Now many modern PC users do not even know how often any program for formatting a hard disk helped out earlier. .
After all, the hard drives had to be formatted regularly.
It's all to blame for the imperfection of software products - both those that were used for the basic purposes of the user, and those that were used to perform maintenance operations on installed systems.
Background
Another aspect of the once-frequent use of hard drive formatting software is hardware problems. Small amount of media, frequent hardware errors, and the like.
But oddly enough, over time, the need to format drives still remained, even with the advent of modern solid-state drives. At the same time, the formatting operation has ceased to be an everyday norm and if it is required to format the hard disk, many users are at a loss in what and in what way it can be done.
Fortunately, over time, the quality of software products designed for formatting hard drives, and their number has increased markedly. And now the user is not limited to the built-in system utilities, but has access not just to third-party software products, but to a whole set of software tools that allow you to perform not only formatting, but also several other useful operations, in particular, improving the condition of the hard disk and the life its exploitation.
Some of these tools are shareware, some come with a free license, and the rest, nevertheless, are available only upon purchase. Each of them has its own advantages and we propose to consider several of the most frequently used and popular tools, endowed with sufficient functionality.
Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition
A program for formatting a hard disk called Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition stands out against the background of other similar software products by the ability to perform operations on virtual storage media. In addition, for those who still cannot stop using Windows XP, it will provide the ability to support high-capacity disks of the order of 2 TB or more. But it also works on modern OS Windows 7 and 8.
An additional advantage of this complex is the support of the multiboot management function. This option will be useful for those who use several operating systems in test mode or simply require their parallel use.
The program interface is quite simple and straightforward, and in some cases it is simply irreplaceable. An example of this is the ability to merge partitions without losing data, which is especially important when formatting partitions. In this case, the user is given the opportunity to even convert partitions.
As far as file systems are concerned, their number is quite large. They can use this program to convert one to another, in particular, NTFS to HFS.
Other features include copying and restoring disks, merging them, moving them, and resizing them. And all this in the presence of a Russified shell.
For some, the defragmentation function is superfluous, but absolutely everyone will like protection against system failures and detection of bad sectors.
Rice. 1 - Fragment of the Paragon Partition Manager window
EASEUS Partition Master
This hard disk formatting program has the advantage of having several versions with different functionality. Some of them are free, but the Home Edition and Master Free versions deserve special attention of ordinary users.
The program has excellent functionality available through the Russian-language software shell. It can run on a family of Windows operating systems, in particular, 7, 8 and 10 versions, both 32-bit and 64-bit, and some versions also allow you to work through Linux.
The software product provides work with a wide range of heterogeneous drives, the most important of which are:
- HDD disks;
- solid state drives SSD;
- USB sticks;
- memory cards in various designs.
Above them, you can carry out not only formatting, but also creating or changing partitions, for example, merging, deleting, copying and resizing.
The program has access to work with RAID arrays and provides user interaction with MBR and GPT. Some of the operations can be performed using the built-in wizards, which greatly facilitates the user's work.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that each version of the product has its own limitations, in particular, on the maximum drive size. For example, in the Home Edition version it is 8 TB, and in Master Free it is only 4 TB. And also the user is advised to pay attention to the installation process, because along the way, you can install unnecessary utilities.
Rice. 2 - Fragment of the EASEUS Partition Master window
Aomei Partition Assistant
A program for formatting a hard drive called Aomei Partition Assistant belongs to products distributed free of charge, but has decent functionality. It provides a number of such functions that are not available with other free products and therefore belongs to a completely different class.
This software package, like the previous product, has a Russian-language shell and supports modern Windows and Linux operating systems and, accordingly, the file systems operating under their control: FAT 12/16/32, NTFS, Ext2 / 3/4, exFAT / ReFS.
In parallel with the work on physical media, the program performs operations on virtual disks.
