How to Format a Hard Drive or SSD on Windows 11

How-To Geek

By Benj Edwards

Updated Dec 10, 2023

Wipe and prepare your drive for an exciting life of data storage adventures.

Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

To format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11, open File Explorer, browse to "This PC," right-click the drive, and select "Format" to start the process.
When formatting, consider the capacity, file system, allocation unit size, and volume label. Select NTFS if using the drive only with Windows and exFAT if also using it with Mac.
Before formatting, make sure to back up all data on the drive as formatting a drive completely erases it.