1. Computing

Formatting a Hard Drive in Windows 7 Tutorial

By , About.com Guide

5 of 13

Choose NTFS for the File System
Choose NTFS for the File System

Choose NTFS for the File System

Next up is the file system choice. In the File system: textbox, choose NTFS.

NTFS is the most recent file system available and is almost always the best choice. Only choose FAT32 (FAT - which is actually FAT16 - isn't available unless the drive is 2 GB or smaller) if you are specifically told to do so by a program's instructions that you're planning on using on the drive. This is not common.

  1. About.com
  2. Computing
  3. PC Support
  4. How-To's & Tutorials
  5. Windows 7
  6. Choose NTFS for the File System (Step 5 of 13)

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.