As for the special functionality, it is implemented in the form of access to disks that are invisible by other software tools. The program allows you to check, test and a number of other useful operations. All this against the background of minimum system requirements, ranging from the processor version to the amount of available disk memory.
This software product is able to work even under conditions when the device has 128 disks and the volume size is 16 TB. It is also one of the few products that can handle SSHDs, flash drives and flash cards. Is it worth mentioning at the same time that it supports UEFI Boot, and all the operations performed are performed without damaging user information as assured by the creators?
Rice. 3 - Aomei Partition Assistant window
MiniTool Partition Wizard
This program for formatting a hard disk is more modest, but much more popular, not only in the domestic space, but throughout the world. It is free and provides interoperability under the control of operating systems of the Windows family, including the latest versions of various bit sizes, while it also handles EXT disk partitions, as well as Linux Swap.
The software interface has a russified shell and provides work with partitions larger than 2 TB. It is quite simple and will be understandable even for a novice user. The functionality of the interface is quite wide and even includes a newfangled migration from HDD to SSD.
And also the software product performs a number of basic operations with disks and their partitions, including cloning, creating and modifying them. An additional operation can be considered the operation of converting file systems FAT / FAT32 to NTFS while maintaining the integrity of user data, which is supplemented by the functionality of backing up stored information and a utility for recovering data after failures. If desired, the user can test their disks by testing their performance.
Like some of the programs described above, this one can convert disks from MBR to GPT, which is important when a frequently used system partition is worn out. In parallel with this, it is possible to assign active sections and interact with them.
Rice. 4 - MiniTool Partition Wizard window
HDD Low Level Format Tool
This hard disk formatting program belongs to a different category than the software tools discussed above. Therefore, it deserves special attention. This is not a large software package with wide functionality, but a small program that has only the ability to low-level formatting in its set of functions.
This option provides, with the given settings, the possibility of restoring the operability of storage media. Moreover, this functionality applies to both hard drives and flash drives. The only problem for the user in this case is the complete destruction of data on the media without the possibility of their further recovery.
Unfortunately, there are no other operations that this product can do with media.
Rice. 5 - HDD Low Level Format Tool window
Acronis Disk Director
This program for formatting a hard drive is also quite interesting. Its peculiarity is that it can be launched from any carrier. So, it can be installed on a bootable disk or USB flash drive and even without a full-fledged operating system to be able to work with disk partitions.
Such functionality is especially important in emergency situations, when it is more important for the user to restore the system's operability, and not just create an additional partition for more convenient data storage or installation of a game. The functionality of the program is suitable for working with disks under both Windows and Linux. However, this product has one significant drawback, which is noticeable when compared with the above programs - it is its cost.
In fact, this app is classified as shareware. After the specified trial period, the user is offered two options - to purchase a license or to remove the software product. Therefore, it can be safely used and compared with other programs for free, but for a limited time.
Otherwise, it is a full-fledged tool for working with disks and their partitions with wide functionality. It includes all the basic operations for working with partitions, including formatting, and also allows the PC owner to view the information stored on these partitions in general form.
Rice. 6 - Acronis Disk Director window
Windows standard tools
When describing programs for formatting disks, one cannot fail to mention the standard operating system tools available to users without downloading third-party software products. This can be done using the example of operating systems of the Windows family. A feature of these systems is that they have several tools at once for working with hard drives and their partitions.
The first tool is quite simple and this utility is available to the user from the Explorer program. In order to use it, you can open the context menu for a logical partition of a hard disk and select the "Format" item in it. After that, a form will become available in which you can specify the desired parameters for the formatting operation.
This functionality will be available for all logical partitions of the disk, except for the active system disk. In this case, you need to use a slightly different tool available exclusively from the command line. To work with it, special skills are required that are available only to experienced users.
Important! To have access to them, you need a boot disk, as well as the settings set in the BIOS, forcing the PC to boot from removable media, and not from the hard disk, in order to provide the functionality necessary for the system. It is provided by a small utility called diskpart. But its main problem is that the user does not receive a high-quality visualization of the actions being performed, and any error during their execution can cost the system's performance.
