Then enter one of the following initialize-disk commands in the Powershell to initialize the disk using different styles. # initialize-disk cmdlet in Powershellįirst of all, type 'Powershell' in the taskbar and select run as administrator.

Step 5 Select 'Next', set the size of the volume and the file system you want to use then click 'Next'. Step 4 Right-click the unallocated space on the drive and select 'New Simple Volume'. Step 3 Check if you select the right disk and click 'OK'. Step 2 In Disk Management, right-click the disk you need to initialize. Step 1 Type 'Disk Management' in the taskbar and select 'Run as administrator '. In this part, we will introduce 2 ways to initialize disk in detail. Now, your hard drive is accessible and it also saves your data to the fullest extent possible. When you save the data you need, right-click the disk and click 'Format'. Save your data to a different disk on the computer. Since you don't have the access to the hard drive from Windows File Explorer, launch FonePaw Data Recovery (opens new window) to scan and recover the data. When you finished initializing the hard drive, you would find it is still inaccessible Thus, to initialize disk without losing data, you need to recover the data after initializing and before formatting with the help of a data recovery tool like FonePaw Data Recovery (opens new window). That means if you want to read and write data on that disk, you need to create partitions on it and format the partitions after the disk is initialized.Īlthough initializing a disk only affects the front sector and won't erase data on it, formatting the disk will. Initializing only activates the disk but won't make it usable. Then does it mean we can initialize disk without losing data? Broadly speaking, the answer is No. Since initializing only erases the data that record where data are stored on the drive, it won't erase the actual data on the hard drive. In a word, initializing only affects the data that keep track of where files are on a drive. It is the first sector of the disk that identifies how and where an operating system is located so that it can be loaded into the computer's main storage or random access memory. It's the process of building and rebuilding MBR. Generally speaking, initializing means to activate your hard drive.

Will initializing disk erase data