Formatting an HDD is an easy way to quickly delete all data stored on it and/or change the file system. Also, formatting is often used for a “clean” installation of the operating system, but sometimes there may be a problem in which Windows cannot perform this procedure.
There are several situations at once in which it is not possible to format the drive. It all depends on when the user tries to start formatting, whether there are software or hardware errors associated with the operation of the HDD.
In other words, the reasons may lie in the inability to perform the procedure due to certain parameters of the operating system, as well as due to problems caused by the software part or the physical state of the device.
Reason 1: The system disk is not formatted
The easiest problem that only beginners usually face: you are trying to format the HDD from which the operating system is currently running. Naturally, in the mode of operation, Windows (or another OS) cannot delete itself.
The solution is very simple: you need to boot from the flash drive to perform the formatting procedure.
Attention! This action is recommended to be carried out before installing a new version of the OS. Don't forget to save your files to another drive. After formatting, you will no longer be able to boot from the operating system that you previously used.
Set BIOS to boot from flash drive.
The next steps will be different, depending on the OS you want to use. In addition, formatting can be done either for the subsequent installation of the operating system, or without additional manipulations.
For formatting with the subsequent installation of the OS (for example, Windows 10):
To format without installing OS:
Reason 2: Error: "Windows cannot complete formatting"
This error may appear when working with your main drive or a second (external) HDD, for example, after a system installation was suddenly interrupted. Often (but not necessarily) the hard drive format becomes RAW, and in addition to this, it is not possible to format the system back to the NTFS or FAT32 file system in the standard way.
Depending on the severity of the problem, several steps may be required. So let's go from simple to complex.
Step 1: Safe Mode
Due to running programs (for example, antivirus, Windows services, or user software), it is not possible to complete the process that has begun.
- Boot Windows in safe mode.
- Perform formatting with the option that suits you.
Step 2: chkdsk
This built-in utility will help eliminate existing errors and cure broken blocks.
Step 3: Command Line
Step 4: System Disk Utility
Step 5: Using a Third Party Program
You can try using third-party software, since in some cases it successfully copes with formatting when standard Windows utilities refuse to do so.
Reason 3: Error: "Data Error (CRC)"
This most likely indicates a physical failure of the disk, so in this case it is necessary to replace it with a new one. If necessary, you can take it to the service for diagnostics, but this can be financially costly.
Reason 4: Error: "Could not format the selected partition"
This error can generalize several problems at once. The whole difference here is in the code that goes in square brackets after the text of the error itself. In any case, before trying to fix the problem, check the HDD for errors with the chkdsk utility. How to do this, see above. Method 2.
We have considered the main problems that arise when trying to format a hard drive in a Windows environment or when installing an operating system. We hope this article was useful and informative for you. If the error has not been resolved, tell us your situation in the comments, and we will try to help resolve it.
Formatting a hard disk is a software process of labeling the elements of the memory area of magnetic 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, it will not be possible to write information to it due to the physical and software features of the processes of writing, storing and reading information.
Physically, nothing happens to it during the formatting of the hard disk, but at the software level, its logical structure is organized on the media - a certain order necessary for recording, storing, editing and deleting data. Otherwise, the logical structure of the disk is called the file system. Depending on the selected file system, information access speed, maximum file name length, number of files in one directory, storage efficiency, search methods, information recording, etc. will differ.
Formatting a hard disk is divided into two types. These are low-level and high-level formatting.
Low-level formatting is the process by which special electronic marks, called servo marks, are applied to the magnetic surface of your HDD's polished platters. They contain service information about the positioning of the reading heads and the position of the sectors and tracks of the disk, which determine the physical format of the drive. This procedure is performed on special factory equipment, since before that the media does not contain any information about the sectors and tracks of the plate (s), due to the lack of which it is impossible to work with the media. Due to the coefficient of volumetric expansion of materials (which is known to many of the school physics lessons), from which HDD platters were made in the past and stepper motors that control the positioning of the heads, sectors and tracks were shifted relative to the read heads. Thus, when, according to the controller, the head was in the right sector, it could physically be on the adjacent track. Because of this, the hard drive malfunctioned and bad (inoperable) sectors appeared (if the controller believes that the head is in the first sector, but in reality it positions, for example, above the 5th, then the first four sectors are inaccessible to it). Such hard drives required repeated low-level formatting throughout their entire service life, which required the complete and repeated destruction of all data located on the hard disk platter / platters.
