operating Systems). You can also identify and name the drive to something more meaningful by changing the Volume Label – like “My Videos and Images”, then click Next.