We are formatting the hard drive. Programs for formatting HDD. How to format your hard drive in various ways

How do I format my disk? This question is often asked by users who have just bought a new one. After connecting, a new unformatted hard drive starts to appear in the system. However, it cannot be opened and you cannot work with it.

In order to bring such a disk into working condition, you must at least format it. In addition, if necessary, you can execute on logical partitions, we already talked about this in one of the previous articles.

Disk formatting is preparation for writing files. During formatting, the necessary logical information is recorded for storing data and loading the operating system (if necessary).

Formatting the disk using standard Windows utilities

Using the Windows operating system tools, there are several ways to format a new disk. The easiest way is to format it through My Computer.

• Open "My Computer"
• Find the drive you want
• Right-click and select "Format"

After that, the disk formatting window will open, here you can specify the volume label, choose fast or full format, and also specify other formatting options, if available.

After clicking on the "Start" button, the disk will be formatted. You can use any other removable storage device in a similar way.

Another method to format the disk is formatting through "Disk Management". In order to launch this program built into the operating system, you must follow the path: Start - Control Panel - System - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management.

Here you also need to select the disk for formatting, right-click and select "Format". After that, you will be able to specify the formatting options.

Another way to format a disk is formatting through. In order to start the console, click the "Start" button and enter CMD in the search bar.

Formatting disks through the console is performed using the FORMAT command in order to find out what parameters we can pass to this command, you must enter FORMAT / ?. As you can see, after that we will display detailed help on the FORMAT command. The command to format the disk might look like this: FORMAT D: / FS: NTFS / V: DATA / Q. In this case, the D: drive will be formatted in the NTFS file system, the DATA label is assigned to it, and the formatting itself will be performed in the "Fast" mode.

If you have a need to format the C: drive, you are most likely planning to reinstall the operating system. The easiest way to do this is to use the installer's capabilities. Here you need to select the C: drive and click on the text link "Format"

Formatting a hard disk is a software process of labeling elements of the memory area of \u200b\u200bmagnetic platters and creating a new file structure of the media. Without labels and the structure of the file system, a hard disk is a useless device, which cannot be written to due to the physical and software features of the processes of recording, storing and reading information.

Physically, during the formatting of the hard disk, nothing happens to it, but at the program level, its logical structure is organized on the medium - a certain order necessary for recording, storing, editing and deleting data. Otherwise, the logical structure of a disk is called a file system. Depending on the selected file system, the speed of access to information, the maximum length of the file name, the number of files in one directory, the efficiency of the drive, methods of searching, recording information, etc. will differ.

Hard disk formatting is divided into two types. This is low-level and high-level formatting.

Low-level formatting is a process by which special electronic tags, called servo tags, are applied to the magnetic surface of the polished platters of your HDD. They contain service information about the positioning of the read heads and the position of sectors and tracks on the disk, which determine the physical format of the drive. This procedure is performed on special factory equipment, since before that there is no information on the carrier on the sectors and tracks of the plates (s), due to the absence of which it is impossible to work with the carrier. Due to the volumetric expansion coefficient of the materials (which is known to many of the physics lessons in school) from which HDD plates were made in the past and the stepper motors that control the positioning of the heads, sectors and tracks were displaced relative to the read heads. Thus, when, in the controller's opinion, the head was in the desired sector, it could physically be on an adjacent track. Because of this, the hard drive malfunctioned and bad (inoperable) sectors appeared (if the controller considers that the head is in the first sector, but in reality it positions, for example, above the 5th sector, then the first four sectors are inaccessible to it). Such hard drives needed repeated low-level formatting throughout their entire service life, which required complete and repeated destruction of all data on the hard disk platter / platters.

In new HDDs, this problem was solved by using a voice coil in the readhead mechanism, due to which the effect of thermal expansion was compensated for by recalibrating the operating parameters of the disk heads (if it's simpler, everything was solved at the software level by simple redirection).

Low-level formatting is necessary to solve several problems and is performed in such cases:

• at the production facilities of the manufacturer to create the physical structure of the manufactured hard disk before testing it and delivery to the end user;
• on old hard disks to reset the file system (due to the linear expansion coefficient of materials when heated during long-term operation of the HDD, the head slightly shifts in relation to the formed grid of tracks and sectors);
• complete, reliable and irreversible erasure of all information stored on the hard drive, for example, before selling your own computer or the hard drive itself.

High-level HDD formatting is the process of forming the file structure of a hard disk, which consists in creating a master boot record, file table, file system structure and, depending on the formatting option, checking the surface of the hard disk platters for the presence of bad sectors, followed by their replacement or deactivation. High-level formatting prepares the hard drive for use by the operating system to store data on it.

High-level formatting is divided into two types: fast and full. During the fast process, the file table is updated, which stores the names of files and paths to them, attributes, etc. After that, its new structure is formed, and the master boot record of the disk or its logical partition is created. Upon completion of the process, the operating system will determine the hard or logical disk as clean, although physically all information on it will remain intact, except for the file table - all data in it will be marked as non-existent and will be overwritten with new bits of information during operation.

