How to format the disk if it is an installation disk. Formatting using BIOS. Format the disk using standard Windows utilities
Situation: you turn on the computer, and there “ blue screen of death". Urgently needs to be formatted HDD, but there is no specialist. In this article we will look at a way to format a hard drive yourself, without outside help.
We reboot the computer and immediately after turning it on, press the Del key to enter the BIOS. It happens, instead Del buttons you need to press Insert, F2, F5, F12. The exact data can be found when the computer boots; at the bottom of the screen a message appears like “to enter the BIOS, press DEL/Insert, etc.” Immediately after these steps, the BIOS window will appear, where you can navigate through bookmarks only through the keyboard, not with the mouse. Go to the “Boot” tab. Now you need to configure it so that when you turn on the computer, booting does not occur from hard drive , and from boot sector CD-Rjm. To do this, go to the item “ Boot Device
(Windows 7, Figure 1) or when installing Windows XP, Figure 2. After formatting is completed, the installation process of the operating system will begin immediately..
Windows systems This is perhaps the fastest and useful way hard formatting
disk. Often, before installing an operating system, users wonder how to format a hard drive via BIOS. This procedure must be resorted to in order to clear partitions that are inaccessible after Windows startup
. However, it is worth remembering that it will not be possible to completely delete information from the hard drive itself in this way.
Description of the procedure
- Restart the computer with the connected media and immediately after startup enter the I/O system using the appropriate key. Usually this is F12, F8 or Escape, but if the version is very outdated, other combinations may be used.
- In the window that appears, you need to open the Boot tab, then Boot Option Priorities. This section allows you to select where the OS will be loaded from (from a flash drive or other device), which is what you need to do. Depending on the removable media, mark the USB port or CD-ROM.
- Exit by saving changes made, after which the computer will reboot. Before you start formatting the disk, you will need to launch the OS from the selected device by pressing any key on the laptop.
- Call the command line. If the procedure is carried out using Windows 7 media, press the combination Shift+F10. For version 8, this method does not work; it is replaced by the user interface.
- Make sure it's correct letter designation, before formatting the disk. After starting with boot device it may change, so don't delete it important files, you need to enter “wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, size, description”.
- Go directly to the cleaning procedure. To do this, you need to enter “format /FS:NTFS X: /q” in the window, instead of X entering the desired designation, for example, C (the drive that most often needs to delete data from the system partition).
Then all that remains is to wait for the end of the process, confirming the command by pressing Enter.
Other methods
The Windows installer allows you to do without CMD, which some people are afraid to use for some reason. Only the familiar interface, however, before you start formatting the hard drive through the BIOS, you will have to carry out the first 3 points of the previous section.
After the language selection step, click on “ Full installation", call up a list of available disks and configure the installation. In the parameters that open, you need to mark the “Format” item with the cursor and follow further instructions. However, this method will not work if installing the Windows operating system is not required.
In addition, you can use the program ERD Commander, creating a bootable CD based on it. In the BIOS you will also need to select a priority device to start (in in this case- drive unit). When the program opens, you should enter the MicroSoft Diagnostic section and Recovery Toolset and click “Next” until it opens working window. In it you need to click on the “Cleaning” item, after which formatting of the hard drive will begin (via BIOS without software third party tools this is impossible).
There is another program that allows you to do the same thing and burn an emergency flash drive - AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition. She happens to be free analogue utilities for working with various drives and has a friendly interface, so the user can understand how to format a hard drive without third-party tips.
In general, the algorithm of actions is almost the same for most operating systems, but the names of the items may differ significantly from each other. The same applies to the input/output system: the names of the sections may not be the same as those given above due to differences in versions. However, although it is easier to clean a Windows hard drive, it is important to remember that using third-party tools is mandatory. It is not possible to format via BIOS due to the lack of proper functionality, so you will have to stock up on a boot device.
In many of our articles that mention working with, we indirectly touch on the issue of its formatting. In this article we want to touch on this topic in detail and tell you how to format a hard drive in different situations. So let's get started.
You can format your hard drive different ways and this procedure is required in many cases: for complete cleaning partition or the entire hard drive, for, when reinstalling the system, as well as after purchasing a new HDD. First, let's look at the easiest way to format a disk - through Windows OS.
How to format a hard drive partition in Windows
Formatting a hard drive partition in Windows is done if you want to quickly and efficiently delete existing unnecessary files on one of the hard drive partitions. Also, a partition is formatted using this method if viruses appear on this partition.Before formatting your hard drive, resave all the necessary data that is on it to another partition or to your own cloud service. If you want to format HDD partition due to the presence of viruses on it, in this case it is better not to copy data from it, as they may contain viruses. However, if infected with viruses If you have files on your hard drive that you really need, copy them to an empty flash drive and check it. If no viruses are detected, then these files can be transferred to a formatted partition.
To format a partition, right-click on it in Explorer to open the context menu.
In the appeared context menu select “Format...”.
- Capacity. This parameter indicates the size of the hard drive partition, so it does not change.
