t is possible to format a hard drive within Windows Vista itself without using third-party software. Microsoft has created a program, Disk Management, that allows you to format a hard drive using Windows. This program was very limited in Windows XP, but Microsoft has unlocked its full potential in Windows Vista.

Disk Management can accomplish many other tasks associated with hard drive formatting. It can move partitions, resize them, delete and create new ones, making this all-in-one program extremely convenient. You can format hard drives without being worried about the quality of the reformat.

In order to get to Disk Management in Windows Vista, click on the start menu and then right-click on the computer button. Next, click on the Manage button and a window called Computer Management will appear. Double-click on Storage and then on Disk Management, the program will now begin to load up on your screen.

The program will have a list of all the hard drives that are connected to your computer. This can be through a USB, Firewire or eSATA port, or connected internally via SATA or IDE. The file system and health status of each of them is listed right next to the drive letter and name. On the right-hand side, there is an action toolbar for performing tasks such as formatting and resizing within the program.

At the bottom of the program window, there are bars showing the allocation of disk space to each partition that the hard drive is composed of. They are marked different colors based on whether they are primary partitions or unallocated space. To format a drive or partition, right-click on it and select format from the drop down menu. Select the disk file system that you want on your hard drive, FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS and then click continue, Windows should be beginning the format on the hard drive.

It is also possible to use the command prompt within Windows Vista to format a hard drive connected to your computer. First, find the drive letter of the hard drive you wish to format. After, open up command prompt and type `format driveletterhere\` and press enter, Command Prompt will initiate the formatting process on your selected hard drive. Both of these methods work well for reformatting a hard drive on Windows Vista.