How do I format my hard drive?

[BriceH]

Can someone please tell me the steps to formatting my hard drive with Disk Utility?

Also, I have two questions:
1. Do I have to format my drive from the Disk Utility on the Mac OS X Install disk or the one stored on my computer?
2. Will I have to reinstall Mac OS X after formatting it?

Also, I am on a MacBook Pro (late 2007) running Leopard.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

In order to format any drive, you cannot be booted from that drive (er, partition, actually, but we'll keep it simple). There also cannot be any "open files" on the drive -- so, even if you booted from an alternate media to format your internal hard drive, you could not use the Disk Utility located on the internal hard drive -- how can a program erase itself?

So, if you wanted to format your internal hard drive that has OS X installed on it, you would need to be booted from some alternate media -- the Mac OS X Install/Restore CD/DVD, for instance. If you wanted to format, say, a new external USB hard drive, then you can stay booted from your internal drive and format the external.

The short answer is that you cannot format a drive you are currently booted from.

 

[BriceH]

In order to format any drive, you cannot be booted from that drive (er, partition, actually, but we'll keep it simple). There also cannot be any "open files" on the drive -- so, even if you booted from an alternate media to format your internal hard drive, you could not use the Disk Utility located on the internal hard drive -- how can a program erase itself?

So, if you wanted to format your internal hard drive that has OS X installed on it, you would need to be booted from some alternate media -- the Mac OS X Install/Restore CD/DVD, for instance. If you wanted to format, say, a new external USB hard drive, then you can stay booted from your internal drive and format the external.

The short answer is that you cannot format a drive you are currently booted from.

What do I do in the Disk Utility from the install disk? Do I have to install Mac OS X after formatting?

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Once booted from the install DVD, select a language for installation (we're not actually going to install, though). Then, select "Disk Utility" from the "Utilities" menu.

In Disk Utility, highlight your drive in the left-hand sidebar. Then click either the "Erase" or "Partition" tab -- "Erase" if you'd like to keep your current partition scheme, "Partition" if you wish to change the partition scheme (partitions on a drive are separations of data -- two partitions on one hard drive makes the drive appear to the system as, basically, two hard drives). Select the appropriate format, and click either "Erase..." (on the Erase pane) or "Apply" (on the Partition pane).

You are not required to install OS X on an empty drive -- you'll just be left with an empty drive. If you erased your OS X drive, then you'll be left without any OS X to boot into unless you do install OS X, though.

 

[BriceH]

Once booted from the install DVD, select a language for installation (we're not actually going to install, though). Then, select "Disk Utility" from the "Utilities" menu.

In Disk Utility, highlight your drive in the left-hand sidebar. Then click either the "Erase" or "Partition" tab -- "Erase" if you'd like to keep your current partition scheme, "Partition" if you wish to change the partition scheme (partitions on a drive are separations of data -- two partitions on one hard drive makes the drive appear to the system as, basically, two hard drives). Select the appropriate format, and click either "Erase..." (on the Erase pane) or "Apply" (on the Partition pane).

You are not required to install OS X on an empty drive -- you'll just be left with an empty drive. If you erased your OS X drive, then you'll be left without any OS X to boot into unless you do install OS X, though.

Thanks! How do I install OS X on the empty drive once I have formatted it?

 

[DeltaMac]

When you quit Disk Utility after the format/erase is complete, you will then automatically return to the install window. Select your newly-formatted hard drive as the destination, and continue on with the OS X install. Or, if you don't want to continue with the install, just restart your Mac.