In the new HDDs, this problem was solved by using a voice coil in the mechanism of the read heads, due to which the effect of thermal expansion was compensated by recalibrating the operating parameters of the disk heads (in simpler terms, 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 manufacturing facilities of the manufacturer to create the physical structure of the manufactured hard drive before testing and delivery to the end user;
- on old hard drives to reset the file system (due to the coefficient of linear expansion 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, secure and permanent erasure of all information stored on the hard drive, for example, before selling your own computer or the hard drive itself.
HDD high-level formatting is the process of forming a hard disk file structure, 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 drive platters for bad sectors, followed by their replacement or deactivation. As a result of high-level formatting, the hard disk is prepared for use by the operating system for storing data on it.
High-level formatting is divided into two types: quick 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 also created. Upon completion of the process, the operating system will determine the hard or logical disk as clean, although physically all the information on it will remain untouched, with the exception of 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 overwriting of each sector with zero bits of information. Also, when full formatting, all sectors of the hard drive will be checked for operability. If a bad sector is detected, it will be replaced with a healthy one, which is in reserve, or simply excluded, as a result of which the usable HDD volume will slightly decrease.
High-level formatting of hard drives and their partitions must be performed in the following cases:
- during the reinstallation of the operating system to reset all the data on them and form a new disk structure;
- during partitioning of the drive into logical disks;
- for a qualitative check of magnetic plates for the presence of damaged sectors on them;
- 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 a system one. It 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 partitions. The second and subsequent hard drives are non-system, so the procedure for formatting them is no different from formatting removable USB drives.
Let's consider the methods of forming the file structure of non-system hard drives using the tools built into the operating system and using third-party software products designed to work with hard drives.
2.1. Formatting with BIOS
One way to format a hard drive 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 media formatting programs. There are versions of programs, such as AcronisDiskDirector, that can boot directly from a USB flash drive, which means that they work without an operating system. In the latest versions of Acronis, there is a bootable media builder. Such a flash drive will allow the AcronisDiskDirector program to boot from the BIOS and format the hard drive.
In addition to third-party programs, you can format a hard disk with a BIOS by booting from an installation disk with a Windows distribution using the command line or the operating system installer. More about all these options and will be discussed further.
2.2. Formatting with Windows
The Windows operating system contains all the tools necessary for formatting hard drives. In the proposed section, we will consider all methods for formatting a 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 form a new system, is formatting through the context menu.
2.2.2. Through "Create and format hard disk partitions"
The second method to format a hard drive using the 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 rebooting the operating system, which will not distract the user from the main work.
You can start the Disk Management program 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 of 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 hard drive file system with deletion of all files and, with full formatting, checking its surface for integrity, through the use of system commands entered in the command console, also known as the Windows shell.
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 understandable to the operating system with many parameters for direct control of the operating system or computer hardware. Naturally, using the command line, you can quickly format the hard drive. To do this, launch the system console using any of the listed methods or in a more convenient way for you.
Through the Run window
Via the start menu
Through Windows Explorer
The command line is launched by calling the "cmd.exe" file located in the "System32" folder of the system directory of the Windows operating system. To launch the command line, you can go to c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe or use the shortcut to launch 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 a label, the operating system will ask you to enter it before formatting or leave the hard drive without a name by pressing "Enter" (see screenshot).
The process of formatting a hard drive, depending on the specified parameters and the size of the drive, can last from several seconds to several tens of minutes. Formatting is accompanied by the inscription: "Creating 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 through 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 designed to perform low-level formatting of hard drives and digital media based on memory chips. It copes with the task perfectly even in cases where the magnetic surface of the plate is badly damaged.
Carrying out the hard disk formatting procedure 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 a full format 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 drive is, as a rule, a high-speed (with a plate rotation speed of 10,000 rpm, although it can be with a standard 7200 rpm) hard drive on which an operating system is installed. Based on this, it will not work to format it using Windows tools. Formatting a system hard drive is carried out by a different method, 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 for creating a new file system will have to be launched from the installation disk or flash drive.
3.1. Formatting using a bootable USB flash drive or disk
3.1.1. Through the Windows operating system installer
One of the most common methods to format a hard drive used as a system drive is to use removable media or a CD and use the Windows installation distribution.
We will not consider how to create bootable media, many articles have been written on this subject in the vast Russian-speaking segment of the Internet. Let's get straight to the point.
- We insert a bootable USB flash drive into the USB socket of your computer or laptop (or a CD into its drive).
- Restart or turn on the computer.
- As a device to which 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).
- Depending on the assembly of Windows, we select the option to install the operating system (with a different bootloader interface, using third-party assemblies, the essence of the process will be unchanged).
