How do I initialize a brand new hard drive in Windows or Mac OS? - StarTech.com IT Pro Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <h2 data-id="windows-10">Windows 10 </h2><p>Before you can access a new or formatted drive in your operating system, you need to initialize it first and then create a partition on the drive. A partition defines an area of the drive to use for storing data. The partition uses a file system (for example, ex-FAT, NTFS, and so on).</p><h3 data-id="initialize-a-drive">Initialize a drive</h3><p><strong>Note:</strong> You typically only need to initialize a drive if the drive is new. If you cannot find an uninitialized drive in Disk Management, skip the following steps and try to partition your device.</p><ol><li>Press the <strong>Windows</strong> key +<strong> R</strong>, type <strong>compmgmt.msc</strong>, and click <strong>Run</strong> to open <strong>Computer Management</strong>.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Disk Management</strong>.</li><li>When prompted to, initialize your disk(s). If you are running Windows® 7 or later and are using a drive larger than 2TB, initialize the disk(s) with GPT. If you are running an earlier version of Windows, initialize the disk(s) with MBR.</li><li>Click <strong>OK</strong>.</li></ol><h3 data-id="create-a-partition-in-a-drive">Create a partition in a drive</h3><p><strong>Note:</strong> The following steps create an NTFS partition that uses the entire drive space. To use a different file system, select a different option in step 6.</p><ol><li>Right-click <strong>Unallocated</strong> or <strong>RAW</strong> <strong>volume</strong>, and select <strong>New Simple Volume</strong>.</li><li>In the <strong>New Partition Wizard</strong>, click <strong>Next</strong>.</li><li>Select <strong>Primary partition</strong>.</li><li>Leave the <strong>partition size</strong> set to <strong>default</strong>, and click <strong>Next</strong>.</li><li>Assign a drive letter or leave it set to the default, and click <strong>Next</strong>.</li><li>Enter the following settings to format the partition:<ol><li>In the<strong> File System</strong> field, enter<strong> NTFS</strong>.</li><li>Set the <strong>Allocation unit size</strong> to <strong>Default</strong>.</li><li>In the <strong>Volume label</strong> field, enter <<strong><em>your name/reference</em></strong>>.</li><li>Select the <strong>Perform a quick format</strong> check box.</li><li>Clear the <strong>Enable file and folder compression</strong> check box.</li></ol></li><li>Click <strong>Next </strong>><strong> Finish</strong>.</li></ol><p>The new drive should appear in Windows Explorer.</p><h2 data-id="mac-os">Mac OS</h2><p>Before you can access a new or formatted drive in your operating system, you need to initialize it first and then create a partition on the drive. A partition defines an area of the drive to use for storing data. The partition uses a file system (for example, HFS+, ex-FAT, NTFS, and so on).</p><h3 data-id="initialize-a-drive-1">Initialize a drive</h3><p>Mac OSX detects a drive that needs to be initialized and automatically prompts you to initialize the drive. If you are prompted to initialize the drive, click <strong>Initialize</strong>. If you are not prompted to initialize the drive and you cannot find the drive in <strong>Finder</strong>, you will need to create a partition on the drive.</p><h3 data-id="create-a-partition-on-a-drive">Create a partition on a drive</h3><p><strong>Note:</strong> The following steps create an HFS+ (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) partition that uses the entire drive space.</p><p>To create a partition on a new drive, complete the following:</p><ol><li>Open <strong>Finder</strong>.</li><li>Navigate to <strong>Applications</strong> and click <strong>Utilities</strong>.</li><li>Open <strong>Disk Utility</strong>.</li><li>Select the new drive and click the <strong>Partition</strong> tab.</li><li>Click <strong>Options</strong> and verify that it is set to <strong>GUID Partition Table</strong>.</li><li>Enter a name for the partition.</li><li>Click <strong>Partition</strong>.</li></ol><p>The drive should now be accessible in Finder.</p><p>For products related to this article, click <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fhdd%2Fenclosures%2F" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">here</a>.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote-content"><p class="blockquote-line">This FAQ applies to these products: <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fm2e1bmu31c" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">M2E1BMU31C</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs2510bmu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S2510BMU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs2510bpu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S2510BPU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs2510bpu337" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S2510BPU337</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs2510bu33pw" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S2510BU33PW</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bmu313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BMU313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bpu313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BPU313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bpu31c3" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BPU31C3</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bru31c3" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BRU31C3</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bru33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BRU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bu31315" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BU31315</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bu31c3cb" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BU31C3CB</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251bu31remd" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251BU31REMD</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs251smu33ep" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S251SMU33EP</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs252bu313r" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S252BU313R</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs3510bmu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S3510BMU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs3510smu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S3510SMU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs351bmu33et" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S351BMU33ET</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs351bu313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S351BU313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs3520bu33er" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S3520BU33ER</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs352bu313r" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S352BU313R</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs352bu33rer" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S352BU33RER</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fs3540bu33e" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">S3540BU33E</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsat2510bu32" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SAT2510BU32</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdock2reu3" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDOCK2REU3</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdock4u3re" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDOCK4U3RE</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdock5u3er" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDOCK5U3ER</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdocku3s" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDOCKU3S</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdup11" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDUP11</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatdup11img" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATDUP11IMG</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsateraser4" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATERASER4</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsatsasdupe11" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SATSASDUPE11</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock1eu3p" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK1EU3P</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock1eu3p2" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK1EU3P2</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u313r" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U313R</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u33eb" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U33EB</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u33re" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U33RE</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock2u33v" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK2U33V</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock4u313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK4U313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdock4u33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCK4U33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdocku313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCKU313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdocku313e" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCKU313E</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdocku33bv" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCKU33BV</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdocku33ebv" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCKU33EBV</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsdocku33ef" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SDOCKU33EF</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fslsoddu33b" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SLSODDU33B</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsm21bmu31c3" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SM21BMU31C3</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsm21bmu31ci3" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SM21BMU31CI3</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsm22bu31c3r" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SM22BU31C3R</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsm2ngffmbu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SM2NGFFMBU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsms1bmu313" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SMS1BMU313</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fsu2dupera11" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">SU2DUPERA11</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Funi251bmu33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">UNI251BMU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Funidocku33" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">UNIDOCKU33</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fusbdup12" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">USBDUP12</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fusbdup15" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">USBDUP15</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fusbdupe115" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">USBDUPE115</a> <a href="https://community.startech.com/home/leaving?allowTrusted=1&target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.startech.com%2Fen-us%2Fhdd%2Fusbdupe17" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">USBDUPE17</a></p></div></div> </article> </main>