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How to Initialize Your Intel® Optane™ Solid State Drive with Windows* Disk Management Tool

Content Type: Install & Setup   |   Article ID: 000022235   |   Last Reviewed: 01/14/2023

Environment

Operating System

Windows 11* Family, Windows 7*, Windows 8.1*, Windows 8*, Windows® 10 family

Learn how to initialize an Intel® Optane™ SSD in Windows*, whether it is new or erased.

Note

You may need to have an NVMe* driver installed in the OS before proceeding.

  • On Windows 8.1* or higher (it comes with a native In-Box driver) you don't need to do anything.
  • In Windows 7*, in order to detect the SSD, here are two options:
  1. Use the NVMe driver for Intel® SSD's - Some products may not be supported, confirm in the driver release notes for specific support.
  2. The Microsoft* NVMe driver can be applied.

Follow these steps to initialize, partition, and format your Intel® Optane™ SSD:

  1. Open Disk Management tool by following any of the methods below:
    • Method 1:
      1. Press the Windows key + r to open the Run prompt.
      2. Type diskmgmt.msc.
      3. Click on the OK button.
    • Method 2:
      1. Press the Windows key + x.
      2. Click on the Disk Management option.
  2. Initialize the disk by following the below steps:
    1. After launching Disk Management, you should see a list for the available disks in the system. Right-click on the left section of your new disk (it will display as Not initialized).
    2. Click on the Initialize Disk option.
    3. In the new pop-up window, select the Partition Style for the drive:
      • GPT is newest and required for Intel® Optane™ memory module for system acceleration.
      • MBR is legacy.
        Note If you intend to clone from an existing drive, make sure you choose the partition style that matches that drive. This avoids problems during cloning.
    4. Click on the OK button. The disk is initialized, but is unallocated.
  3. Partition and format the disk by following the below steps:
    1. Right-click anywhere in the Unallocated sector of the disk.
    2. Click the New Simple Volume option.
    3. The New Simple Volume Wizard will pop-up. Click Next.
    4. Specify the volume (partition) size (normally the entire disk). Click Next.
    5. Select the drive letter or path (Windows typically use drive letters. Click Next.
    6. Select the option Format this volume with the following settings:
      • File System equals to NTFS (NTFS is typical for Windows).
      • Allocation equals to Default.
      • Volume Label refers to the display name of the drive/partition, e.g. My Intel SSD.
      • Leave the rest as is.
    7. Click Next to review and confirm the settings.
    8. Click Finish.

Your drive should be ready to use now. Navigate to This PC, with File Explorer, and you will see the new storage device.

 

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