Final answer:
When a disk displays a red arrow pointing down in the desk management utility, this usually means the disk is uninitialized. The correct action is to initialize the disk first, which prepares it for creating partitions and formatting for use.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you see that a disk in your system's desk management utility is displaying a red arrow pointing down, the desk likely signifies an uninitialized disk which often requires initialization before use. The most appropriate action from the given options would be to:
- Initialize the disk
Initialization is the process where you assign a disk signature, which allows the operating system to recognize and use the disk. Once initialized, you may then proceed to create partitions on the disk and format them to install a file system such as NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT, making it possible to store data on the disk.