Apple Macintosh Performa 570 series - Manual (Page 77)

69 Troubleshooting
Initializing a hard disk
Before you can use a new disk, the disk must be prepared so that the
computer knows where to store information on the disk. This preparation is
called initializing (or formatting) the disk.
When do you need to initialize a hard disk?
The hard disk inside your computer was initialized at the factory, so you
shouldn’t need to initialize it. You need to initialize a hard disk only if
m you purchase a hard disk that has not been initialized at the factory
m your hard disk is damaged
If a hard disk needs to be initialized, the disk’s icon may not appear on the
desktop when you start up the computer using another disk.
WARNING Initializing a disk erases any information that may be on it.
Before you initialize a damaged disk, try to repair it as described in
“Repairing a Damaged Disk” earlier in this chapter.