When we connect an HDD or SSD to our computer, from Windows File Explorer we will not be able to see it. However, it is visible from BIOS/UEFI. This happens because before being used on a PC with windows it is necessary initialize he HDD. In this article, we are going to see step by step how we will have to do it and, no need to worry, it is not complicated at all.

Initialize hard drive in Windows 11/10

Initialize HDD or SSD hard drive in Windows.

For this we are going to use disk management, it is a Windows application that offers the possibility of managing computer drives and partitions. It is possible to create, format, delete, convert MBR TO GPT, etc. Additionally, thanks to having a very friendly graphical interface, it is quite easy to use. Without a doubt, much more practical and easier than doing it through the command prompt.

  • Press Windows + R to open the Run window.
  • Here we are going to have to type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter in order to access Disk Manager.
  • We will right click on the hard drive that we have to initialize and choose the option Initialize hard drive in the context menu.
  • If the drive is labeled Offline, you will need to right-click on it and choose Online from the available options.
  • A new window opens, we will choose the disk format (MBR or GPT) and click OK to start the process.
Initialize disk.

This process is responsible for creating the Master Boot Record (MBR) or the GUID Partition Table (GPT). These partition schemes define how the disk space is to be divided into logical partitions.

Here we will have to take into consideration that USB devices are only formatted and a drive letter can be assigned, they have no option to be initialized. Another very important thing is the fact that if the hard drive has files that interest us, we will not have to initialize it because everything on the HDD or SSD will be lost.

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Create a new partition

new volume.

After creating the MBR or GPT, what we will have to do next is create a new disk partition. What is a partition? It is a logical division of disk space, which allows us to prepare it to store files or install an OS. We will continue to use the disk management tool to achieve this.

  • We start by opening the Disk Manager tool as we showed previously and we will click on the unallocated space on the hard drive.
  • Among the available options, we are going to have to choose New simple volume.
  • Here we click Next, specify the size of the volume (we recommend leaving it default) and click Next.
  • Next, we assign the drive letter (it can be any that is not in use).
  • We will have to specify the file system, NFTS is usually used. Once we finish we click Next and Finish.

Let’s remember that doing all this completely deletes all the files we had on the disk. So this is a very important thing to take into consideration before proceeding.

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