How to Format a Disk on Ubuntu 26.04

Formatting a disk on Ubuntu removes existing data and prepares the storage device with a new filesystem. This process is commonly used when adding new storage volumes to VPS servers or configuring additional disks for applications and backups.

Many administrators format and mount extra storage on Linux VPS servers to expand available disk space and organize server data more efficiently.

Step 1: Connect to the Ubuntu Server

Access the server using SSH:

ssh root@your_server_ip

Step 2: List Available Disks

Display all connected storage devices:

lsblk

Example output:

NAME SIZE TYPE MOUNTPOINT sda 50G disk ├─sda1 49G part / sdb 100G disk

Identify the disk you want to format carefully to avoid data loss.

Step 3: Unmount the Disk (If Mounted)

If the disk already has mounted partitions, unmount them first:

umount /dev/sdb1

Replace sdb1 with the correct partition name.

Step 4: Create a New Partition

Open the disk using fdisk:

fdisk /dev/sdb

Inside fdisk:

n p 1 ENTER ENTER w

This creates a new primary partition and saves the changes.

Step 5: Verify the New Partition

Check the updated partition table:

lsblk

You should now see a partition similar to:

/dev/sdb1

Step 6: Format the Disk with EXT4

Create an EXT4 filesystem:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1

Ubuntu will format the partition and prepare it for use.

You can also create different filesystems if needed:

mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb1 mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1

Step 7: Create a Mount Point

Create a directory for the disk mount:

mkdir /mnt/storage

Step 8: Mount the Disk

Mount the formatted partition:

mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/storage

Verify the mounted disk:

df -h

Step 9: Mount the Disk Automatically After Reboot

Find the disk UUID:

blkid

Example output:

/dev/sdb1: UUID="xxxx-xxxx"

Open the fstab file:

nano /etc/fstab

Add the following line:

UUID=xxxx-xxxx /mnt/storage ext4 defaults 0 2

Save and exit Nano:

CTRL + X Y ENTER

Test the configuration:

mount -a

If no errors appear, the disk will automatically mount after reboot.

Formatting and mounting disks on Ubuntu 26.04 helps administrators manage storage efficiently and expand VPS server capacity for applications, backups, and large datasets.