Full formatting is a procedure for clearing the file table, as during quick formatting, but with the subsequent rewriting of each sector with zero bits of information. Also, during full formatting, all sectors of the hard drive will be checked for operability. If a bad sector is found, it will be replaced with a working one, which is in reserve, or simply excluded, as a result of which the useful volume of the HDD will slightly decrease.

High-level formatting of hard drives and their partitions should be performed in the following cases:

• during reinstallation of the operating system to reset all data on them and form a new disk structure;
• during partitioning of the drive into logical disks;
• for a high-quality check of magnetic plates for the presence of damaged sectors;
• immediately after low-level formatting to form the file structure of the disk by the manufacturer or user (mandatory procedure);
• deleting all information on the hard drive.

2. Formatting a non-system hard drive

Any operating system of the Windows family is located on a disk or its partition, which is designated as the system one, which contains the master boot record and Windows system files, thanks to which the software part interacts with the hardware. There may be several such partitions, but, as a rule, the user has one operating system installed, which implies the presence of a single system partition. All other partitions and hard drives connected to the computer are not system ones. The second and subsequent hard disks are non-system ones, therefore the procedure for formatting them is no different from formatting removable USB drives.

Consider the methods of forming the file structure of non-system hard disks by means of tools built into the operating system and with the help of third-party software products developed to work with hard drives.

2.1. BIOS formatting

One of the ways to format a hard disk is to use a bootable USB flash drive or CD with the installation distribution of the Windows operating system, the so-called LiveCD, or bootable media with one of the programs for formatting media. There are versions of programs such as AcronisDiskDirector that can boot directly from a USB flash drive, which means they work without an operating system. The latest versions of Acronis have a Bootable Media Builder. Such a flash drive will allow the AcronisDiskDirector program to boot from the BIOS and format the hard disk.

In addition to extraneous programs, you can format the hard disk with BIOS by booting from the installation disk with the Windows distribution using the command line or the operating system installer. More details about all these options will be discussed further.

2.2. Windows formatting

The Windows operating system contains all the tools you need to format hard drives. In this section, we will consider all methods to format the hard drive using the tools provided by the Windows operating system.

2.2.1. Through properties

The easiest way to prepare a hard drive for work, clear it of unnecessary information and create a new system is formatting through the context menu.

2.2.2. Through "Creating and formatting hard disk partitions"

The second method to format a hard drive using Windows operating system tools is the Disk Management snap-in located in the Computer Management system console.

"Disk Management" is a Windows system service, designed to manage flash drives, hard drives and their partitions. This program allows you to format hard drives connected to your computer in one of three file systems and create new partitions on them. Almost all actions are performed without restarting the operating system, which will not distract the user from the main work.

You can start Disk Management in one of the following ways.

Through the start menu

Through "My Computer"

Through the "Control Panel"

We launched the Computer Management service. Next, you need to go to its subsection called "Disk Management", which, in turn, is located in the "Storage Devices" section.

During formatting, you will not see any windows with the progress of the operation, except for the inscription "Formatting" in the "Status" line (see screenshot).

Our hard drive is formatted in the selected file system and is ready for further use. You will be notified about this by a dialog box and a system signal.

2.2.3. Command line

In addition to formatting hard drives through graphical interfaces, the operating system, since the days of the console MS-DOS, allows the formation of a new file system of the hard drive with the removal of all files and, with full formatting, checking its surface for integrity by using the system commands entered into the command a console, also called the Windows command interpreter.

The command line allows the user to interact with the computer directly, without any intermediaries in the form of third-party software. It is a window for entering text commands that are understandable to the operating system with many parameters for direct control of the operating system or computer hardware. Of course, using the command line, you can quickly format the hard disk. To do this, launch the system console using any of the listed methods or in a more convenient way.

Through the "Run" window

Through the start menu

Through Windows Explorer

The command line is launched by calling the "cmd.exe" file located in the "System32" folder of the Windows operating system directory. To start the command line, you can go to the path c: \\ Windows \\ System32 \\ cmd.exe or use the shortcut to start the command interpreter.

Having launched the command line, we will see a black window on the screen, where you can enter text commands that are understandable for the Windows operating system, starting from its first versions.

If you did not enter the label, the operating system will ask you to enter it before formatting or to leave the hard disk unnamed by pressing "Enter" (see screenshot).

The process of formatting the hard drive, depending on the specified parameters and the volume of the drive, can last from a few seconds to several tens of minutes. The formatting is accompanied by the inscription: "Creation of file system structures."

At the end of the process, the console window will display the inscription: "Formatting completed" and the results of the operation will appear.

Now our hard drive is formatted using the system console and is ready for further use.

