Thread: Should I format new external hard drive?

Got a new External Hard Drive, for my son to keep his games on. Its 320GB, pretty big. I think partitioning it would be good for the long run. Any tips or suggestions on this?

First of all, you ask if you should FORMAT it, then you ask if you should PARTITION it - which is it? They are two different things.

Why would you want to partition it into multiple volumes, versus keeping it as one single volume?

320gb, its only a widdle HDD, dont partition it.

Format, ya, if it was me i would.

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

First of all, you ask if you should FORMAT it, then you ask if you should PARTITION it - which is it? They are two different things.

Why would you want to partition it into multiple volumes, versus keeping it as one single volume?

Don't know that's why I'm asking.

Originally Posted by Fondles

320gb, its only a widdle HDD, dont partition it.

Format, ya, if it was me i would.

Thank you.

How would you be able to format a hard drive if you have not partioned it first?

is that a quick format ? or low level format ?

re-partitioning will make more sense,

Drives ship partitioned into a single partition. They are also usually formatted as FAT32. It's usually a precaution to reformat them, but is really not necessary most of the time (unless you need a different format than FAT32).

Basically, if you don't know what any of the above means, just start using it, and don't worry about it.

Got it formatted, and yes it was FAT32 which I switched to NTFS .
Here is an explanation of the difference between these file systems.

FAT32 or NTFS: Making the Choice