- Select the installation language. It will, of course, be Russian, as well as the keyboard layout, time format, etc.
- Click "Full installation ...".
- Click "OK" to confirm your intentions.
Immediately after loading the basic input-output system and initializing it and testing the equipment, we begin to click on the boot media quick selection key.
This key can be "F9" or "F11" (see the manual for your motherboard or laptop), and this data is also displayed during BIOS boot.
During the appearance of a similar black screen with an inscription, press any button on the keyboard.
Information will be read from the bootloader to which the BIOS has transferred control.
In the next window, just click "Install ->".
We accept the terms of operation of the operating system, preferably after reading them.
We stop at the second option, so that it becomes possible to get into the hard disk settings menu.
Using the keyboard and mouse, select the required hard drive if there are several connected to the computer, and click "Disk Setup".
The toolbar will change slightly.
Click on the "Format" button.
A standard window will appear with a warning that all files and programs on the disk will be destroyed.
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 via the command line, booting from the installation disk / flash drive
Another simple option to format the disk on which the operating system is located is to use the command line by booting from a disk or flash drive with the installation files of the Windows operating system.
3.2. Acronis Disk Manager
- To launch the wizard for creating bootable drives, go to the "Backup and Restore" tab on the control panel of the program, which is made in the style of a ribbon, like in Microsoft Office, starting with the 2007 edition.
- Click on "Create bootable media".
- Depending on the version of the program, a window may appear prompting you to select the type of bootable media. It is recommended to choose the bootloader option based on Windows PE. We click "Next".
Select the type of Acronis bootable media to be created.
- Then we confirm our intentions to write the program files to a USB flash drive, having destroyed all the files on it before that, and wait for the end of the recording process.
We boot 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 pressing the hotkey for selecting boot devices.
In most cases, during the initialization procedure that occurs before loading the operating system, you must press the F11, F9 or other key to call up the boot menu. In it, select the USB drive and click "Enter".
We are waiting for the program to load.
Usually, this procedure takes a little longer than loading Acronis Disk Director in Windows.
- We select our hard drive and call the procedure for formatting it by any method:
- In the dialog box that appears, select the options for formatting the hard drive:
- file system - it is recommended to use NTFS, due to the support of files larger than 4 GB, which is not available for FAT and FAT32;
- leave the cluster size as "Auto" if you have no idea what this value is. However, to store a huge number of small files, it is recommended to choose a cluster size of less than 4 KB;
- volume label - enter the name of the hard disk or leave the field blank.
- If you are sure of the actions you are performing, check the correctness of the specified parameters and click on the "Continue" button.
We select the necessary components, on the basis of which the wizard will create a bootable USB flash drive.
AcronisDiskDirector is enough to format a hard drive. If you want to have a partition backup tool, also choose AcronisTrueImage.
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 loading of the list of operations, a small window will appear with their detailed description and parameters.
After a few seconds of fixing the operation, the hard disk formatting procedure will start.
Be careful, the program will not display a warning window asking you to confirm the operation and will not notify you about the destruction of all data on the hard drive.
Formatting will take place within a few seconds, as the utility uses a quick 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 freeware hard drive management software. Naturally, it can be used to format any hard drive or its partition. In addition, the utility can work with backups, change and create logical partitions, install multiple operating systems on a disk, and so on.
- We load the LiveCD or the installation distribution of the Windows operating system, which includes the Paragon Partition Manager program.
- We write the image to removable media and boot from it, specifying the highest boot priority from a USB flash drive in the BIOS or selecting the drive with the Paragon Partition Manager distribution kit as the boot device.
- We select our program with the mouse cursor or cursor keys and the "Enter" button, depending on the graphical menu and bootloader used to create the LiveCD.
- 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.
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".
- 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.
- Specify the file system and the new hard drive label.
- Click "Advanced Options" if you want to change the number of sectors in one cluster. You can also specify here whether to format using the “format” command built into Windows, which we met when formatting a disk from the command console, or use the developers’ own algorithm.
Click "Format".
The program will not ask for confirmation of the operation, but it will not start the execution of the command specified by it.
To do this, click on the "Apply intended changes" button, which is located in the toolbar under the main menu.
To view the planned changes, use the magnifying glass button.
- In the dialog, we agree to make changes by clicking "Yes".
- We are waiting for the notification about 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 users face when formatting a hard drive is using outdated software. This happens due to the fact that the user has not updated the disk management program that he trusts for several years. Also, the use of queries like “download hacked acronis” often leads to the most popular sites that have been in the first places of search engines for many months and contain outdated software versions.