2.3 Formatting a disk using the HDD Low Level Format Tool

The HDD Low Level Format Tool, or HDDLLFT for short, is intended for low-level formatting of hard disks and digital storage media based on memory chips. It copes with the task perfectly even in cases where the magnetic surface of the plate is severely damaged.

Carrying out the procedure for formatting a hard disk through the utility does not require any special user knowledge.

Keep in mind that in the free version of the HDD Low Level Format Tool, the formatting speed is limited to 50 Mb / s, which with significant volumes of modern hard drives during full formatting with checking the drive for bad sectors can result in several hours of work. The second drawback of the program is the inability to specify the cluster size.

3. Formatting the system hard drive

A system hard disk is, as a rule, a high-speed (with a rotational speed of the platters equal to 10,000 rpm, although it can be with a standard 7200 rpm) hard drive on which the operating system is installed. Based on this, it will not work to format it using Windows. Formatting the system hard disk is carried out in a different way, the essence of which does not differ from the formation of a new file system of a conventional hard drive. The only difference is that the utility to create a new file system will have to be run from the installation disk or flash drive.

3.1. Formatting using a bootable flash drive or disk

3.1.1. Through the installer of the Windows operating system

One of the most common methods to format a hard drive used as a system drive is to use a removable media or CD and a Windows installation distribution.

We will not consider how to create bootable media, many articles have been written on this subject in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet. Let's get down to business right away.

1. We insert the bootable USB flash drive into the USB socket of your computer or laptop (or a CD into its drive).
2. We reboot or turn on the computer.

Immediately after loading the basic I / O system and carrying out initialization and testing of the equipment, we begin to click on the button for quickly selecting the bootable media.

This key can be "F9" or "F11" (see the manual for your motherboard or laptop), and this data is also displayed during BIOS boot.

3. As the device to which the system control will be transferred, we select our media (in our case, this is a 4 GB USB flash drive for booting from under UEFI).
   

When a similar black screen with an inscription appears, press any button on the keyboard.




Information will be read from the bootloader program to which the BIOS passed control.

4. Depending on the Windows build, we choose the option to install the operating system (with a different bootloader interface, using third-party builds, the essence of the process will remain the same).
5. Select the installation language. It will naturally be Russian, just like the keyboard layout, time format, etc.

In the next window, just click "Install -\u003e".




We accept the operating system operating conditions, preferably after reading them.




We dwell on the second option so that we can get into the hard disk setup menu.

6. We click "Full installation ...".
   

Using the keyboard and mouse manipulator, select the required hard drive, if several are connected to the computer, and click "Disk Setup".




The toolbar will change slightly.

Click on the "Format" button.




A standard window will appear warning that all files and programs on the disk will be destroyed.

7. We press "OK" to confirm our intentions.
   

After clearing the table of contents, the hard drive will be formatted and ready to install the operating system.

This method is reasonable to use in cases where the Windows operating system cannot format the hard drive, for example, because it is used by some application or is a system partition.

3.1.2. Formatting the system hard drive through the command line, booting from the installation disk / flash drive

Another simple option to format the disk where the operating system is located is to use the command line, booting from a disk or flash drive with the installation files of the Windows operating system.

3.2. Acronis Disk Director

1. To start the bootable media creation wizard, go to the "Backup and Restore" tab on the program control panel, which is designed in the style of the ribbon, like in Microsoft Office, starting with the 2007 edition.
2. Click on the "Create bootable media" item.
   
3. Depending on the version of the program, a window may appear prompting you to select the type of bootable media. We recommend that you select the Windows PE-based boot loader option. Click "Next".
   

We select the necessary components, on the basis of which the wizard will create a bootable USB flash drive.

The AcronisDiskDirector program is enough to format the hard disk. If you would like to have a tool to create backup copies of your partitions, also choose AcronisTrueImage.




4. Select the type of Acronis bootable media to create.

   
   
5. Then we confirm our intentions to write the program files to the USB flash drive, destroying all the files on it before that, and wait for the end of the recording process.

6. We are loading from the created drive.

   To do this, we restart the computer and select our USB flash drive as bootable media. This is done by changing the priority in the list of boot devices (menu item "Boot") in your BIOS or by hotkey for selecting boot devices.

   
   

   In most cases, during the initialization procedure, which occurs before loading the operating system, you must press the F11, F9 or another key to bring up the boot menu. In it, select the USB drive and click "Enter".

   
   

7. We are waiting for the download of the program.

   Usually, this procedure takes a little longer than loading Acronis Disk Director in Windows.

8. We select our hard drive and call the procedure for formatting it using any method:
   
9. In the dialog box that appears, select the parameters for formatting the hard drive:
   • file system - it is recommended to use NTFS, due to the support for files larger than 4 GB, which is not available for FAT and FAT32;
   • leave the cluster size "Auto" if you have no idea what this value is. However, for storing a huge number of small files, it is recommended to choose a cluster size less than 4 KB;
   • volume label - enter the name of the hard disk or leave the field blank.

