In this article, you'll discover how to format the internal hard drive of your computer. A complete format of the entire hard drive is not allowed, as it will lead to the deletion of the operating system. However, you can format individual parts by partitioning the drive into local sections. This process can be done on both Windows and Mac OS X. Note that the formatting process described here differs from formatting external drives.

Formatting on Windows

Step 1. Open the Start Menu

Step 1 Click on the Windows logo in the bottom left corner of your screen to open the Start Menu.

Step 2. Type "disk" in the Start Menu search.

Step 2 Type "disk" in the Start Menu search bar to find the option for "Create and format hard disk partitions" in the Disk Management program.

Step 3. Select "Create and format hard disk partitions."

Step 3 Click on the option "Create and format hard disk partitions" found at the top of the Start Menu.

  • If the option is not displayed, try typing "create and format partitions" in the search bar.

Step 4. Choose the hard drive.

Step 4 Select the desired hard drive by clicking on its name in the lower part of the opened window.

Step 5. Click on "Action."

Step 5 Click on the "Action" tab located in the top left of the window to open the dropdown menu.

Step 6. Select "All Tasks."

Step 6 Click on the "All Tasks" option at the bottom of the dropdown menu. A secondary menu will open on the right.

Step 7. Click on "Shrink Volume."

Step 7 Click on "Shrink Volume" to allow the system to determine the amount of free space on the drive. A new window will appear.

  • The process of determining free space may take a few minutes.

Step 8. Specify the size of the new partition.

Step 8 Enter the desired size for the new partition in megabytes in the "Size of shrink space" field. This will create a new local disk of the specified size.

  • The maximum possible disk size (in megabytes) is indicated in the "Available shrink space" line.
  • Remember that 1 gigabyte (GB) equals 1000 megabytes (MB). For example, to create a 5 GB partition, enter 5000.

Step 9. Click "Shrink."

Step 9 Click the "Shrink" button at the bottom of the page. Part of the free space on the hard drive will be converted into a new local disk.

  • Be aware that this process may take some time.

Step 10. Select the new partition.

Step 10 Select the new partition by clicking on "Unallocated" next to the name of the hard drive.

Step 11. Click on "Action."

Step 11 Select "Action" > "All Tasks" to open the dropdown menu.

Step 12. Choose "Create Simple Volume."

Step 12 Select "Create Simple Volume" from the top of the dropdown menu. A new window will open.

Step 13. Click "Next."

Step 13 Click "Next" in the lower right corner of the window.

Step 14. Click "Next."

Step 14 Click "Next" again to confirm the size of the new partition and proceed to the next step.

Step 15. Specify the drive letter and click "Next."

Step 15 Select a letter for the new drive and click "Next." To change the letter (e.g., to "E"), open the dropdown list and choose the desired letter.

  • If you don't mind the letter, just click "Next" to skip this step.

Step 16. Format the new disk.

Step 16 Make sure the "Format this volume with the following settings" option is checked, open the "File system" dropdown menu, and select one of the available formats:

  • NTFS — a file system that only supports Windows;
  • FAT32 — a format compatible with Windows and Mac OS X, but limited to 32 GB for disk size and 4 GB for file size;
  • exFAT — a universal file system that works on various devices (Windows, Mac OS X, consoles, etc.).

Step 17. Click "Next."

Step 17 Click the "Next" button to confirm your decision to format the disk.

Step 18. Click "Finish."

Step 18 Click the "Finish" button at the bottom of the window. The disk will be created and formatted, allowing you to use it like any other local disk.

  • To change the file system type, format the disk as a USB drive through File Explorer (Windows) or Disk Utility (Mac OS X).

Formatting on Mac OS X

Step 1. Click on "Go."

Step 1 Click on "Go" in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

  • If you don't see the "Go" menu, simply click on the desktop or open a Finder window.

Step 2. Select "Utilities."

Step 2 Click on "Utilities" at the bottom of the "Go" dropdown menu.

Step 3. Double-click on the "Disk Utility" icon.

Step 3 Double-click on the "Disk Utility" icon, which looks like a hard drive with a stethoscope. The Disk Utility program will open.

Step 4. Choose the hard drive.

Step 4 Click on your hard drive in the top left corner of the Disk Utility window. It will be located under the "Internal" section.

Step 5. Click on "Partition."

Step 5 Select the "Partition" tab located at the top of the window.

Step 6. Click +.

Step 6 Click the plus sign (+) located below the circle of the hard drive. Options for creating a new partition will open.

Step 7. Specify the partition size.

Step 7 Determine the size of the new partition by dragging the marker around the circle of the hard drive or by entering the desired value in the "Size" field.

Step 8. Format the partition.

Step 8 Format the partition by selecting one of the options in the "Format" dropdown menu:

  • Mac OS Extended (Journaled) — the standard format for Mac OS X;
  • Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) — the encrypted version of the standard format;
  • Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) — a format that is case-sensitive for file and folder names;
  • Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted) — a combination of the previous formats;
  • MS-DOS (FAT) — a format compatible with Windows and Mac OS X, but limited to a 4 GB file size;
  • ExFAT — a format supported by both Windows and Mac OS X without restrictions.

Step 9. Click "Apply."

Step 9 Click on the "Apply" button in the bottom right corner of the window. The process of creating and formatting the partition will begin.

  • Note that this may take some time.

Step 10. Click "Done."

Step 10 Click "Done" when prompted. The new partition will be created and formatted, and it will be accessible in the Finder window.

  • To change the disk format, format it as a USB drive.