Format a Hard Drive Using Mac OS X Disk Utility

These are instructions on how to format a hard drive using Mac OS X Disk Utility.

Step One
If your hard drive is an external drive, connect it to the computer. Launch Disk Utility from the Applications:Utilities folder.





Step Two
From the list on the left select the drive you would like to format


Step Three
Click to select the Erase tab.


Step Four
From the Volume Format dropdown select the format you would like the drive to be in.


Step Five
Enter the title for your volume in the Name field.


Step Six
Press the Security Options... button to specify how to erase the drive. You can choose: Don't Erase Data, Zero Out Data, 7-Pass Erase, or 35-Pass Erase. Click the OK button to continue.


Step Seven
You are now ready to begin the format. Click the Erase... button to start.


Step Eight
From the popup that appears click the Erase button to confirm you would like to format.


Step Nine
You will notice a status bar appear with the progress of your format.


Step Ten
Once the format has completed you will notice the disk remount in Disk Utility!