Having set all the parameters, we turn our attention to the toolbar located at the top of the screen. Click on the button with the name "Apply pending operations (1)".




After a short load of the list of operations, a small window will appear with their detailed descriptions and parameters.



10. If you are sure of the actions you are performing, check the correctness of the specified parameters and click on the "Continue" button.

After a few seconds of committing the operation, the procedure for formatting the hard disk will start.

Be careful, the program will not display a warning window asking about the confirmation of the operation and will not notify you about the destruction of all data on the hard disk.

Formatting will take place within a few seconds, as the utility uses the fast formatting algorithm. At the end of the procedure, the window will close automatically, and the hard disk with the cleared file table and the new file system will be ready for further use.

3.3. Paragon Partition Manager

Paragon Partition Manager - is the most powerful of the free software products for working with hard drives. Naturally, it can be used to format any hard drive or its section. In addition, the utility can work with backups, modify and create logical partitions, install several operating systems on a disk, and so on.

1. We load the LiveCD or the installation distribution of the Windows operating system, which includes the Paragon Partition Manager program.
2. We write the image to removable media and boot from it, specifying the highest boot priority from the USB flash drive in the BIOS or choosing the drive with the Paragon Partition Manager distribution as the boot device.
3. We select our program using the mouse cursor or cursor keys and the "Enter" button, depending on the graphical menu and the loader used to create the LiveCD.
4. The main menu of the utility will appear, where we select "Partition Manager" in the list on the left, and then in its right frame.
   

5. In the next window, in the list of your hard drives, select the one you want to format.

   This can be done both in the "Disk panel" tab, and in the lower frame called "Partition list".

   
   
6. We call the context menu of the magnetic drive and select the "Format" command in it, which is located in one of the first places.
   
7. We indicate the file system and the new label of the hard drive.
   
8. Click "Additional parameters" if you want to change the number of sectors in one cluster. Also here you can specify whether to perform formatting using the built-in Windows command "format", which we got acquainted with when formatting the disk from the Shell, or use the developers' own algorithm.
   

9. Click "Format".

   The program will not ask for confirmation of the operation, but it will not start the execution of the command specified to it.

   To do this, click on the "Apply pending changes" button, which is located in the toolbar under the main menu.

   
   

   Use the magnifying glass button to view the pending changes.

10. In the dialog, we agree to make changes by clicking "Yes".
    
11. We are waiting for the notification of the completion of the program.
    

The same is done through the main menu of the program.

4. Possible errors and ways to solve them

One of the many problems that users face while formatting a hard drive is using outdated software. This happens due to the fact that the user for several years has not updated the program for working with disks, which he trusts. Also, the use of queries like “download hacked acronis” often leads to the most popular sites, which for many months have been in the first places of search engines and contain outdated versions of software.

Make sure that your hard drive software is up to date, especially if you are using one of the latest versions of Windows.

The second problem is an error when trying to format the disk in use, especially for system partitions. Also, some application can use the hard drive or its partition, even if in read mode, while the user is trying to format it. The way out is to use bootable LiveCDs or Windows distribution media.

An error in the process of formatting the hard drive due to the huge number of bad sectors occurs when trying to perform a complete formatting of the hard drive, the surface of which is replete with damaged memory cells. Run an HDD check, for example, with the Victoria utility, with the reassignment of damaged areas or their exclusion from the area used for storing information.

Despite the fact that experts do not recommend doing independent laptop repair, occasionally such a need appears. The action of viruses or damage to the file system force you to start unscheduled treatment of your computer. In this case, it is often necessary to format the laptop disk.

Instructions

1. First of all, transfer all the expensive data from your laptop to another computer. They will be lost after formatting.

2. Prefer a CD or DVD build of the operating system, or an easy bootable LiveCD, which allows you to boot from CD-ROM bypassing the computer's hard drive. Burn the image to a blank CD at tiny speed. Check if it is perfectly readable by the laptop drive. As an alternative for the same purpose, it is allowed to pre-create a bootable USB flash drive.

3. Turn on the laptop and change the boot order if necessary. In a stationary computer, a similar action is carried out through the BIOS, on laptops - by pressing the corresponding F1..12 command key when turned on. Prefer CD-ROM or USB as the first boot device. Connect a bootable USB flash drive or insert a CD. Reboot your laptop.

4. After determining the corresponding device, the interface will start loading from the removable media. A graphical shell will appear before your eyes. In it, you can easily find access to laptop disks, which you can now easily format. If it allows software filling of the boot disk, for formatting and other operations with hard drives, it is allowed to use specialized programs with advanced functionality and a comfortable interface, for example, Acronis Disk Director, which is often found on LiveCD disks. They are also allowed, say, to split the disk into several logical ones, or, on the contrary, to combine them.

5. When reinstalling the operating system on a blank formatted disk, do not forget that drivers for some devices, say, video cards, may have to be searched for and installed separately, from the fact that not all ready-made software packages are suitable for laptops in the distance.

