We format the hard drive. Programs for formatting HDD

When installing the operating system, as well as when changing files or redistributing space between partitions, it is necessary to format the hard drive. This is a fairly common operation performed by PC users. If you haven’t done anything like this before, then let’s look at the theoretical part of the question.

What is the formatting process?

Marking areas for storing information, in which some of it is deleted, is called formatting. It creates a system for accessing stored information.

Typically done for:

changing one file system to another;
deleting files from your hard drive.

At the moment there are a large number of different file systems. They are used on various equipment, including not only computers, but also mobile devices. The latest versions of Windows use the NTFS file system.

Video: How to format a hard drive

Why format your hard drive?

Formatting is performed to delete files from the hard drive, as well as to change one file system to another.

In most cases they resort to it:

before installing a new operating system;
to create a Windows installation image, for example, on a flash drive;
due to the need to clear the disk of files if they are not needed.

Formatting with Windows tools

Despite the large number of various programs for working with a hard drive, the Windows operating system has its own set of utilities.

Let's look at the process of formatting disks using Windows:

select the disk that needs to be formatted;
press the right mouse button;
select Format;
in the window that appears, select the file system, cluster size, and formatting method;
It is recommended to set NTFS as a file system, and leave the cluster size at the default – 4096;
After setting the necessary parameters, click Start.

Windows also includes a more comprehensive service for working with hard drives.

To open this menu, do the following:

right-click on My Computer;
select Management;
open Disk Management;
In this menu, the user can perform various operations on the hard drive, including formatting.

Formatting via the command line

You can also perform this operation using the command line:

Press the key combination Win+R;
enter cmd and press Enter;
in the command line we write the command format y:, where y is the letter of your drive, maybe, for example, c or d;
the system will ask you to confirm the operation by pressing the Y key;
after confirmation, the system will begin the formatting process;
When finished, this message will appear

Formatting HDD in BIOS

If you need to format a hard drive partition from the BIOS, you will have to tinker a little. Unfortunately, the BIOS does not have tools for formatting a hard drive, so you should use third-party programs to perform these operations.

One of the most common is Acronis Disk Director. To work with it, you need to create bootable media in the operating system with the files of this program. But before you start creating bootable media, you should consider another option - formatting using the Windows Installer. This solution is a simpler option compared to Acronis Disk Director.

For this method, you only need a disk or flash drive with a recorded operating system installation package.

To format, you must perform the following steps:

Attention! The drive partition letters may not match. To more accurately determine the required disk, use the wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, size, description command.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Acronis Disk Director

To create a bootable flash drive you will need:

Algorithm of actions:

insert the flash drive;
install and open the program;
in the application, open the Tools section and select Acronis Bootable Media Builder;
click next;
select the Windows PE boot media type;
in the next menu you should mark the necessary components for recording to a flash drive;
After selection, you must select the media on which to record and click Next. The flash drive should be formatted in FAT 32 format using the Windows utility;
you can also create an image for later burning to a flash device or disk using the Ultra ISO program.

Working with a bootable USB flash drive Acronis Disk Director

To load a flash drive you need:

How to format an external hard drive to NTFS

The most convenient formatting method is to perform all actions using standard operating system utilities. This solution does not involve installing additional programs or creating additional boot disks.

If you do not have an operating system installed, then in this case you should use special programs, such as Acronis.

Steps describing how to format a hard drive as ntfs:

Utilities

In addition to the standard Windows program, there are various utilities used for the same purpose.

The most common options include the following:

What is the best program to format drives in ntfs?

Each program has its own characteristics, but the main direction for all utilities remains the same - working with disks, including creating partitions, forming into other file systems, etc. Therefore, choosing a program is a purely personal question for each user, which depends on his preferences .

Problems and their solutions when formatting

How to quickly format a disk without losing data?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. All stored information will be deleted. Only part of the data can be recovered.

Which drive is better: external or external?

Formatting external drives is performed in the same way as for a regular hard drive. During this process, all information will be deleted, including windows, after execution the disk will be like new without windows.

Unable to format hard drive

If you did everything according to the instructions, but did not achieve results, do not sound the alarm. This doesn't always mean something bad.

format command - cannot be used for a system disk if it is in its environment;
if the operating system is located in another partition of the HDD, it cannot be deleted;
Anti-virus program settings can block access to different partitions of the hard drive;
various applications and viruses can block access.

If you have removed the factors described above, but still cannot format your hard drive, you will have to resort to special programs. The most popular tool is HDDscan, which is easy to install and free.

Algorithm of actions:

download the utility;
open and install;
run as administrator;
click on the icon in the form of a sphere located in the center of the interface;
select Surface tests;
check the box next to Erase;
go to the Add test tab;
click on Scan;
in the lower right corner, write down the error data;
set the EraseWAITs option to ON and select Scan again;
repeat until the error is cleared.

You can also use Acronis Disk Director. If it is impossible to format a portable hard drive using this program, most likely the hard drive is partially damaged. And the entire procedure can sometimes be performed only from bootable media, that is, not in the operating system.

