How to format a hard drive in Windows XP and Windows Vista.
1. Right-click on the “Computer” icon and select “Manage.” You can find “Computer” in the Start menu.
2. In the Computer Management window that comes up, choose “Disk Management” on the left-hand column.
3. On the right-hand side, you will see two separate sections. The bottom section will list all physically attached disks in order of number. The C: drive is usually Disk 0. The space to the right of the disk numbers indicate that partition(s) and size(s) of all of you drives.
4. Find the drive you wish to format. If it is a Glyph or other Mac-formatted drive, it will appear with the word “Unallocated” in the partition space.
5. Right-click in this unallocated space (or partition you wish to format) and select “Format.” You may only have the option for “New Partition.”
6. Leave every option on the default settings, except the Volume Label setting. This setting allows you to name the drive. Please note that for use with pro Tools, the volume label cannot exceed 11 characters. Choose the “Format” option to start formatting.
7. Once this process is completed (usually 30 minutes to 1 hour), your drive will be ready to use.
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