Formatting hard drives is usually done when you need to completely clear all the information stored on them. Formatting all drives is a good way to get rid of viruses and files that clog your computer.

Instructions

1. Before starting formatting, it is advisable to make backup copies of the main files and folders. To do this, they must be copied to any portable storage medium (flash card, CD, portable rough disk, etc.).

2. Later you need to go to the directory "My Computer" and prefer the disk, the one that needs to be formatted.

3. By right-clicking on the disk name, call up a list of actions. In it, you should prefer the line "Format ...".

4. The Format dialog box appears. The top line displays information about the disk capacity. The following shows the initial file system of the disk. It is allowed to specify a different file system for which the disk is formatted. After that comes the line "Cluster size". A cluster is the smallest size on disk for storing one file. The cluster size is set by the system mechanically, but there is also a possibility to change it at your discretion. Below the "Cluster size" is the line "Volume label" - this is the name of the disk, which can also be changed to your own (traditionally the name is set by the manufacturer).

5. Before formatting, it is allowed to prefer the formatting method. In the "Format" window on laptops, there are traditionally 2 vigorous formatting methods to choose from: - Swift (cleaning the content). With this method of formatting, only the file system tables are cleared, while the physical data remains; - Apply compression. Allows you to compress files on your hard drive during the formatting process.

6. When all the necessary parameters are set, you must click on the "Start" button. A window will appear warning that formatting will destroy all files on the selected drive. To start the formatting process, press the "OK" button, to cancel - the "Cancel" button.

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Helpful advice
It is worth remembering that frequent formatting of the hard disk damages it, as a result of which the disk may become unusable.

A variety of environments may appear when using a computer. One of them is the formatting of the hard drive, which is done through the BIOS. Many people think this process is unthinkable, but it is not. In order to format a rough disk through the BIOS system, certain operations must be performed.

You will need

• Personal Computer

Instructions

1. BIOS formatting is performed with a floppy disk. Take it and insert it into the drive. Open the "Control Panel" through "Start", and select the option "Add or Remove Programs and Windows Components". A window will open in front of you. Click on the "Boot Disk" tab and click the "Make" button. Then the instruction will appear on the screen. It is not difficult to create a disk, follow each step primitively. Then completely disconnect the computer. Insert the bootable floppy disk into the drive and turn on the computer. If the BIOS itself is to boot from a hard disk, or from a CD, and not from an elastic disk, then first install boot from an elastic disk.

2. To do this, press the "Del" button at the beginning of the download at startup. Later on entering Bios, find the item in the "Advanced BIOS Features" menu and enter it. In the "First Boot Device" item with the help of the "PgDn" key, set the value "Floppy". Close the menu with the "Esc" key. Press "F10" to exit BIOS. Confirm the exit together with saving the changed parameters by pressing "Enter". Now, when you turn on the computer, if there is a boot floppy in the drive, the computer will start to boot not from the hard disk, but from the floppy.

3. A menu will appear on the screen. Use the cursor keys to select item "No. 2. Start computer with CD-Rom Support". Press Enter to confirm the download. Wait a couple of seconds. When the download is complete, the command line “A: \\ ^” will flash at the bottom of the screen. Type on the keyboard: the command "Format C:", and press again on "Enter". Later, after a warning appears about the valid deletion of all files during formatting, press "Enter" again.

4. There may be another option. If the disk is completely new, then later the boot message will appear: "No hard disks found on the computer." Then type on the keyboard the command "Fdisk" and press "Enter". The process of partitioning the disk into sectors will begin. Make an MS DOS boot partition. After reboot, do the formatting. Later this HDD is ready to work, namely to install the operating system. If there is a bootable CD instead of a floppy disk, then re-enter the BIOS, the one described above. In the line "First Boot Device" insert the value "CD-Rom". Later download, follow each message that appears on the screen. Choose either NTFS or Fat32. NTFS is more of a new file system.

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Formatting hard disk is the process of giving it a certain structure for storing information or a file system. Moreover, each information from hard disk erased.

Instructions

1. Go to "My Computer" and right-click on the logical drive that you are going to format. In the context menu that appears, select the "Format ..." item. The settings window will open with the title “Format (label and letter disk)».

2. In the "Format ..." settings window, you can prefer the file system in which you will store information on this logical disk. Choose the NTFS file system if you have a need to work with huge files (4 GB or more), but keep in mind that this file system will only be recognized by operating systems based on the NT kernel. If you do not have such a need, then you can absolutely use the FAT or FAT32 file system.

3. Specify the name of the logical disk in the "Volume label" field, select below the desired formatting methods: "Swift", "Apply compression", then click on the "Start" button.

4. If for some reason the formatting of a logical disk fails, then install the hard drive management utility on the computer. disk mi. One of the most famous utilities of this kind is Acronis Disk Director.

5. Start the program and select manual operation mode in it. In the list of local drives, the one that occupies the largest part of the program window, select with the mouse the logical drive that you are going to format.