This state of affairs forces users to resort to using third-party software products.
Rice. 7 - Format utility window
Formatting the hard drive before installing Windows
In the video I will show you how to format your hard drive. This can come in handy when you reinstall the Windows operating system.
Formatting a hard disk is the process of creating a file system on its partition, accompanied by deleting data and drawing up 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 more about how to format a hard drive in several ways.
It is very easy to format the HDD using standard tools. To do this, in the explorer, select the desired section, right-click and select "Format" in the pop-up menu.
In the menu that opens, select the 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 Format" significantly speeds up the process, but only the FS table is re-created. The data itself remains physically 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 drag on for a long time. A hard drive with a capacity of several terabytes will take hours to format. But such formatting allows you to irrevocably destroy data, for example, when transferring the drive to a new owner.
An alternative way to format the HDD by standard means is through the "Control Panel". To do this, you need to find the "Administrative Tools" menu, select "Computer Management" in it and find "Disk Management" in the left column. In the menu that opens, all drives will be displayed in the form of a structure. The advantage of this method is that you can format disks that do not have a partition and therefore do not appear in Explorer.
How to format a hard drive via the command line
To format the disk via the command line, there is the format service command. To use it, you need to run Command Prompt as administrator and enter the format command, which should look like this:
format [drive letter]:- formatting will happen without question, in the same file system that is on the disk, in a slow way (with full erasure).
format [drive letter]: / q - the "/ q" flag starts fast formatting without physically clearing the contents of its memory. The flag can be set 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, but with fast formatting.
How to format your hard drive before installing Windows
To format the hard disk before installing Windows, you need to select the full installation, wait for the partition selection menu to appear, click on the desired disk and press the "Format" button below. The system will independently determine the optimal formatting method, file system type and cluster size. The whole process takes less than a minute.
Before formatting the hard drive - installing windows may need to create additional system partitions to boot the OS. The screenshot below shows that such a partition takes up 100 MB. It contains part of the boot loader.
The disadvantage of formatting this way is that you cannot manually manipulate the parameters. Ordinary users do not need this, but sometimes they need the same FAT32 instead of the standard NTFS system. For example, such a need arises on tablets with Intel processors and two installed OS (Windows + Android), like the ten-inch Chuwi Hi10. To see the Windows partition from under Android, it must be formatted in a compatible FS. The "green robot" cannot work with NTFS without special plugins and third-party programs.
The correct answer to this question is "no way." Bios of the computer is intended for a little other purposes and does not have functionality for working with HDD. Usually the people “formatting from under Bios are called formatting via the command line in a text 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 disk through a bootable DOS disk, you need to create an image of such an OS, write it to a USB flash drive and copy the formatting utility there. Instead of DOS, you can also use a special program for working with HDD, for example, GParted. This option is preferable as it is more functional.
To format the HDD from under 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 your USB stick.
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 an item containing the words "Boot device priority" or those close to them in meaning. Among them, in the first place, you should put your USB flash drive. Then you need to press F10, agree to save the settings and wait for the boot from the USB flash drive.
In the loaded menu of the GParted program, you need to select a language, select a disk and find the item responsible for formatting. You can choose the file system, cluster size, formatting type, and other options.
When installing the operating system, as well as when changing files, redistributing space between partitions, it is necessary to format the hard disk. This is a fairly common operation performed by PC users. If you have not done anything like this yet, then let's deal with the theoretical part of the question.
Formatting process, what is it?
Layout of information storage areas, in which some of it is deleted, is called formatting. It creates a system for accessing stored information.
As a rule, it is performed for:
- changes from one file system to another;
- deleting files from the hard disk.
At the moment, there are a large number of different file systems. They are used on a variety of equipment, including not only computers, but also mobile devices. To work in the latest versions of Windows, the NTFS file system is used.
