Published on December 2, 2022
A solid state drive, sometimes known as an SSD, is a unique kind of disc that you may use to increase the memory on your computer. These drives can significantly speed up the performance of your computer because they are expressly made to provide faster file access.
However, you must format your new solid state drive so that it is compatible with your computer before you can use it.
We’ll provide you with some advice on how to format your SSD safely in this guide.
Safety Precautions To Consider Before Formatting An SSD
Although formatting an SSD is not difficult, it’s important to look out for mistakes that could harm the drive’s performance.
Step
Protect Your Data
You should first back up any files on an old SSD before formatting it to use in a new computer. Any files on a disc that aren’t stored elsewhere will be lost if you format it because doing so entirely wipes out its memory.
Before you start the formatting procedure, make a backup of any files you want to keep in a different folder or on a different device.
Step
Use the quick format, please
A SSD should only ever be formatted using the quick format option, unlike other devices. An SSD’s lifespan and performance may be significantly lowered by performing a full format.
How To Format An SSD On Windows 10
Step
Enter diskmgmt.MSC in the command line
You must launch Windows Disk Management in order to format an SSD on Windows 10. By launching the CMD prompt and entering the command diskmgmt.MSC, you can accomplish this.
Step
Partition a hard drive and format it
You can also enter the same command into the taskbar search box and select the Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions option.
Step
Find the SSD drive.
Once Windows disc management has been launched, search among the available hard discs for your SSD drive. Before moving on to the next step, you might need to partition your drive if it isn’t showing up.
Step
Use A Brief Format
Click on your drive with the right mouse button, then choose Format. This will bring up a new window with formatting options for your drive.
You can type a name for your new drive in the Volume Label box. After that, select NTFS from the drop-down box under File System or exFAT if you wish to utilise your new SSD with both Windows and Mac operating systems.
To format your drive, select the Perform A Quick Format checkbox and then click Ok.
How To Format An SSD On Mac OS
On a Mac OS-powered computer, formatting an SSD requires a somewhat different procedure.
Step
Activate Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility from the start screen by typing its name into Spotlight or by selecting Utilities from the list of applications.
Step
Type A Drive Name Here
Once you’re in Disk Utility, click on your SSD and select the Erase option to completely delete all of the files and file systems that are currently on your drive.
After that, you may give the drive a name and choose a new file system for your SSD. Choose a file format from the list below by using it:
- AFPS: for all Mac computers built after 2017.
- Mac OS Extended [Journaled]: for all Mac computers built before 2017.
- ExFat: For an SSD that you want to be compatible with both Windows or Mac computers.
Step
Hit the delete key
Press the Erase button once more to begin formatting your drive after selecting the formatting options.
Conclusion
You can utilise your drive to access data and software on your laptop once it has been formatted. If you found this post useful, please consider sharing it and exploring some of our other PC-related how-to articles.