(second semester Lecture 2 : Computer Preparing (Formating

A hard disk drive (HDD) is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material. An HDD retains its data even when powered off. To use the hard drive it must be formatted (after partitioning it). Formatting erases any existing files on a hard disk. If you format a hard disk that has files on it, the files will be deleted.
There are two types of Formatting:
• Physical Formatting, also known as low-level format.
• Logical Formatting or what is known as creating high level Formatting. What do I need to do to format a hard disk?
Before formatting a hard disk, you must first create one or more partitions on it. After you ve partitioned the hard disk, you can format each partition. You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows. You can partition the hard disk so it contains a single volume or several volumes. Each volume is assigned its own drive letter.