Keep your hard drive software up to date, especially if you're using one of the latest versions of Windows.
The second problem is an error when trying to format the used disk, 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 of the situation will be to use bootable LiveCD or media with the Windows distribution.
An error in the process of formatting a hard drive due to the huge number of bad sectors occurs when trying to perform a full format of a hard drive, the surface of which is replete with damaged memory cells. Run a HDD check, for example, using the Victoria utility, with reassignment of damaged areas or their exclusion from the area used for storing information.
Formatting a hard disk is used to clean the disk from data, from the table of contents of sections, to change the operating system and to install a new operating system.
The formatting procedure may cause some errors or not run at all due to related software or hardware errors.
Formatting cannot be started if the operating system of the computer is installed on the partition for which the formatting procedure is being started. It is worth considering that partial deletion of the files of the working operating system can lead to its inoperability, as a result of which the next time you start the computer, it may not start at all.
To correctly format, you need to create a bootable image for a flash drive or disk and start installing the operating system through the BIOS.
After downloading the Windows Installer, the user needs to select a language pair for the computer.
After agreeing with the license agreement and selecting the operating system, the user enters the partition selection menu.
In this menu, you can format the necessary partitions of the hard disk and select the partition where the operating system will be installed further.
Also, formatting errors can occur if there was a sudden power outage during operation or installation of the operating system.
In this case, the user needs to start safe mode and format the necessary partition directly in it.
The Windows operating system has an internal program that allows you to check the disk for errors - the CHKDSK command.
To run the command, you need to open a command prompt.
At the command line, the user needs to enter the command "chkdsk X: / r / f". Here X corresponds to the name of the partition to be formatted. After entering the command, you need to indicate to reboot the system by pressing the Y button.
After rebooting the system, you must re-open the command line and specify the formatting command itself in it - “format / FS: NTFS X: / q” or “format / FS: FAT32 X: / q”, depending on the type of hard disk file system.
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?
The marking of information storage areas, in which some of it is deleted, is called formatting. It creates a system for accessing stored information.
Typically run for:
- changing one file system to another;
- deleting files from the 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 a hard drive?
Formatting is done to remove files from the hard disk, 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 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 Format;
- 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 required parameters, click Start.
Windows also includes a more complete hard drive service.
To open this menu, do the following:
- right-click on My Computer;
- select Manage;
- open Disk Management;
- In this menu, the user can perform various operations on the hard disk, including formatting.
Formatting via command line
You can also perform this operation using the command line:
- press the key combination Win + R;
- enter cmd and press Enter;
- on the command line, write the format y: command, 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;
- this message will appear when finished.
Format HDD in BIOS
If you need to format a hard disk 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 a bootable media in the operating system with the files of this program. But before you start creating bootable media, you should consider one more 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 installation package for the operating system.
For formatting, follow these steps:
Attention! 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 flash drive Acronis Disk Director
To create a bootable flash drive you will need:
Action algorithm:
- insert a 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 Windows PE bootable media;
- in the next menu, you should mark the necessary components for recording to a USB flash drive;
- after selection, you must select the media to which the recording will be made, 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 flash drive Acronis Disk Director
To download 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 and 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.
Among the most common options are the following:
What is the best program in ntfs to format drives?
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 matter for each user, which depends on his preferences .
Problems and 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: remote or external?
Formatting external drives is done in the same way as for a regular hard drive. With this process, all information will be deleted, including windows, after execution, the disk is obtained as new without windows.
Unable to format hard drive
If you did everything according to the instructions, but did not achieve the result, you should not sound the alarm. It doesn't always mean something bad.
- format command - cannot be used for a system drive if it is in its environment;
- if the operating system is located on another partition of the hard drive, it cannot be deleted;
- the settings of the anti-virus program can block access to different sections of the hard drive;
- different applications and viruses can block access.
If you have 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 of charge.
Action algorithm:
- 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 right, lower corner, write down these errors;
- set the EraseWAITs option to ON and select Scan again;
- repeat until the error is gone.
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 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 flash drive?
You can use the program to format flash drives HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.
How do I format a write-protected drive?
- open command line;
- write the following commands:
- diskpart;
- list disk;
- select disk Z. Z is the number of the flash drive, the execution of the previous command is shown;
- attributes disk clear readonly;
- clean;
- create partition primary;
- format fs=ntfs;
- exit.
The operating system includes utilities that:
- provide the necessary set of functions;
- have a fairly simple interface that will be easy for novice users to work with.
