FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - How do you erase + format an unknown Hard drive to use as external drive ?
Old Oct 25, 2012 | 6:59 am
  #11  
sunshine-state
 
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Originally Posted by DJ Bitterbarn
I never knew how to get there that way!

The alternative path is Start>Run (Or Windows+R) and then type diskmgmt.msc

If a drive works, diskmgmt will find it. I've used this method to fix drive assignment problems, create arrays, salvage disks from arrays, diagnose drive problems (it was formatted for mac, she wanted to use it in windows, problem solved).

Great program, though. Glad someone mentioned it.
Yep, it does work well. Unless the drive is formatted for Windows and already has partitions setup, it won't show up with your other drives in "My Computer," which is the first logical place to check when you've plugged in an external drive, flash drive, etc. Disk Management works at a level deeper than that, showing you what physical drives are detected, even if they can't be read by Windows in their current state.
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