The data is still on the drive but all references to it are lost, so it will be overwritten as you use the newly formatted drive. Format Options (Quick Format): If the drive is in good working order, you can select “Quick Format,” which performs a high-level format and finishes quickly.Volume Label: This is the drive name that will appear when you see your formatted drive in File Explorer.Generally, you never need to modify this setting, so use the default allocation unit size that appears (usually 4096 bytes for NTFS) when you select the file system you want. Allocation Unit Size: This is the basic block size used by the file system when you format your drive.If you want the drive to be readable and writable on a Mac as well, choose exFAT.

In general, you’ll want to select NTFS if the drive will only be used with Windows. Depending on the drive’s size, your options will be FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT.

File System: A file system is a data structure that tells an operating system how to save and load files to or from a disk.

Formatting takes up some of the raw disk space because of how file systems work. Capacity: This will be the data capacity of your hard drive or SSD once it is formatted.If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device. Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. If the Scheme pop-up menu isn’t available, make sure you selected the storage device you want to erase-it’s at the top of the hierarchy.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Note: If you want to get your Mac ready to trade in, sell, or give away, and your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, use Erase Assistant.

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