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    How to format an external hard drive within Vista?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Sgt_Strider, Nov 1, 2008.

  1. Sgt_Strider

    Sgt_Strider Notebook Evangelist

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    Some detailed instructions would be greatly appreciated!
     
    Sgt_Strider, Nov 1, 2008
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  2. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    Right-click Computer, go to Manage.
    From the window that appears, "Computer Management", go to Storage -> Disk Management and you should be able to see the drive and do whatever.

    Actually, these steps are for if you haven't partitioned the drive but if you already have, you can simply right click the drive icon in My Computer and click Format.
     
    namaiki, Nov 1, 2008
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  3. Sgt_Strider

    Sgt_Strider Notebook Evangelist

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    Which partition option did you picked?
     
    Sgt_Strider, Nov 1, 2008
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  4. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

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    Choose NTFS if you're gonna use files larger than 4GB as FAT32 can't handle files larger than 4GB (or even 3.9GB?).

    NTFS is more secure however and has more advantages than FAT32 imho.
     
    Michel.K, Nov 1, 2008
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  5. atbnet

    atbnet Notebook Prophet

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    I would also choose NTFS unless you are going to use it with Linux systems too.
     
    atbnet, Nov 1, 2008
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