6. Right-click on the disk and select the Format command in the context menu that appears.

7. There is a toolbar at the top of the program window; an icon representing a racing flag with a black and white checkered color is activated on it. Click on it with the left mouse button in order to complete all the scheduled tasks. In our case, this is just formatting. You don't need to reboot your computer - the program will execute everything quickly.

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When an operating system is installed on a clean, rough disk for the first time, it, as usual, is split into several partitions. In this case, only the system partition is formatted. After a full OS installation, when trying to open other partitions on the hard drive, a notification appears that the drive is unformatted. Accordingly, you will not be able to get access to it. In order for the hard drive to be completely ready for work, it is necessary to format the partitions.

You will need

• - computer with Windows OS;
• - Norton PartitionMagic 8.0.

Instructions

1. Clean hard formatting process disk but it is needed in order to assign a file system to a partition, because without it it will not work. The formatting process itself is slightly different from the standard one. Unless it is necessary to strictly prefer the file system.

2. Open "My Computer". Right click on the hard partition disk and. Then select "Format" in the context menu. A dialog box will appear in which you can set formatting options for the hard disk and. Click the arrow icon next to the File System option.

3. The file system should now be preferred over which the brute will work. disk ... If your operating system is Windows XP or an earlier version, then you will have access to FAT32 or NTFS file systems. It is recommended to prefer the 2nd option, because this file system is the most optimal today. For owners of the Windows 7 operating system, only NTFS will be available.

4. Next, check the "Swift cleaning, anti-aliasing" option. Later on, click "Start". A few seconds later, the hard disk but will be formatted, and you will be able to open it. Now this section is completely ready for work. Thus, you need to format all partitions of the hard disk a (besides the system one, of course).

5. There are times when an oversight appears during the formatting process. Norton PartitionMagic 8.0 will help you fix this problem. Download it and install it on your computer. You will be able to install the program in any case, system tea disk will be available.

6. Start Norton PartitionMagic 8.0. Later you will see that the program window contains a list of all partitions of the hard disk and. Click on the section with the right mouse button. Then select "Format" in the context menu. Click the arrow next to the Partition Type option and select a file system. Click OK. The section will be formatted.

Note!
Formatting removes all data from the partition.

As various statistics show, not all users know how to perform the specified action. The biggest problems arise when you need to format the C drive in Windows 7 or 8, i.e. system hard drive.

In this manual, we will just talk about how to do this, in fact, a simple action - to format the C drive (or rather, the drive on which Windows is installed), and any other hard drive. Well, I'll start with the simplest.

Formatting a non-system hard drive or partition in Windows

To format a disk or its logical partition in Windows 7 or Windows 8 (relatively speaking, drive D), just open Explorer (or "My Computer"), right-click on the disk and select "Format".

After that, just specify, if desired, the volume label, the file system (although it is better to leave NTFS here) and the formatting method (it makes sense to leave the "Quick Format"). Click "Start" and wait for the drive to be fully formatted. Sometimes, if the hard drive is large enough, it can take a long time and you might even think that the computer is frozen. There is a 95% chance that this is not the case, just wait.

Another way to format a non-system hard drive is by using the format command on a command line running as administrator. In general, the command that produces a quick format of the disk in NTFS will look like this:

Format / FS: NTFS D: / q

Where D: is the letter of the drive being formatted.

How to format drive C in Windows 7 and Windows 8

In general, this guide will work for previous versions of Windows too. So, if you try to format the system hard drive in Windows 7 or 8, you will see a message stating that:

• You cannot format this volume. It contains the version of the Windows operating system currently in use. Formatting this volume may cause the computer to stop working. (Windows 8 and 8.1)
• This disk is in use. The disk is in use by another program or process. Format it? And after clicking "Yes" - the message "Windows cannot format this disk. Quit all other programs using this disk, make sure no window is displaying its contents, and then try again.

What is happening is easy to explain - Windows cannot format the disk on which it is located. Moreover, even if the operating system is installed on disk D or any other, all the same on the first partition (i.e., on disk C) there will be files necessary to boot the operating system, since when the computer is turned on, the BIOS will first start loading from there.

Some notes

Thus, when formatting drive C, you should remember that this action implies the subsequent installation of Windows (or another OS) or, if Windows is installed on a different partition, the OS boot configuration after formatting, which is not the most trivial task and if you are not too an experienced user (and apparently it is, since you are here), I would not recommend undertaking this.

Formatting

If you are sure of what you are doing, then continue. In order to format the C drive or Windows system partition, you will need to boot from some other media:

• Bootable USB flash drive Windows or Linux, boot disk.
• Any other bootable media - LiveCD, Hiren's Boot CD, Bart PE and others.

There are also special solutions such as Acronis Disk Director, Paragon Partition Magic or Manager and others. But we will not consider them: firstly, these products are paid, and secondly, for the purposes of simple formatting, they are superfluous.