- File system. In this parameter, we set the default value, that is, we format the partition in the NTFS file system, since it is the best today for the Windows operating system.
- Cluster size. Meaning this parameter We also leave it unchanged.
- Volume Label. Here you can enter the name of the section that will be assigned to it after formatting.
- Formatting Methods. Select “Quick (clear table of contents)” formatting by checking given value tick.
How to format a hard drive when installing a system
Now let's look at how to properly format a hard drive with and.How to format a hard drive when installing Windows
The menu for formatting hard drives in Windows 7 and Windows 8 is absolutely identical. To do this, when during the installation process you get to selecting a partition Windows installations– click on “Disk Settings”.
If you need to format a new hard drive, then click on this disk and then click on “Format”.
There are two ways to format a hard drive. The first method (described above): select a hard drive partition and format it. Second method: delete all partitions on the hard drive and create one, thereby formatting the hard drive completely. You can read more about this in one of our next articles.
How to format a hard drive when installing Linux
Installer Linux Ubuntu also includes the hard drive setup process. In the case when the new hard drive will be the only one in your computer, then in the installation menu you can select automatic setup disk, where it will be formatted as needed. To do this, during the installation process, select "Erase disk and install Ubuntu".
To format an existing partition on your hard drive in Linux, you need to select this section, at the bottom, click on the “Change...” button and in the window, check the box next to the item: “Format partition”, and click on the “OK” button, leaving its type (Ext4 or swap) unchanged. But the external hard drive in Linux is better Just format it, as in Windows, in the NTFS file system.
How to format a hard drive using special programs
In principle, in order to format a hard drive or its partition, the above methods will be quite sufficient, but if you want to format and resize a hard drive partition in Windows and not reinstall the system, we recommend using Acronis Disk Director" or "Partition Magic".
It is very simple to format a disk or partition in these programs: select the desired disk or partition and right-click on it, after which a context menu will appear where you will need to select the “Format” or “Format” item depending on the program and its localization.
Quite often, users have problems with formatting. Especially if it needs to be done with a system hard drive (usually, but not always, this is C). In this case usual ways won't work.
If the hard drive ( or its section) without system files, then use the formatting method in the system itself.
In my instructions I will show you how to format a hard drive with a system (there, where is windows installed) and without. I'll start with the simplest thing.
Formatting a non-system hard drive or partition
These methods are practically no different from. It can only be produced on those hard drives, which do not have system files ( usually D or E).
No need to worry about formatting the system drive. There is no way to do it this way. You will see a warning that the action is not possible.
Open my computer ( conductor). In it, select the disk, open the context menu and select formatting.
In the window that appears, leave everything as it is ( can be removed quick way, but then you will have to wait a very long time).
The process will take a long time ( depends on volume). You may think that nothing is happening and the computer is just frozen. But in most cases this is not the case.
The same can be done in the disk management window. Use this method if for some reason the first one did not work.
Go to Start >> All Programs >> Administrative Tools >> Computer Management.
In the window that appears, select the hard drive and “Format” in the context menu as in the image below.
There is 1 more way in command line. Administrator rights are required.
Go to Start menu >> Run ( or Win+R) to open the progress bar. Then go to the command line.
Enter the command there:
Explanation: E- This letter hard disk. NTFS — file system. Q- quick formatting.
Formatting the system disk
When you try to format your system hard drive using the above methods, you will see the error shown below.
Why does this happen? It's simple. Windows cannot format itself. This will cause the system to malfunction and the error provides protection against this.
In addition, even if Windows was installed on another hard drive, then system files, necessary to run the OS can be stored locally. In this case, the BIOS check will begin with it ( C).
It turns out that this is only necessary for future installations new system. Otherwise, you will simply make the computer unusable. Before this you need to prepare a little.
You will need another media with the operating system you plan to install. This method works on any version. I'll demonstrate it on Windows 8.
Set it in advance. First you need to find out its letter. It may be different from "C:" so check this in advance. Now I’ll show you how to do this right during installation.
Press the key combination Shift+F10. On other versions operating systems This keyboard shortcut works the same way.
A command prompt window should appear. In it enter notepad command, which will open Notepad. From there you can further view the necessary information.
The Notepad program will open. In it, go to File >> Open or press CTRL+O.
Explorer will open. Go to the “This PC” tab and look at the drive letter you want to format. In my case D. It is designated as local.
Now go back to the command line and enter the command:
Where /FS:NTFS- file system. D:— drive letter. /q- quick formatting.
You can also use the utility directly during the installation process and not use the command line.
Select the language, click on the install button and in the window where you need to select the partition to install, you need to select formatting. See how it looks in the image.
It can also be done using any ( almost) LiveCD. This is the media from which the system boots instead of booting from the hard drive. You can format it directly in Explorer, similar to methods with non-system hard drives. This is possible because most of the data is in random access memory and this does not prevent the computer from starting.
There are also many programs, but they are paid and their use will be unnecessary for such tasks. This information should be sufficient.
If something was not clear to you, then watch this video. It clearly depicts all the actions with detailed comments and you will have no questions left.
Were you able to format your hard drive?