How to force format a flash drive?

To format flash drives you can use the program HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

provide the necessary set of functions;
They have a fairly simple interface that will be easy for novice users to work with.

Formatting is a popular procedure performed with hard drives and removable media, which allows you to completely overwrite the file system, but in the eyes of the user this procedure looks like a complete wipe of the disk. Below we will look at how to format an external hard drive.
An external hard drive is exactly the same HDD as the one installed in your computer, with one quite significant exception: an external hard drive is a pocket-sized device, usually connected using a USB cable, which differs significantly from a regular flash drive higher disk space available to store any files.

Previously, our website has already devoted articles on choosing a hard drive, connecting it and options for setting a password on it. Below we will consider in more detail the question of how to format an external hard drive.

Formatting an external hard drive

Method 1: using standard Windows tools

The easiest and most effective way to format an external hard drive, which does not require you to install any additional tools. All you need to do is connect the external HDD to your computer, and then follow these simple steps.

1. Open Windows Explorer under "This PC". All drives connected to the computer will be displayed on the screen. Find your external HDD among them, right-click on it and select the item in the context menu that appears "Format" .

2. A formatting settings window will appear on the screen, in which, as a rule, the settings should not be changed, but you should pay attention to the item "File system" . Make sure you have an item next to it "NTFS" , since this file system is best suited for working with external hard drives.

3. To format the disk more thoroughly, you can uncheck the “Fast” checkbox, but it is worth considering that in this case the formatting process can take quite a long time. To start formatting, click the button "Begin" .

4. The system will notify you that the formatting procedure will destroy all files on the disk. Therefore, if you have not yet transferred important documents or other files, be sure to click on the button "Cancel" . To continue formatting, press the button "OK" .

5. The system will start the formatting procedure, the duration of which will depend on the size of the hard drive, but, as a rule, you don’t have to wait long. If the process completes successfully, a corresponding notification will be displayed on the screen.

Method 2: format using HDD Low Level Format Tool

As a rule, users turn to third-party tools for formatting an external HDD when standard means are powerless to complete the process.

HDD Low Level Format Tool is a popular shareware utility that will provide low-level formatting of hard drives and USB drives from almost any manufacturer. The utility is notable for the fact that it allows you to completely destroy the previous information contained on the disk, and, unlike the standard method, data recovery cannot be performed.

To use this utility, download it from the link at the end of the article, and then perform a simple installation on your computer. When you first start, you will need to select the disk with which further work will be carried out, and then click on the button "Continue" .

Go to tab "Low-Level Format" , and then click on the button "Format This Device" .

Again, the utility will warn you that formatting will permanently delete all files previously written to the disk. Agree with the proposal to continue the procedure.

Performing formatting using this utility will take much longer than the standard method described above. However, such a utility allows you to reduce the likelihood of errors during the formatting process, and also reduces the possibility of restoring files previously contained on the disk to zero (which is especially important when selling an external hard drive).

Actually, one of the two proposed methods will help you easily format an external hard drive. Which decision to choose is up to you to decide.

I suggest that before you start changing the file system, look at what file system is currently used on the USB storage device. To do this, go to " My computer"/ "Computer" / "This computer" (respectively in Windows XP, Windows7, Windows8) right-click on the flash drive / external hard drive and select " Properties". In the properties window you will see the file system of the device.

Attention!!!

Formatting/changing the file system is a process that deletes all files and folders on a storage device, so before starting this process, you need to transfer all the data to another media.

Formatting/changing the format of a USB flash drive or external hard drive using the Windows interface.

For this method, you need to insert the USB storage device into the computer/laptop open " My computer"/ "Computer" / "This computer" (respectively in Windows XP, Windows7, Windows8). Right-click on the device that needs to be formatted and select " Format".

In the formatting window, in the line File system select the required file system (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT). The remaining parameters can be left as default. Click " Begin".

A warning window will appear stating that all folders and files from the media will be deleted, click " OK".

After a few seconds, a window indicating successful formatting will appear.

At this point, the procedure for changing the file system of USB devices/formatting can be considered complete.

Formatting/changing the format of a USB flash drive or external hard drive using the Windows command line.

For this method, you need to launch the command line, to do this, click the " Start" or press the keyboard shortcut + and in the program search bar enter CMD, click "Enter".

A command prompt will open. here we have to use the FORMAT command to format the USB device.

