Most PC users are familiar with the concept that a hard disk--in fact, all storage
media--must be formatted before it can be used. There is usually some confusion, however,
regarding exactly what formatting means and what it does. This is exacerbated by the fact
that modern hard disks are not formatted in the same way that older ones were, and also
the fact that the utilities used for formatting behave differently when acting on hard
disks than when used for floppy disks.
This section takes a look at issues surrounding disk formatting and capacity, discusses
unformatted and formatted hard disk capacity, and looks briefly at formatting utilities.
Next: Two Formatting Steps
