Initializing disks

Last published : Jul 06, 2026
The Management Server console lets you initialize a disk and bring it under the control of Storage Foundation.
You can select one or more disks to launch this operation. A disk that is a part of any disk group cannot be initialized. The disks in a foreign or a deported state cannot be initialized. This operation is supported on multiple disks across multiple hosts.
Note: Before you initialize a disk, you need to take a backup of the data.
To perform this task, your user group must be assigned the Admin role on the host or the Server perspective. The permission on the host may be explicitly assigned or inherited from a parent Organization.
Initializing a disk
  1. In the Management Server console, go to the Server perspective and expand Manage in the left pane.
  2. Expand the Organization or Uncategorized Hosts to locate the host.
  3. Expand the host and click on the Disks tab.
  4. Right-click on the selected disk and select Initialize.
  5. In the Initialize Disk wizard panel, verify the details of the disks selected and also specify the format. Click Ok.
See Initialize Disk panel options.
  1. In the Result panel, verify that the disks have been initialized successfully.
See About managing disk groups.
See About managing disks.