Video: How to Format a Hard Drive
Why format your hard drive?
Formatting is done to remove files from the hard drive, as well as to change one file system to another.
In most cases, it is resorted to:
- before installing a new operating system;
- to create an installation image of Windows, for example, on a USB flash drive;
- for the reason, the need to clean the disk from files, in case they are not needed.
Formatting with Windows tools
Despite the large number of various programs for working with a hard disk, the Windows operating system has its own set of utilities.
Consider the process of formatting disks using Windows:
- select the drive you want to format;
- press the right mouse button;
- select the Format item;
- in the window that appears, select the file system, cluster size, and formatting method;
- as a file system, it is recommended to set NTFS, and leave the cluster size by default - 4096;
- after setting the necessary parameters, click Start.
Windows also includes a more complete service for working with hard drives.
To open this menu, do the following:
- right-click on My Computer;
- select Management;
- open the Disk Management item;
- in this menu, the user can perform various operations with the hard disk, including formatting.
Command line formatting
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, 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 start the formatting process;
- when finished, this message will appear
Formatting HDD in BIOS
If you need to format a hard disk partition from the BIOS, you have to tinker a little. Unfortunately, the BIOS does not have tools for formatting the hard drive, therefore, 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 a bootable media with the files of this program in the operating system. But before you start creating bootable media, it is worth considering another option - formatting using the Windows Installer. This solution is a simpler option in comparison with the Acronis Disk Director program.
For this method, you only need a disk or flash drive with the recorded installation package of the operating system.
To format, follow these steps:
Attention! The drive letters may not match. For a more precise definition of the required disk, use the command wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, size, description.
Creating a bootable USB flash drive Acronis Disk Director
To create a bootable flash drive you will need:
Algorithm of actions:
- insert a USB flash drive;
- install and open the program;
- in the application, open the Tools section and select Acronis Bootable Media Builder;
- click next;
- select the type of bootable media Windows PE;
- in the next menu, you should mark the necessary components for writing to a USB flash drive;
- after selecting, you must select the medium to which the recording will be made, and click Next. The USB 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 drive or disc using the Ultra ISO program.
Working with a bootable USB flash drive Acronis Disk Director
To download a USB 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 imply the installation of additional programs and the creation of additional bootable discs.
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 that are used for the same purpose.
Of the most common options, the following can be noted:
What is the best program in ntfs to format drives?
Each program has its own characteristics, but the main direction for all utilities remains one - working with disks, including creating partitions, forming into other file systems, etc. Therefore, the choice of a program is a purely personal question of each user, which depends on his preferences ...
Formatting problems and solutions
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 restored.
Which drive is better: external or external?
Formatting external drives is the same as for a regular hard drive. With this process, all information will be deleted, including windows, after execution the disk is obtained as a new one without windows.
Unable to format hard disk
If you did everything according to the instructions, but did not achieve the result, do not sound the alarm. It doesn't always mean something bad.
- format command - cannot be used for the system disk if it is in its environment;
- if the operating system is located in another partition of the hard drive, it cannot be deleted;
- the antivirus program settings may block access to different sections of the hard drive;
- various applications and viruses can block access.
If you removed the above factors, but you still cannot format the 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 sphere-shaped icon 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 clears up.
You can also use the Acronis Disk Director program. If you cannot format the portable hard drive using this program, the hard drive is most likely partially out of order. And the whole procedure, sometimes it is possible to perform only from bootable media, that is, not in the operating system.
How to force format a USB flash drive?
You can use the program to format flash drives HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
- provide the required set of functions;
- have a fairly simple interface that will be easy for novice users to work with.
Situation: you turn on the computer, and there is a “blue screen of death”. An urgent need to format the hard drive, but there is no specialist. In this article, we will consider a way to format the hard drive on our own, without third-party help.
