# remove all old file system information. Not necessary, but I do it just because I can
wipefs -a /dev/sdg
# make this a gpt disk. Will wipe out any other partitioning scheme
parted /dev/sdg mklabel gpt
# make a new partition on optimal sector boundries. This is a primary partition, and starts
# at the beginning of the disk (0%) and goes to the end of the disk (100%)
# I put that in quotes as, from what I've read, the percent symbol does not work well
# within the bash command line
# note, we are not telling it what file system to use, so it defaults to Linux
parted -a optimal /dev/sdg mkpart primary '0%' '100%'
# display the information on the disk
parted /dev/sdg print
# format as ext4, no reserved space, and a disk label marked 'backup'
mkfs.ext4 -m0 -Lbackup /dev/sdg