6 Easy Approaches to Format a Hard Drive in Windows

At times, you need to format a hard drive, such as formatting an inaccessible hard drive to see if the drive is still useful. In this case, if you don’t know how to format a drive, you can refer to this article. Here we will teach you 6 handy methods.

Although formatting a hard drive will erase all the drive data, it can solve a lot of problems on the drive. Therefore, in some cases, you need to format a hard drive. For instance, when your computer fails to boot or runs very slowly, or you want to use a hard drive from scratch, you ought to format the hard drive. Yet, before formatting a hard drive, you have to make a backup for the drive data, which can make later data recovery, like PST recovery, much easier. After that, you can apply any one of the following means to format a drive.

1. Format in BIOS

1. Firstly, reboot your computer from a bootable external medium, like a CD.
2. Then, during booting, press “F2” or “F8” or “Delete” button to access BIOS.
3. Next, change the boot order, setting boot from the CD/DVD.
4. Later, save the modified option and exit BIOS.
5. After that, reboot the computer and select “Use recovery tools” > “Windows installation” > “Command Prompt”.
6. Lastly, input the “format c: /fs: ntfs” in the command prompt window.

2. Format in Command Prompt

1. To start with, search “cmd” in the “Start Menu”.
2. Then, launch the “cmd” program as admin.
3. Subsequently, type the following command into the window: “diskpart” > “list disk” > “select disk [disk letter]” > “list partition” > “select partition [partition letter]” > “format”. Note: Replace the “[disk letter]” and “[partition letter]” as per your own case.
4. Finally, input the “exit”.

3. Format in Disk Management

1. At the outset, search “diskmgmt.msc” in the “Start Menu”.
2. Next, run the “diskmgmt” program.
3. In the popup new window, locate and right click on the drive or partition to be formatted.
4. Then, choose “Format” from context menu.
5. Later, select your desired file system.
6. And tick “Perform a quick format”.
7. Eventually, click “OK” button.

4. Format in Windows Explorer

1. To begin with, in the “Start Menu”, click “Computer”.
2. Then, in the “Windows Explorer” screen, right click on the drive or partition you want to format.
3. And choose “Format” in right clicking menu.
4. In the popup dialog box, select a file system and enable “Quick Format”.
5. Ultimately, click “Start”.

5. Format with System Installation Media

1. In the first place, boot your computer from a Windows installation CD/DVD.
2. Then, wait for Windows loading files until you see Windows 7 logo.
3. Next, from the drop down boxes, click “Install Now”.
4. Afterwards, follow onscreen instructions until you reach the “Where do you want to install Windows?” screen.
5. Subsequently, click “Drive options (advanced)” > “Format”.

6. Format via External Tool

The final approach is to make use of an external tool. There are multiple relevant utilities available in today’s market. You can choose and download a well-known and excellent one. Then launch it and follow its wizards to format a hard drive.

Author Introduction:

Shirley Zhang is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including sql recovery and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com