Formatting using a bootable USB flash drive or Windows 7 and 8 disk

In order to format the system disk in this way, boot from the appropriate installation media and select "Full installation" at the stage of choosing the installation type. The next thing you will see is the selection of the partition to install.

Another way is to press Shift + F10 at any time during the installation, the command line will open. From which you can also perform formatting (how to do this was written above). Here you need to take into account that in the installation program, the letter of the C drive may be different, in order to find it out, first use the command:

Wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, description

And, to clarify if anything was confused - the DIR D: command, where D: is the drive letter. (With this command, you will see the contents of the folders on the disk).

After that, you can already apply format to the desired section.

How to format a disk using a LiveCD

Formatting a hard disk using a different kind of LiveCD is not much different from formatting just in Windows. Since when booting from a LiveCD, all the really necessary data is located in the computer's RAM, you can use the various BartPE options to format the system hard disk simply through the explorer. And, as in the options already described, use the format command on the command line.

There are other nuances of formatting, but I will describe them in one of the following articles. And in order for a novice user to know how to format the C drive, this article, I think, will be enough. If anything - ask questions in the comments.

List of popular free programs for various types of hard disk formatting (HDD, SSD, RAID) and removable media (USB, Firewire, SD). In this article, you will learn how to properly format a hard drive, learn about the various types of HDD formatting - including low-level format. Let's also choose a good program for partitioning the hard drive.

HDD Formatting Methods - From Easy to Complex

Formatting is a simple operation that can be performed by inexperienced users. Next, I will tell you how to format the HDD yourself - from simple to complex, depending on your skills and level of PC proficiency.

Using standard Windows tools when formatting

The Windows XP-10 operating system has built-in tools for performing this operation. Formatting the hard drive is done like this:

1. Open "Explorer" (or another file manager),
2. We go to the section "My Computer"
3. Click on the desired disk
4. Select the item "Format"
5. Next, click on the "Start" button

This is the easiest way to format your computer without additional tools. For all its simplicity, however, all stages must be carried out consciously, clearly understanding why you are doing this. Before you give your consent to formatting, carefully check that the correct drive is selected.

Perhaps the video tutorial shows you more clearly how to format the disk.

Alternative formatting method in Windows 7/8/10

1. In different systems, the path to Disk Management is different - the easiest way is to open the program search and enter "management". When the system gives a search result, find "Computer Management" and open it
2. In the menu on the left go to "Disk Management"
3. Right-click on the desired section and select "Format". Since the process takes place inside a running OS, the "Format" menu item will be inactive on the system partition
4. Next, select a label for the new partition, the type of the future file system and the required cluster size (if you do not know what size you need, leave it "default")
5. For high-level formatting, you can leave the "Quick Format" checkbox active. If you need to deep clean the contents of the section, then uncheck this box
6. After clicking "OK", the system will ask for confirmation - click "OK" again

Administration section "Computer Management"

Formatting the hard drive via the Windows command line

To start formatting, on the computer, the command line (console). To do this, use the key combination WIN + R, in the Run window that appears, enter the CMD command, press ENTER.

Note... To format the disk through the command line, you need administrator () rights. Start - CMD - open the context menu by clicking on the application icon "Command Prompt" - Run as administrator. If you try to format the disk without administrator rights, you will fail: access will be denied. In general, watch the video where I show you how to format as an administrator.

To format through the console, use the following commands:

Format drive letter

Press Enter. We carefully read what is written in the console, we perform further actions with the hard disk according to the situation.

Full formatting of the hard drive via HDD Low Level Format Tool

Low-level formatting will optimize the HDD structure. This is useful in preparation for reinstalling the operating system. At the same time, you can solve problems with bad sectors of the hard disk.

HDD Low Level Format Tool is suitable for low-level formatting. The utility will help you format your computer hard drive, external HDD, tablet sd card and other storage devices.

In addition to basic functions, HDD Low Level Format Tool can be used to read SMART indicators, check read errors, disk runtime, etc.

how completelyformat the hard drive:

1. After installation, run the HDD Low Level Format program
2. In the Drive selection window, select a hard disk (in case several HDDs are connected to the PC). The easiest way to tell one hard drive from another is its size. Click Continue
3. Go to the LOW-LEVEL Format tab
4. For quick formatting (deleting partitions and MBR records), select the Perform quick wipe option.
5. For full formatting of the hard disk, the above option must be ignored
6. Before completely formatting the hard drive, make sure the correct drive is selected. Only then click the Format this device button.

AOMEI Partition Assistant

AOMEI Partition Assistant

The program offers a number of useful features, including low-level formatting of hard drives and most types of removable media. The interface resembles standard Windows tools, so it's easy to figure it out:

1. The main window automatically displays the disk with the installed OS. If you need to format another device, select it by clicking the "Disk" item in the top menu
2. In the lower block of the left menu, select "Erase Hard Drive"
3. When you press this button, you will be prompted for the number of passes of the operation. If in the future it is planned to recover destroyed data, then select a value from 1 to 7. If you specify parameter 8 or more, it will be almost impossible to recover information from the device
4. Confirm your choice by clicking "Yes"
5. To start formatting, you will need to reboot the system - after clicking the "Restart now" button, there will be no way back, so make sure that you have selected the correct drive and the desired operation settings

After restarting your computer, the program will perform all the specified actions and you will have a blank hard disk at your disposal.

