To format a hard drive means to delete any information on the drive and to set up a file system so your operating system can read data from, and write data to the drive. As complicated as that might sound, it is very common for Windows users. The time it takes to format a hard drive in Windows depends almost entirely on the drive's size, but your computer's overall speed plays a part, too.

Important: If the hard drive you want to format has never been used, or was just wiped clean, it must first be partitioned.

Any existing files on the drive would be erased with disk formatting. Disk formatting is usually done before the initial installation or before the installation of a new operating system. If the disk needs to be formatted, often you'll face the following things:

Incompatible file system error

To clean install Windows OS on a hard drive

Hard drive corrupted, developed bad sectors, access denied due to the RAW file system

If there is a requirement for additional storage in the computer

Disk formatting can be performed on both magnetic platter hard drives and solid-state drives. The formatting comprises low-level formatting and high-level formatting. Low-level formatting aids in preparing the physical structure on the storage media. High-level formatting helps in creating the file system format within the logical volume or the disk partition. Both formatting solutions will erase hard drive data, so make sure that you have backed-up all important data.

Read more? How to Format Disk and Where are The Formatted Disk Data Gone?