Erase a disk
There are many methods for erasing disks, and which one you choose depends on your needs, and whether you are running classic Mac OS or Mac OS X. In general, a Macintosh computer can erase any kind of writable disk that can be connected to the computer -- USB, FireWire, and SCSI drives (see our Hardware pages), whether they are:
- fixed (inside the computer)
- removable (such as a CD or DVD disc, Zip or Magneto-Optical disk, or Jaz cartridge)
- external (such as a FireWire hard disk or USB flash drive).
Mac OS X
In Mac OS X (version 10.3 or later), you can Erase a disk with these steps:
- Open the Disk Utility application in Utilities in your Applications folder.
- Select your desired drive in the source column.
- Click on the Erase button in the window toolbar.
- Choose the name and volume format you wish to give the desired disk upon erasure.
- Select Erase.
You can also Erase a disk in Mac OS classic.
Mac OS classic
Formatting disks is accomplished in the Finder, using the instructions below.
If you need formatting options for a disk or cannot already see it mounted on your Desktop, you will need to use the "Drive Setup" utility in the "Utilities" folder. Drive Setup can erase, format, and partition most SCSI-based disks.
Third party drives like Zip, Jaz, magneto-optical (MO), and others may require a separate formatting utility, which was traditionally provided with the drive itself.
In classic Mac OS, you can Erase a disk:
- Highlight the disk's icon on the desktop.
- Select "Erase Disk ..." from the Special menu.
- Name the disk in the erase/format dialog box.
- Choose "Mac OS Standard" or "Mac OS Extended" from the "Format" pop-up menu in the dialog. There is no benefit for using the "standard" or "extended" format on disks under 400 MB. However, and "extended" format disk can only be used on a computer with Mac OS 8.1 or later.
- Click the "Erase" button to reformat the disk.
You can also Erase a disk in Mac OS X.