DiskWipe

DiskWipe is an excellent solution for situations when data on a medium needs to be permanently destroyed. The program uses several proven algorithms in its work (Dod 5220-22.M, US Army, Peter Guttman), and advanced settings allow you to select the formatting depth. According to the developers, the program does not contain hidden viruses, etc., and also does not transfer user data.

DiskWipe

Formatting the desired device using DiskWipe is extremely simple:

1. Run the program. In the block on the left you will see all the devices available for formatting
2. Select the desired device and click "Wipe Disk" in the top menu
3. The advanced settings will open with predefined default values. For complete and irreversible formatting, you can mark all available fields with checkmarks, and in the right block, indicate "Highest"
4. After selecting the settings and clicking "OK", the formatting of the selected device will start

Paragon Partition Manager

A test period of 30 days allows you to evaluate the capabilities of the program and format the devices you need in various modes. Since Paragon Partition Manager has several options for working with partitions (splitting, restoring, and others), it is distributed shareware.

Paragon Partition Manager

The formatting process is intuitive:

1. In the main window, click "Partition Manager" in the left menu, then select "Launch Partition Manager"
2. From the list of devices offered, select the one you need, open the context menu with the right mouse button, and click "Format Partition"
3. Specify the type of the future file system and the name of the volume, then click "Format"
4. The procedure will be queued - to apply the changes, you must click on the green checkmark in the top menu
5. After confirming the operation ("Yes" button), it will no longer be possible to stop its execution

Separately, it is worth noting the fact that Paragon Partition Manager not only formats the device, but also creates a new partition with the specified file system, so after the system boots, the disk can be used without additional actions.

reference Information

What is formatting?

Formatting a disc is the process of labeling a storage device — a hard disk drive (HDD), memory card, CD / DVD, or other storage medium. Format operation is equally useful for new and “worn” HDDs that have served their day.

A disk that has no markup is completely useless. In addition to the fact that you mark the disk, formatting erases all data almost irrevocably (although there are many programs for recovering after formatting). Therefore, you need to be careful and prepare in advance to format your hard drive.

Over the years of operation of the operating system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), the hard disk turns into a "trash heap", since many programs leave their files on the disk, and after uninstallation their "roots" still remain on the HDD. As a result, the system is slow and unstable. There are various freezes, slowdowns, the disk clicks, makes noise - behaves inadequately. After reformatting, the hard drive is optimized and performs better. Many devices serve for a long time without this procedure. I advise you to insure yourself and format your hard drive at least once a year.

Sooner or later, disk formatting is inevitable. However, before doing this, it is very important to update or reinstall the operating system on your computer. Along with deleting unnecessary files, you get a completely clean environment without defects, harmful viruses, unused programs, data that lead to conflicts. Thus, before reformatting the hard drive, we reinstall the OS.

Back up any important data on another drive before formatting. As already mentioned, during the execution of this procedure, various service information, marks, are recorded on the disk, which allow you to subsequently record information on the HDD without hindrance.

Stages of formatting a hard drive

Low level- at this stage, the basic marking is applied to the disc at a low level. This is usually the responsibility of the hardware designer. In this case, special tracks and service data are applied to the disk. This information remains on the hard drive almost forever - it can be overwritten only using proprietary utilities. These programs can only replace service data. By the way, if you make a low-level formatting of the hard drive, then you won't be able to recover data later, unfortunately or fortunately. Therefore, if your goal is to destroy information, then you can use this format. Read about low-level formatting

Breakdown of sections... It is clear that storing data on a disk without partitions is rather inconvenient. For some logical organization, the HDD is divided into special zones, drives - drive C :, drive D: and so on. For these purposes, both the service utilities built into the OS and external programs for formatting the hard drive, which I have already written about, can be used.

High-level... During this type of reformatting, boot sectors and file tables are created.

Types of disk formatting

You may know that the standard system tools provide 2 methods with which you can format a hard drive - external or internal:

quick format: takes less time, allows you to carry out the procedure as it is. The bottom line is that with this type of computer formatting, files in the file table are overwritten with zeros, while the data is stored as if nothing had happened, you can later restore them. Also, with this method, you do not optimize the file structure, and if there were defects on the hard disk, you will not fix them with the quick method

normal formatting: Longer time and deeper formatting of the hard disk. Data on an internal or external disk is completely destroyed, the file system is checked for possible errors and damage. bad sectors, bad blocks. Thus, in the usual way of reformatting, you kill two birds with one stone, although you lose a little more time.