Format the hard drive with the operating system. How to format a hard drive: methods
Formatting a hard drive is the process of creating a file system on its partition, accompanied by deleting data and creating a new file system structure. Functionality for formatting hard drives and solid-state drives is contained in almost all modern operating systems, but the standard mechanism is not always optimal and applicable. This material will tell you in more detail how to format a hard drive in several ways.
It is very easy to format a HDD using standard tools. To do this, you need to select the desired partition in Explorer, right-click and select “Format” from the pop-up menu.
In the menu that opens, select formatting options. It is recommended to use NTFS as the file system, and leave the cluster size as standard. Checking the box next to “Quick formatting” significantly speeds up the process, but only the FS table is created anew. The data itself physically remains on the disk, although it becomes inaccessible. If you do not check the box, all data will be physically erased (filling each memory cell with zeros), but the process will take a long time. A hard drive with a capacity of several terabytes will take hours to format. But such formatting allows you to permanently destroy data, for example, when transferring the drive to a new owner.
An alternative way to format the HDD using standard means is through the “Control Panel”. To do this, you need to find the “Administration” menu, select “Computer Management” in it and find “Disk Management” in the left column. The menu that opens will display all drives in the form of a structure. The advantage of this method is that this way you can format disks that do not have a partition and therefore are not displayed in Explorer.
How to format a hard drive via the command line
To format a disk via the command line, there is a utility command called format. To use it, you need to run the command line as an administrator and enter the format command. It should look like this:
format [drive letter]:- formatting will take place without any questions, into the same FS that is on the disk, in a slow way (with complete erasing).
format [drive letter]: /q — the “/q” flag triggers a quick format, without physically clearing the contents of its memory. The flag can be placed in combination with any other keys.
format [drive letter]: fs:[file system]— formatting the selected partition into one of the supported file systems: NTFS, FAT, FAT32.
format [drive letter]: fs:[file system] /q- the same thing, but with quick formatting.
How to format your hard drive before installing Windows
To format your hard drive before installing Windows, you need to select a full installation, wait until the partition selection menu for installation appears, click on the desired drive and press the “Format” button at the bottom. The system will independently determine the optimal formatting method, file system type and cluster size. The whole process takes less than a minute.
Before you format your hard drive, installing Windows may require creating additional system partitions to load the OS. The screenshot below shows that such a partition takes up 100 MB. It stores part of the system bootloader.
The disadvantage of formatting this way is that you cannot manually manipulate the parameters. Ordinary users do not need this, but sometimes they need FAT32 instead of the standard NTFS system. For example, such a need arises on tablets with Intel processors and two installed operating systems (Windows + Android), like the ten-inch Chuwi Hi10. In order for the Windows partition to be visible from Android, it must be formatted in a compatible file system. The “green robot” cannot work with NTFS without special plugins and third-party programs.
The correct answer to this question is “not at all.” The computer's BIOS is intended for slightly different purposes and does not have functionality for working with the HDD. Usually, “formatting from Bios” is popularly known as formatting via the command line in a text-based operating system (for example, MS-DOS). The advantage of this solution is that you can even work with a system partition that is not in use.
To format a hard drive using a boot disk with DOS, you need to create an image of such an OS, write it to a flash drive and copy the formatting utility there. Instead of DOS, you can also use a special program for working with HDDs, for example, GParted. This option is preferable as it is more functional.
To format a HDD from BIOS using a bootable USB flash drive, you need to download. This is an automatic installer that will download and write the latest version of Gparted to a flash drive.
After creating the flash drive, you need to restart the PC, go to Bios (usually by pressing DEl or F2) and find the Boot menu. In it you should select the item containing the words “Boot device priority” or something similar in meaning. Among them, you should put your flash drive first. Then you need to press F10, agree to save the settings and wait for loading from the flash drive.
In the loaded menu of the GParted program, you need to select the language, select the disk and find the item responsible for formatting. You can select the file system, cluster size, format type, and other options.
Sometimes situations arise when you need to clean your hard drive, that is, format it. C, D, E or any other. But in most cases, Windows OS is installed on logical drive C. She won't let you clean it up just like that. The rest are easy to clean completely.
There are three types of formatting:- We have nothing to do with low-level. After all, it is produced at a component manufacturing plant using special equipment. This cannot be done at a service center, let alone at home.
- The second formatting method involves dividing the logical media into several smaller sizes. That is, instead of one we get two or more disks. This manipulation can only be done when installing the OS.
- The third type is high-level formatting. It is divided into two subspecies. In the case of quick formatting, the files remain in their places, only the file table is updated, and the OS sees the disk as empty. This is very convenient when we do not want to completely lose data or have formatted it by mistake. When fully formatted, all information is erased without return, in addition, the system checks the device for serviceability. If a problem is detected, no data will be recorded.