We reboot the computer and immediately after turning it on, press the Del key to enter the BIOS. It happens that instead of the Del button, you need to press Insert, F2, F5, F12. The exact data can be found when the computer is booted, at the bottom of the screen a message is displayed like “to enter BIOS, press DEL / Insert, etc.” Immediately after these actions, a BIOS window will appear, where you can navigate through the tabs only through the keyboard, not with the mouse. Go to the “Boot” tab. Now you need to configure it so that when you turn on the computer, it does not boot from the hard disk, but from the boot sector of the CD-Rjm. To do this, go to the "Boot Device Priority" item. Use the F5, F4 keys to set the CDROM value to the first position.
After formatting is complete, the installation process of the Windows operating system will begin immediately.
This is perhaps the fastest and most useful way to format your hard drive.
In many of our articles that mention working with, we indirectly touch on the issue of its formatting. In this article, we want to touch on this topic in detail and tell you how to format a hard drive in different situations. So let's get started.
You can format a hard drive in different ways, and this procedure is required in many cases: to completely clear a partition or the entire hard drive, for, when reinstalling the system, and also after buying a new HDD. First, let's take a look at the easiest way to format a disk - through the Windows OS.
How to format a hard disk partition in Windows
Formatting a hard disk partition in Windows is done if you want to quickly and efficiently delete existing unnecessary files on one of the hard disk partitions. Also, the formatting of a partition in this way is performed if viruses appear on this partition.Before formatting the hard drive, re-save all the necessary data that is on it to another partition or to your cloud service. If you want to format the HDD partition due to the presence of viruses on it, then in this case it is better not to copy the data from it, as they may contain viruses. Nevertheless, if there are files on the virus-infected hard disk that you really need, then copy them to an empty USB flash drive and check it. If no viruses are found, then these files can be transferred to a formatted partition.
To format a partition, right-click on it in the explorer to bring up the context menu.
In the context menu that appears, select the "Format ..." item.
- Capacity... This parameter indicates the size of the hard disk partition, so it does not change.
- File system... In this parameter, we set the default value, that is, we format the partition in the NTFS file system, since it is the best for the Windows operating system today.
- Cluster size... We also leave the value of this parameter unchanged.
- Volume label... Here you can enter the name of the section, which will be assigned to it after formatting.
- Formatting methods... Select "Quick (clear table of contents)" formatting by checking the box next to this value.
How to format the hard drive when installing the system
Now let's take a look at how to properly format the hard drive with and.How to format your hard drive when installing Windows
The menus for formatting hard drives in Windows 7 and in Windows 8 are absolutely identical. To do this, when during the installation process you come to the choice of the Windows installation section - click on the inscription "Disk settings".
If you need to format a new hard disk, then to do this, click on this disk and then click on the inscription "Format".
There are two ways to format a hard disk. The first method (described above): select a hard disk partition and format it. The second way: delete all partitions of the hard disk and create one, thereby the hard disk will be completely formatted. You can read more about that in one of our next articles.
How to format your hard drive when installing Linux
The Linux Ubuntu installer also includes a hard drive setup process. In the case when the new hard disk will be the only one in your computer, then in the installation menu you can select automatic disk configuration, where it will be formatted as needed. To do this, during the installation process, select "Erase Disk and Install Ubuntu".
To format an existing partition on a hard disk in Linux, you need to select this section, click on the "Change ..." button at the bottom and check the box next to the item: "Format partition" in the window, and click on the "OK" button, leaving its type (Ext4 or swap) unchanged. But an external hard drive in Linux is best formatted, as in Windows, in the NTFS file system.
How to format a hard drive using special programs
In principle, in order to format a hard disk or its partition, the above methods will be quite enough, but if you want to format and resize a hard disk partition in Windows without reinstalling the system, we recommend using the Acronis Disk Director or Partition Magic.
Formatting a disk or partition in these programs is very simple: select the desired disk or partition and right-click on it, after which a context menu will appear, where you will need to select the "Format" or "Format" item, depending on the program and its localization.
