Disk Not Initialized Msg. Meaning Of ?

[Robert11]

Hello,

Trying to get an old external HD working.

Msg. that come up is that the Disk is not initialized.

Gives me the option of doing so.

What does not initialized mean, exactly, please ?

If I do, as the option suggests, will this wipe out everything on the HD, such as a re-format would do ?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[pallesenw]

It means that Windows somehow failed to recognize the mbr (its signature) as being valid. Initializing the disk will (try to) overwrite its mbr. The partition table is usually stored here.

 

[TheCyberMan]

The disk cannot be used until it has been initialized and initializing it will not wipe the disk.