Thus, from this article you learned how to format a hard drive in Windows. There is nothing complicated about this, as you can see, finally consolidate your knowledge by watching a thematic video.
Formatting a hard drive is the process of creating a logical layout of a data storage area located on a magnetic medium and necessary for further filling with information and working with it. Typically, formatting is carried out before starting to work with the HDD, to completely destroy information or to eliminate damage caused by a virus.
Types of hard drive formatting
Low-level formatting is the layout of the HDD at the physical level, which usually remains unchanged throughout the life of the media. It is carried out at the manufacturer's factory and cannot be done at home. Programs that claim to allow low-level formatting are usually, at best, only able to overwrite control information.
Partitioning is necessary to create a layout into logical drives, which will allow you to store information in a more organized way. For example, the only hard drive of a laptop can be divided into two disks, one of which can be used for the operating system, the other for storing files. This will allow you to reinstall the OS without erasing information stored on the non-system partition. Partitioning non-system disks can be done from under Windows.
High-level formatting is divided into full and quick. Fast only involves clearing file system tables, which are kind of directories for storing files. Full formatting (verification), in addition to destroying information in tables, also includes searching for broken blocks and replacing them with working ones. There are several formatting options.
Formatting the HDD during Windows installation
In order to begin installing the operating system, you should set the settings in the BIOS so that the first device from which the computer starts booting is the installation disk. To enter the BIOS, you must restart the operating system and press the Delete key several times after the computer starts up again.
In the window that appears, go to the Boot section and specify there as the device from which the computer will first boot, the drive where you insert the installation disk.
After setting the necessary boot parameters, insert the installation disk into the drive, save the changes to the BIOS and restart the computer. Typically the F10 key is used for this. If you have done everything correctly, the operating system installation and recovery window will appear in front of you.
Press Enter to begin installation, click Windows. After this, the text of the license agreement will appear in front of you, press F8 to continue further work.
After this, you will need to delete all the partitions into which the hard drive was divided in order to create a single partition on the HDD with an unallocated area. To do this, select each of the available sections one by one and press the L key.
After you delete all the partitions on your hard drive, only the single inscription “Unallocated area” will remain in the list.
Press Enter and you will be presented with options for file systems into which you can format the hard drive. Select Format partition in NTFS.
After a few minutes, formatting the hard drive will be completed. This method is good primarily because it allows you to format the system disk, while programs running under Windows do not allow you to do this. If you are going to format a HDD where there is not a running operating system, but some files, then it will be much more convenient to use another method.
Formatting a hard drive using the built-in Windows program
Open "My Computer" and right-click on the required drive and select "Format" from the pop-up menu.
In the window that appears, you can specify the necessary formatting parameters. Quick formatting takes much less time compared to full formatting, but occurs without completely erasing information, which allows, if necessary, to restore some of the information using special programs.
After you set the necessary parameters and click Start, a window will appear warning you that all data on the disk will be destroyed. Click the OK button and wait for the formatting completion message.
Using the command line to format the HDD
One of the simplest ways to format a hard drive is to use a special command on the command line. Click Start -> Run or press the Win+R key combination. A small window will appear in front of you, where you should enter the name of the cmd program and press Enter.
In the black window that appears, type the command format and the drive letter followed by a colon, for example, format d:, and press Enter. A question will appear with the warning “Attention, all data on the fixed drive d: will be destroyed!” and the question “Start formatting?” Press Y and Enter to continue. The formatting will begin.
Formatting using the built-in Disk Management program
The Windows operating system has a special built-in program that allows you to perform various operations with disks and their partitions. The program is located at Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management.
Right-click on the required drive and select Format. In the window that appears, you can specify the formatting method (quick or full) and file system type.
Using the Partition magic utility to format the HDD
One of the most convenient and functional programs for working with disks and logical partitions is the Partition magic utility. The program can be used even if the built-in Windows software fails to cope with the task.
In order to format a disk using Partition magic, you need to create a boot disk, insert it into the drive and after restarting the computer, working in the program itself, perform all the necessary operations - formatting, as well as deleting or creating a new partition.
There are many reasons why you might want to format a hard drive and erase information from it: a clean install of Windows to get rid of a virus or malware, because you throw away or give the drive to someone else. In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about formatting a drive, including in Windows 10.
The steps you need to take to format a hard drive depend on several conditions: whether it is your only hard drive and whether you have a spare computer or not.
You cannot, for example, format a hard drive that is currently running Windows 10. In order to format a drive or reinstall Windows (or another operating system), you need to boot from the Windows installation disk, USB flash drive, or livecd.
Formatting is the process of erasing all data on a hard drive. But keep in mind that a quick format does not actually delete your data from your hard drive. The hard drive will appear empty, but physically your data will still be there and can be easily recovered. A quick format is suitable if your drive is brand new or you want to reinstall Windows, but it is not suitable if you want to recycle the hard drive or give it away/sell it.
