When the process is complete, you will see your new disk assigned, formatted and ready to start being used in the Disk Management list Give the volume a name, click "Next" and wait for the process format to finish. If you are using the volume for routine tasks (storing photos, video games, etc.) there is no real need to deviate from the default NTFS file system. The default value is probably fine.įinally, format the volume. In the second step, assign a unit letter. By default, the number is the total amount of disk space available, unless you are thinking of reserving a space for additional partitions, there is no reason to change this. In the first step, select the amount of space you want to include in the volume. This will start the New Simple Volume Wizard to guide you through the disk configuration process. Right click on the striped box of the unassigned disk. There you will find that your disc now has the label "Basic" and "On screen" on the left, but the content is still "Not assigned".
In summary, unless there is a compelling reason to use MBR, using GPT is newer, more efficient, and offers more robust protection against boot record corruption.Ĭlick on "Accept" and you will return to the main Disk Management window. In the first step of the initialization process, you are asked to choose if you want to use a Master Boot Record (MBR) or GUID partition table (GPT) partition style for the disc. Right click on the name of the disk and select "Initialize Disk" from the context menu of the right button. Second, the size of the installed unit is observed, and the unit is marked as "Not assigned", which means that none of the spaces on the hard disk have been formatted or assigned to a partition. First, the disk is marked as "Unknown" and "Not initialized" on the left. Windows assigns a number to all hard disks, solid state disks, USB drives and card readers, so do not be surprised if you have to scroll down a bit. Next, in Disk Management, scroll down through the list of disks in the lower pane. Make sure you are selecting the correct disk, or else you may lose a large amount of data. Type "diskmgmt.msc" and press Enter.Īlthough the task we are going to carry out is very simple and easy to carry out, there is a possibility that you will do erroneous tasks with this tool, something that can make you have a bad time. Press Windows + R on the keyboard to start the Run dialog box. If Windows does not recognize the Hard Disk.įirst you need to open the Disk Management tool.