Insert a blank USB flash drive that’s 16 GB or larger. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source If there’s any data on the drive already, you’ll want to back it up—it will be deleted during the creation process. In the Windows search bar, type recovery, and click Create a recovery drive in the search results. Check the box next to “Back up system files to the recovery drive” and click Next. Select your USB flash drive and click Next. Click Create. Leave the USB drive in the port, as you’ll need to boot from it in a few minutes.
Open the Windows Start menu and click Settings (the gear). Click Update & Security. Click the Recovery tab on the left. Click Restart now under “Advanced” in the right tab. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart. [2] X Research source When the PC reboots, you’ll be in the BIOS/UEFI. Now you’ll need to go to the section called Boot, Boot Order, or Startup. This area looks different depending on your model of PC, so you may have to do some poking around to find it. When you find the right section, you should see a list of devices your PC can boot from—optical drive, USB drive, hard drive, etc. [3] X Research source Make the USB drive the first option in the boot order. If you don’t see “USB drive,” the option may be called “Removable Media. " The steps to make it first in the boot order also vary by model, but the instructions should appear at the bottom of the screen. Save an exit to reboot. The key to do this is usually F10, but you may have a different key option.
Don’t worry—if you made a backup of your data, you’ll be able to recover it after formatting and reinstalling Windows.
Don’t worry—if you made a backup of your data, you’ll be able to recover it after formatting and reinstalling Windows.
To combine your unallocated space with your newly formatted partition, select the formatted partition and click Delete. Now you can create new partitions as needed by selecting the unallocated space, clicking New, and sizing them how you wish. If you don’t want to install Windows, you’re done!
To combine your unallocated space with your newly formatted partition, select the formatted partition and click Delete. Now you can create new partitions as needed by selecting the unallocated space, clicking New, and sizing them how you wish. If you don’t want to install Windows, you’re done!
You can now restore your backed up files.
This method will not erase and reinstall Windows. Instead, you can use this to create and format a new partition on your internal drive.
This method will not erase and reinstall Windows. Instead, you can use this to create and format a new partition on your internal drive.
This method will not erase and reinstall Windows. Instead, you can use this to create and format a new partition on your internal drive.
It may take Windows several minutes to determine your available space.
The maximum number of megabytes that you can allocate is listed directly above the field that you type in. There are 1000 megabytes (MB) in one gigabyte (GB). To create a 5 GB partition, you would type 5000 into the text field.
This will likely take a few minutes to complete.
If you don’t care about your drive’s letter, click Next to skip this step.
NTFS - Used for Windows-only drives. FAT32 - Used for Windows and Mac. Has a storage limit of 32 gigabytes with an individual file size of 4 gigabytes. exFAT - Used this for multiple devices (Mac, Windows, consoles, and so on). No storage limit.
If you ever want to change the partition’s format, you can format it like a flash drive from within the File Explorer (Windows) or the Disk Utility (Mac).
Use this method if you want to completely erase and reformat your Mac’s internal boot drive.
If you see “Processor” followed by a processor name that includes the word “Intel,” you’ll use the Intel instructions. If you see “Chip” followed by a name like “Apple M1,” you’ll use the Apple silicon instructions.
If you see “Processor” followed by a processor name that includes the word “Intel,” you’ll use the Intel instructions. If you see “Chip” followed by a name like “Apple M1,” you’ll use the Apple silicon instructions.
Intel: Press the power button to turn on your Mac, and then immediately press and hold Command + R until the Apple logo appears. [7] X Research source If you are prompted to sign in, log in with an administrator account. Then, select Disk Utility and click Continue. Apple silicon: Press and hold the power button, continuing to hold the button down until you see a hard drive and a gear on the screen. Lift your finger from the button, click Options and then Continue. Log in using your administrator account, select Disk Utility, and then click Continue. [8] X Research source
If you have an Apple silicon processor and used Disk Utility to add internal volumes to the drive, delete all of those volumes before you continue. To do so, just select each volume you want to remove under “Internal volumes” and click the minus (-) button. Don’t delete the internal volumes called Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD - Data, or any volumes under the “External” or “Disk Images” headers.
Intel: Once the content is erased and formatted, you can delete any internal volumes you’ve created by selecting them under “Internal volumes” and clicking the minus sign. Just don’t delete the internal volumes called Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD - Data, or any volumes under the “External” or “Disk Images” headers. Apple silicon: When prompted, click Erase this Mac and Restart to format and restart.
Intel: Once the content is erased and formatted, you can delete any internal volumes you’ve created by selecting them under “Internal volumes” and clicking the minus sign. Just don’t delete the internal volumes called Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD - Data, or any volumes under the “External” or “Disk Images” headers. Apple silicon: When prompted, click Erase this Mac and Restart to format and restart.
Intel: Click the red circle to close Disk Utility, select Reinstall macOS, and click Continue. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Mac. Apple silicon: After your Mac restarts, follow the on-screen instructions to select your preferences, connect to Wi-Fi, and activate. Next, click Exit to Recovery Utilities, click Reinstall macOS, and click Continue. Now you can follow the on-screen instructions to set up your Mac.
You can also type a number in gigabytes (GB) into the “Size:” field to set your partition’s size.
APFS: This is the most common macOS format and will usually be preselected by default. It works with all versions of macOS beginning with 10. 13. [9] X Research source If you want to encrypt the partition, choose the APFS (Encrypted) option instead. Mac OS Extended (Journaled): This format was the main format type up through macOS 10. 12. You can use this format if you plan to use this disk on Macs running earlier operating systems. You can also choose the Encrypted option if you want to encrypt the partition. MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT: Both of these options are cross-compatible with Windows PCs. ExFAT is more modern and supports files that are 4GB and larger.
APFS: This is the most common macOS format and will usually be preselected by default. It works with all versions of macOS beginning with 10. 13. [9] X Research source If you want to encrypt the partition, choose the APFS (Encrypted) option instead. Mac OS Extended (Journaled): This format was the main format type up through macOS 10. 12. You can use this format if you plan to use this disk on Macs running earlier operating systems. You can also choose the Encrypted option if you want to encrypt the partition. MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT: Both of these options are cross-compatible with Windows PCs. ExFAT is more modern and supports files that are 4GB and larger.
This process can take some time, so be patient.
If you ever need to reformat the drive, you can change the partition’s format the same way in which you would change a flash drive’s format.