FORMAT command syntax:

FORMAT volume
FORMAT volume
FORMAT volume
FORMAT volume
FORMAT volume

volume Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon), mount point, or volume name.
/FS:filesystem Specifies the file system type (FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or UDF).
/V:label Volume label.
/Q Quick formatting. Overrides the /P option.
/C NTFS only: Sets the default compression mode for all files created on the new volume.
/X Initiates dismounting of the volume as a first action, if necessary. All open handles to the volume will be invalid.
/R:edition UDF only: Formatting in the specified UDF version (1.00, 1.02, 1.50, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50). The default version is 2.01.
/D UDF 2.50 only: Metadata will be duplicated.
/A:size Overrides the default cluster size. In general, it is recommended to use the default cluster sizes. NTFS supports sizes 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64K. FAT supports sizes 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, (128 KB, 256 KB for sector size > 512 bytes). FAT32 supports sizes 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, (128 KB, 256 KB for sector size > 512 bytes). exFAT supports sizes 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16 KB, 32 KB, 64 KB, 128 KB, 256 KB, 512 KB, 1 MB, 2 MB, 4 MB, 8 MB, 16 MB, 32 MB.
The FAT and FAT32 file systems impose the following restrictions on the number of clusters on a volume:
FAT: number of clusters<= 65 526
FAT32: 65,526< число кластеров < 4 177 918
The FORMAT command will abort immediately if a violation of the above restrictions is detected using the specified cluster size.
NTFS compression is not supported for clusters larger than 4096.

/F:size Indicates the size of floppy disks to be formatted (1.44)
/T:tracks The number of tracks on each side of the disc.
/N:sectors Number of sectors on each track.
/P:times Zeroes each sector of the volume the specified number of times. This option has no effect with the /Q option
/S:state Where "state" can be "enable" or "disable"

Reformatting to the FAT32 file system may only be necessary to ensure compatibility with a large number of subscriber devices. After all, this system has a significant limitation - the size of one file recorded on cannot exceed 4 GB, and the partition is 8 TB, which at the current level of development of the production of these devices is not so critical.

A portable hard drive may need to be reformatted to the FAT32 file system only to ensure compatibility with a large number of subscriber devices

Thus, if you want to connect to various household appliances such as a radio, player, TV, then you need to format the hard drive in fat32. Moreover, this operation cannot be performed with built-in Windows utilities. When you try to do this, a message will appear that the partition is too large to be converted to FAT32 format, but as mentioned above, the maximum volume capacity for this file system reaches 8 TB. The simplest method of reformatting external drives to FAT32 will be discussed in the next section of the article.

Using the fat32format utility

The free fat32format program will help you format your external hard drive to FAT32. To do this, follow these steps:

Download the application from the official developer resource: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm. To start downloading, click on the screenshot of the program screen.

The free fat32format program will help you format your external hard drive to FAT32.

Connect the removable hard drive and run the downloaded utility. After which its working window will open, since fat32format does not require installation.

Connect the removable hard drive and run the downloaded utility

In the “Drive” drop-down list, select the letter indicating the connected external hdd.
Click on the “Start” interface button, wait until formatting is complete and close the program.

Important: do not disconnect the external hard drive or restart the computer while formatting is in progress, as this will damage the .

Using this software, you can also reformat the internal hard drive if the need arises. But this is not recommended, because the modern file system for Windows NTFS has a number of advantages:

Automatic.
Operating system support for large storage drives.
Ensuring a high level of security. Here you can configure user access parameters to the data stored on the media.

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The only reason to need FAT32 is to install an older version of Windows. In such cases, remember that to ensure access from earlier modifications of the operating system to internal storage partitions, you must reformat them to this format.

Tip: Remember to limit the size of an individual file to 4 GB. There is no way around it, and its emergence is due to the fact that FAT32 was created a very long time ago - in the days of Windows 98 and Windows Millenium Edition, a file size of four gigabytes seemed almost unattainable.

They are not fundamentally different from hard drives that are installed in desktop and laptop computers. Therefore, formatting an external hard drive occurs in the same way as other hard drives. But since users are interested in this point, in this article we will talk about how to format an external hard drive.

How to format an external hard drive using Windows

Connect your external hard drive to your computer and open the My Computer window. After the external drive is detected by the system and appears in the “My Computer” window, open the context menu of the external drive (right click on the drive) and select “Format”.

After this, a window with disk formatting settings will open in front of you.

How to format an external hard drive via the command line

You can also format your external hard drive via . To do this, connect the drive and launch the Windows command line (Run menu - CMD command).

Formatting disks via the command line is done using the FORMAT command. To find out all the parameters that this command can accept, enter "FORMAT /?".

To format an external hard drive, we need to execute the format command with the following parameters:

/FS:NTFS – formatting using the NTFS file system.
/V:MyDisk – specifying the disk name. Instead of MyDisk, you can use any other disk name.
/Q – enable the quick formatting function.

As a result, the command to format an external hard drive using the command line looks like this:

FORMAT X: /FS:NTFS /V:MyDisk /Q

Where X: is the letter that is assigned to this external drive. When formatting via the command line, it is important not to mix up the drives, otherwise you may format the wrong drive, which can lead to big trouble.

It should also be noted that when formatting a disk via the command line, the system does not display any additional warnings. Therefore you need to be especially careful.

How to format an external hard drive using Disk Management

The Windows operating system has a very convenient tool called Disk Management. With it, you can create and delete partitions, format disks, and perform other operations. To access this tool, open the Run menu and enter the command “diskmgmt.msc”.

After the Disk Management window opens, find your external one and open the context menu (right mouse button).

In the context menu you need to select “Format”. After selecting this context menu item, you will see a warning about deleting all data from this disk.