Choose Partitions to Format

Choose the partitions that you would like to format. All newly created partitions should be formatted. In addition, any existing partitions that contain data you no longer need should be formatted. However, partitions such as /home or /usr/local must not be formatted if they contain data you wish to keep (see Figure 6-8).

Figure 6-8. Choosing Partitions to Format

If you wish to check for bad blocks while formatting each filesystem, please make sure to select the check for bad blocks option.

Checking for bad blocks can help prevent data loss by locating the bad blocks on a drive and making a list of them to prevent using them in the future.