Attention: Before formatting the drive, make sure you have removed important data and documents from the hard drive. Although files can be recovered in some cases, it is still better not to take risks.
How to format a hard drive: partitions
Before you format your hard drive, you need to understand what hard drive partitions are. The hard drive's capacity can be divided into smaller pieces called partitions. You can format one partition while leaving the rest untouched.
This is useful in certain situations, but if you want to format the entire hard drive or use all the disk space in one partition, you also need to delete the hard drive partition information.
How to format a hard drive from BIOS
Many readers ask how to format a hard drive from the BIOS. Although you can perform many different operations through the BIOS, you cannot use it to format your hard drive or create or delete partitions.
If you need to format a drive and can't do it from Windows, you can create a bootable CD, DVD, or USB flash drive and run a free third-party format tool.
One such option is livecd Darik's Boot and Nuke (DBAN). This program will completely delete all data from the hard drive, allowing you to perform a clean installation of the OS or give away the disk. This process is irreversible, keep that in mind.
DBAN is only available as a CD/DVD-R image, but if you don't have a CD drive or a blank blank, you can easily create a bootable flash drive using a downloaded iso file.
Download and run the Universal USB Installer program, insert the flash drive into your computer and follow the program’s instructions. You will be asked to select the Linux distribution you want to install (in this case the latest version of DBAN) and then the location of the iso file on your computer and the drive letter of the USB drive. After this, click the “Create” button.
In the BIOS, you need to change the boot order of devices and set your USB drive as the main boot drive. After you have saved the settings, restart your computer.
Your computer should automatically download DBAN, which will allow you to completely delete all data on your hard drive (options are possible). After DBAN is loaded into the computer’s RAM, it is advisable to remove the bootable USB flash drive from the computer so as not to accidentally “overwrite” it.
How to format a RAID drive
If you have two or more drives configured as a RAID array, then you can use different methods to format these drives. Before you use any of them, make sure you have completed the ones you want to keep.
- Use the software utility that came with your RAID controller or motherboard.
- Go into the RAID controller BIOS and look for the option to format the drive(s) or configure the RAID as individual drives (this will erase data from all drives).
- Disconnect the drive you want to format and connect it to another SATA port on the motherboard that is not part of the RAID controller. Then format the drive using the Disk Management utility in Windows
How to quickly format a hard drive
Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 have a built-in tool for managing hard drives (see below), but it will be faster to do this:
- Go to Windows Explorer
- Right-click on the desired drive (you cannot format the partition on which the OS is installed).
- Select Format. By default, the checkbox is set to the “fast” formatting method. You can leave the rest of the settings unchanged and click “Start”. Within a minute your disk will be formatted.
Using the Disk Management utility
Enter diskmgmt.msc in the search bar for Windows Vista, 7, 8 or 10 and select the result provided. The Disk Management snap-in opens. This tool is not as flexible as, for example, the well-known Acronis, but it is quite enough to format a partition or resize it.
When you connect a new hard drive to your computer, you may be surprised that it doesn't show up in Windows Explorer. The reason is that it must be initialized and formatted first - you can do this in Disk Management.
When you launch Disk Management, all drives on your computer will be analyzed. You will be able to initialize the necessary disks if necessary.
If your disk capacity is more than 2 TB, you need to select the GPT (GUID Partition Table) partition table. This partition table will also allow you to create more than 4 partitions.
Right-click on the drive that says “Not initialized” and select “Initialize.”
Once this is done, right-click on it and select “Create simple volume”. Specify the partition of the new disk volume and the letter you want to assign to it.
You can quickly format a disk in a similar way.
Resizing a Partition
You can use Disk Management to expand or shrink the partition. Simply right-click on the desired volume and select the appropriate option. If you want to reduce the partition, the program will tell you how much free space you can get by reducing the partition. You can adjust the new disk size using the sliders.
If there is no free space on the disk, the “Expand volume” option will be inactive.
So, today we learned how to format a hard drive, how to erase data completely from a hard drive, how to resize a hard drive partition, and how to format a RAID drive. I hope the article was useful to you.
Quite often, users have problems with formatting. Especially if you need to do it with the system hard drive ( usually, but not always, this is C). In this case, the usual methods will not 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 done on those hard drives that 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 ( you can remove the quick method, 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 method on the 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 is the hard drive letter. 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, the system files necessary to run the OS can be stored on the local one. In this case, the BIOS check will begin with it ( C).
It turns out that this is only necessary for the future installation of a 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. This key combination also works on other versions of operating systems.
A command prompt window should appear. In it, enter the command notepad, which will open a 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 due to the fact that most of the data is in RAM 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?