Sometimes PC or laptop users may experience an annoying problem. The computer stopped seeing the flash drive or hard drive. Often, errors may appear: "the disk is not formatted", "the disk is not found", "insert the disk", "the disk in the device is not formatted, format it", "it must be formatted before using the disk in the drive", etc. etc. And it's not even scary that the system asks to format the HDD or Flash-card.
The trouble is that a serious threat looms over the important and much-needed data contained on the device. Is it possible and how to recover data on a hard drive or flash drive if the computer does not see them? Will the disk work again or is it broken and can we say goodbye to it? These questions concern users in the first place.
We will not make hasty conclusions and make drastic decisions, we will try to recover all the information and return the disks to a healthy state. For this you need:
- Check the media for viruses.
- Check for logical errors and bad sectors.
- Try to recover data.
- If it was not possible to do the above, try to restore the operation of the flash drive or hard drive by formatting.
How to check a flash or hard drive for errors and viruses?
You can use any popular anti-virus software to check for viruses and malware (trojans). I recommend Eset, Kaspersky, DrWeb, Avast and MalwareBytes Antimalware. After checking the device for viruses, you can proceed to check the logical integrity of the file system.
To check and fix the existing logical errors on the disk, you must use the chkdsk program. This is a standard program in Windows (7, 8, 10) to check drives for file system errors. To run it, you need to open the command line, through the "Start" menu bar, enter cmd.exe in the search bar and run it as Administrator (right mouse button).
Chkdsk X:
Press Enter and wait for the process to complete. Reboot PC or laptop. After that, we try to open the USB flash drive or hard drive again. If it doesn't help, it says "Unable to open volume for direct access" or "invalid for RAW disks", look further.
You can use third-party disk checking programs, such as MiniTool Power Data Recovery. But the functionality of chkdsk is enough to fix most disk access problems.
How do I know if a disk needs to be formatted?
If you encounter the error "you must format the disk before using it" this is not a sentence yet. But in some, especially difficult cases, when it is impossible to recover data from a flash drive or hard drive. And if none of the proposed methods brought the desired result. You can try to repair, fix and make the hard drive itself work (after such problems it is better not to store important information on it).
How to recover a hard drive or flash drive after errors if data recovery did not help? It needs to be formatted and then scanned for errors and bad sectors.
How to format a hard drive?
Formatting a local hard drive (it can be under the letter C, D or others) is not such a difficult task. Despite the obscure name, formatting a C:/ hard drive is very simple. You can format the hard drive through BIOS or use special programs. I offer several convenient ways.
The simplest thing, if the hard drive is not bootable, is to format it in the Windows environment. You need to go to My Computer, right-click on the desired drive and select "Format". Next, select the NTFS file system, the cluster size is 4096 bytes, check the "Quick (clearing the table of contents)" checkbox and click "OK".
Formatting via BIOS or the command line can be useful if Windows does not boot and it is not possible to use the standard formatting tools. For example, when there are problems with the boot drive C, on which the operating system is usually installed.
To format a hard drive in BIOS, you will need an installation disk or USB flash drive with Windows. You need to set the BIOS boot priority to 1 for bootable media. It's just like installing Windows. When the system installer loads, press Shift + F10 to launch the command line. If it didn’t work to open cmd in this way, there is another way, go through "Language Selection" - "Additional Features" - "Command Prompt". Or click next in the Windows installer until a table with active hard drives and partitions appears, select the item - "format".
At the command line, enter the following commands:
Wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, size, description
The command is used to determine and specify the drive letter, its size. In order not to confuse and format the desired hard disk or partition.
Format /FS:NTFS C: /q
The command to quickly format drive C: to the NTFS file system.
Another way to change the disk file system is ERD Commader, Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset, Acronis Disk Director. You need to create bootable media based on these programs and format them in their environment. I suggest you google it if you're interested.
How to format a flash drive?
What to do when a laptop or computer asks to format a USB flash drive when you insert it into a USB connector (port)? At the same time, he does not see it, it is not readable and does not open. That's right, you need to format it, but only after you have tried all the methods to restore its work and information.
The principle of formatting a flash drive is about the same as for an HDD.
About the file systems of flash drives and hard drives.
When formatting the HDD or flash drive, you must select the future file system. The device will be formatted according to your choice. You can choose one of several possible options.
- FAT32
Which file system to choose for a flash drive or HDD? Evaluating all the pros and cons and without going into details, I advise NTFS. This is a more modern file system that provides reliable read-write information at a decent speed. In addition, NTFS well supports flash drives larger than 4 Gb, which cannot be said about FAT 32.
Do you have questions or something is not clear? Write in the comments.
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