How do I format a hard drive? A computer hard drive stores your files, allowing you to access them at any time. The majority of the time, you want these files to remain stored properly and safely.

You can wipe a hard drive and data drives through your Windows 10 Settings, the DBAN utility, and the Disk Utility manager in a Mac's Recovery Mode.

To format a hard drive before you start using it in Windows, use the Disk Management utility; on a Mac, use Disk Utility.