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I'm running Windows Server 2012 R2. I just bought a pair of new Seagate One Touch 4 TB drives to use for my alternating backups to replace the current Seagate One Touch 2 TB drives I have running now because one of the old 2 TB drives went bad so rather than replacing the bad one, I bought 2 matching upgraded drives to replace the pair. They came in exFAT format. So, I reformatted them in NTFS using Disk Manager. I also noticed "200 MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)' on the drive. Does that partition need to be deleted in order for Windows Server Backup to recognize it as a backup drive? ...because when I run Backup "Schedule Wizard > Keep or Change Backup Destinations" to add my drive. However, I get an error that reads "No disks are available for use as a backup storage destination. This can happen when all disks attached to the computer contain volumes with operating system or application data. Attach an empty disk to use as a backup storage destination." ...otherwise, what steps am I missing or what else am I doing wrong?
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Ok, sounds good then. You can follow along here to wipe the disk.
https://www.seagate.com/support/kb/how-to-format-your-drive-on-windows/
--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--
Does that partition need to be deleted in order for Windows Server Backup to recognize it as a backup drive?
Could be right, as far as I know the disk should be empty.
--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--
I cannot delete "200 MB Healthy (EFI System Partition)" in Disk Manager. The delete option is greyed out.
Generally the (EFI System Partition) is the windows boot sector so be careful. You could try moving the disk to another pc to repartition the disk.
--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--
Is the Windows boot sector preventing this drive to be used as a backup drive? Would it make a difference if I moved it to another computer to reparation it? Can I reparation it in Disk Manager?
Is the Windows boot sector preventing this drive to be used as a backup drive?
Well you can check to be sure by removing the disk and see if it still boots.
--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--
The drive in question is not being used as a system drive intended to boot from. It's a separate external drive, brand new and never been used. It should be blank with the exception of any factory settings. I only want to use it as a backup drive. ...or perhaps I'm misunderstanding you.