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#1
External Hard Drive
I just got my very first USB external hard drive. It shows fine in Computer, but I can't really tell if it is preformatted or not. Do I need to format the drive? Thanks
I just got my very first USB external hard drive. It shows fine in Computer, but I can't really tell if it is preformatted or not. Do I need to format the drive? Thanks
Your welcome.
I do it for two reasons.
One it can't hurt and two; you never know what is on a new hard drive.
If it shows in Computer it must have a partition with a drive letter. Thus it is formatted. Just double click on it and you see what's on it. Sometimes they have imaging programs and other good stuff. If you reformat it, you lose all that stuff.
I didn't fool with it very much last night. It did have a drive letter and now that I think about it, I believe it said it came with some type of backup software, but I didn't see it in Computer. It didn't have any partitions. I wouldn't use the backup software since I use Macrium. I will look closer tonight and see if anything is on it. Thanks,
Something else you might want to consider. I have read reports where some hardware comes infected straight from the factory.
My self; I feel better when a new drive is cleaned and formated by me. A little paranoid maybe but a lot safer.