EfraF87 wrote:
how do i "correctly delete and create a new partition with a MBR and format with NTFS."
You can format the drive through Disk Management and so set it up with an MBR partition. Please note that formatting the drive destroys all data.
How To Format The Drive In Disk Management
To partition and format your external hard drive, follow these steps:
A. Click Start
B. Right-click "Computer" or "My Computer"
C. Select "Manage"
D. Click "Disk Management"
E. Select the XXXXXXX drive
F. Right-click the large box to the right and select "Delete Volume or Delete Partition"
G. Now right-click on the "Unallocated "area
H. Select "New Simple Volume or New Partition"
I. Agree with everything until you see this:
Default
NTFS
New Volume = ( name you want to provide for the drive )
J. Then put a check mark in the box "Perform a quick format"
K. Select Apply or Start
L. When the drive is ready for use it will say NTFS - Healthy
If for any reason you can't delete your current partition, you can use DISKPART to get this done. Please be aware that DISKPART is data-destructive.
Note: Please ensure all other hard drives /thumb drives/memory sticks or any other recording media have been removed from your PC. This process will delete all data on the drive, so be sure only the boot drive and the external drive are connected.
- For XP, click on "Start" > Programs > Accessories > command prompt
- For Vista/ Win 7 "Start" > Type " Command" on the Start search box
- On the results menu, Right-click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run As Administrator"
At the command prompt window type "Diskpart". There should be a entry that appears as
DISKPART>
Now type "List Disk", this will show all the disk drives that are currently detected (eg. Disk 0 , Disk 1)
Please type "Select Disk 1"
Replace (1) with the corresponding number listed on the List Disk for the hard drive that you want to erase. DISK 0 is your boot drive, sometimes it can also be listed as DISK 1. Please DO NOT select this disk.
Now type "Clean", press "Enter", then reboot the computer. ( This will delete all partition
and data on the drive) You should now be able to perform a long format on
the hard disk drive.
