Can XP format my new USB external hard drive?
I have a new 120 g Western Digital Hard Drive. I have it in a 2.0 USB external case. I need to format it and get it running. I'm using Windows XP. How do I format this hard drive?
Luckily, Windows XP has a "New Partition Wizard" which you'll be able
to navigate your way through.
To access the wizard [see graphics in following link]. :
Go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Computer Management / Disk Management
Click on the small section that says "Unknown" or "Not Initialized".
Right click and select "Initialize Disk" then right click on the right
portion of the next window and select "New Partition" to start the New
Partition Wizard.
Select "Primary Partition" and continue with the wizard.
Following you'll find instructions with graphics which will walk you
through the process.
Installing the Hard Drive in Windows XP:
"Unfortunately you can't just put a drive in the case, plug it in and
it will work. You will need to initialize and format the drive before
it will show up in "My Computer" or Windows explorer."
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/usb_hard-drive.html
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