How to Format Partition on Windows and Mac

What is a partition

Before using any disk, you first need to partition it into various sectors or partitions. These logical partitions help in managing your data on disk efficiently. You first need to partition your disk and then format it in order to store your data on it. Platforms like Windows and Mac provide inbuilt utility tools for managing and formatting the partitions, however there are also a number of external software packages too that will do the same task for you!

Part 1: When and why should we Format Partition?

Disk formatting becomes necessary when a user wants to erase all the data in that specific partition. You cannot only format the internal disk partitions but also the external devices like flash drives, HDDs etc. Formatting erases all the data on the disk and now you can use it to store other data. Some scenarios where formatting becomes mandatory include:

Part 2: How to format a partition on Windows 10

You need to format your hard drive before you can start storing your data in it. Formatting not only erases all the data but also clears off all the junk from the partition. Disk management is a built in utility offered by Windows 10 that can help the users in creating, deleting and editing a specific partition. Here are the steps to format partition in Windows 10:

Step 1: Launch the disk management utility

You can launch the disk management utility in a number of ways. Click on start menu and then type "˜computer management'; choose "˜disk management' from the window. You can also open the disk management utility from the command prompt. Type "˜compmgmt.msc' and press enter.

format partition on Windows 10 step 1

Step 2: Choose the "˜format' option

The disk management window will show all the partitions and disks on the system. Choose the partition that you want to format and right click on it to open the context menu. Choose the "˜format' option from this context menu.

format partition on Windows 10 step 2

Step 3: Set the cluster type and file system type

Once you have clicked on the "˜format' option from the context menu, a pop appears that asks you to fill in the file system, the name of the volume and the cluster size. Fill in the appropriate details and click on "˜ok' button. The process of formatting will start once you have clicked on "˜ok' button.

format partition on Windows 10 step 3

Part 3: How to format a partition on Mac OS X?

The disk utility tool is available with Mac OS X, so if you want to format a partition in Mac, you can easily use this utility tool. Follow the steps below to format partition through disk utility tool in Mac OS X:

Step 1: Launch the disk utility tool

The very first step is to launch the disk utility tool from your Mac operating system. You can find the disk utility tool in the utilities menu.

format partition on Mac OS X step 1

format partition on Mac OS X

Step 2: Choose the partition that you want to format

Once you have launched the disk utility tool, the next step is to choose the drive or partition that you want to format. Selecting the drive or partition on the left pane will open the partition tab on the right side.

format partition on Mac OS X step 2

Step 3: Choose the erase tab to format

Choose the "˜erase' tab from the right pane and check the format and name of the drive you want to format. Once you are sure, click the "˜erase' button to start the formatting process.

format partition on Mac OS X step 3

Part 4: How to Recover lost files from Formatted Partition

If you have formatted the partition by mistake and now you wish to get back some of the lost files, then Wondershare Data Recovery can come to your rescue! With the trust of Wondershare and amazing features, Wondershare Data Recovery has become one of the most popular data recovery software packages in the market.

3981454 people have downloaded it

Follow the steps below to recover the lost files from formatted partition in wizard mode:

Step 1: Launch Wondershare Data Recovery

The very first step is to launch the Wondershare Data Recovery software by double clicking on its icon. The software operates in two modes but if you are a beginner, then wizard mode will be the most suitable choice for you! Click on the next button in the wizard to proceed to the next step.

recover lost data from formatted partition step 1

Step 2: Select file type you want to recover

Once you have clicked on the next button, the wizard will ask you about the type of file that you want to recover. You can choose a number of file type including images, folders etc. You can also choose "˜all' if you want to recover all types of files.

recover lost data from formatted partition step 2

Step 3: Choose the location where you lost the files

The next question in the wizard is "where you lost the files?" You can command the software to either search the whole computer for your file or you can specify the location where the data loss occurred.

recover lost data from formatted partition step 3

Step 4: Begin the search

Once you have chosen the file types you want to recover hard drive from where you want to recover the files, you can proceed to the next step to actually start the search process. If you want to recover files from formatted partition, then use "Deep Scan". Click on start button to start the actual recovery of lost files.

recover lost data from formatted partition step 4

Step 5: Preview and recover files

Once you start the searching of lost files, you can preview the files as they are being recovered. Select the files that you want to recover and then click on the "˜recover' button. You can either selectively recover the files or just recover them all.

recover lost data from formatted partition step 5

3981454 people have downloaded it

Part 5: Video tutorial of Formatted Partition Lost File Recovery

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