To completely wipe the drive of all previous content, secure erase or NVMe format the device. How to Format in Windows. In Windows, formatting is usually done from the Disk Management tool or File Explorer. You can get to both options by right-clicking the Windows Start button. Right-click the partition you want to format, and then select Method 1. Clean disk and quick format via Diskpart. Step 1. Run Diskpart as administrator (Press Windows + R simultaneously, input “diskpart” and hit Enter key). Step 2. Input the following commands and hit Enter after each one: • list disk. • select disk n (n stands for the number of the disk going to be formatted) • clean. Use the "File system" drop-down menu, and select the NTFS option (recommended for Windows 10). Use the "Allocation unit size" drop-down menu, and select the Default option. Check the "Perform a Choose the hard drive on the left. Click on Format on the top toolbar. Wait until the process is ready in the Task to-do list on the right. Choose the task and click on Start. Wait until the formatting process is done. B. Using macOS Utilities. The system can’t unmount the disk you are currently booted from. Step 3. Select the SD card and then right-click on it. Step 4. Click on "Format." Step 5. In the "Volume Label" give the SD card a name. Step 6. In the "File System" drop-down, click on it and then select the file system that you want to set for your SD card. Description. The message of "You need to format the drive before you can use it" can occur when using a brand new or existing external drive with data. The most common causes for this message are: The operating doesn't recognize the file system or the file system is not supported by the OS. Sudden loss of power to the drive while in use. n0HmTj.

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