The other day I tried to connect my old external HDD WD (which had been lying around for a very long time) to a computer with Windows 8.1 and found that they could not access it. As soon as I connected it and opened the “This PC” folder, I saw a green bar slowly filling the address bar of the window, and when I right-clicked on the icon for this drive, the system briefly froze. Then I realized that there was something wrong with the disk, and in order to try to “revive” it, I needed to check it for errors and format it if necessary.

External hard drive not available

If you encounter a situation where your external hard drive has become inaccessible, this guide will help you check for errors/format it using the Command Prompt (CMD).

How to check disk using CMD

Using the WinX menu in Windows 8 (8.1), open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command:

Where "D" is the letter of the outer hard drive- or any other drive, for that matter - which needs to be scanned for errors and then corrected if any are found. In short, you just need to replace "D" with your drive letter and then press the Enter key on your keyboard.

This will start the process of checking the disk and correcting any errors that are found.

Advice: command line can also be launched using the Run dialog. To do this, press Win + R on your keyboard, enter the command “cmd” (without quotes, of course) and press Enter.

In my case, it was the check that helped - as soon as the process was completed, I discovered that I again had access to the disk.

How to format a drive using CMD

There is nothing complicated here either. To format a drive using the command line, type the following command and press Enter.

Quite often, users have problems with formatting. Especially if you need to do it with the system hard drive ( usually, but not always, this is C). In this case, the usual methods will not work.

If the hard drive ( or its section) without system files, then use the formatting method in the system itself.

In my instructions, I will show you how to format a hard drive with a system (there, where is windows installed) and without. I'll start with the simplest thing.

Formatting a non-system hard drive or partition

These methods are practically no different from. It can only be done on those hard drives that do not have system files ( usually D or E).

No need to worry about formatting the system drive. There is no way to do it this way. You will see a warning that the action is not possible.

Open my computer ( conductor). In it, select the disk, open the context menu and select formatting.

In the window that appears, leave everything as it is ( can be removed quick way, but then you will have to wait a very long time).

The process will take a long time ( depends on volume). You may think that nothing is happening and the computer is just frozen. But in most cases this is not the case.

The same can be done in the disk management window. Use this method if for some reason the first one did not work.

Go to Start >> All Programs >> Administrative Tools >> Computer Management.

In the window that appears, select the hard drive and “Format” in the context menu as in the image below.

There is 1 more method on the command line. Administrator rights are required.

Go to Start menu >> Run ( or Win+R) to open the progress bar. Then go to the command line.

Enter the command there:

Explanation: E is the hard drive letter. NTFS- file system. Q- quick formatting.

Formatting the system disk

When you try to format your system hard drive using the above methods, you will see the error shown below.

Why does this happen? It's simple. Windows cannot format itself. This will cause the system to malfunction and the error provides protection against this.

In addition, even if Windows was installed on another hard drive, then system files, necessary to run the OS can be stored locally. In this case, the BIOS check will begin with it ( C).

It turns out that this is only necessary for future installations new system. Otherwise, you will simply make the computer unusable. Before this you need to prepare a little.

You will need another media with the operating system you plan to install. This method works on any version. I'll demonstrate it on Windows 8.

Set it in advance. First you need to find out its letter. It may be different from "C:" so check this in advance. Now I’ll show you how to do this right during installation.

Press the key combination Shift+F10. This key combination also works on other versions of operating systems.

A command prompt window should appear. In it, enter the command notepad, which will open a notepad. From there you can further view the necessary information.

The Notepad program will open. In it, go to File >> Open or press CTRL+O.

Explorer will open. Go to the “This PC” tab and look at the drive letter you want to format. In my case D. It is designated as local.

Now go back to the command line and enter the command:

Where /FS:NTFS- file system. D:— drive letter. /q- quick formatting.

You can also use the utility directly during the installation process and not use the command line.

Select the language, click on the install button and in the window where you need to select the partition to install, you need to select formatting. See how it looks in the image.

It can also be done using any ( almost) LiveCD. This is the media from which the system boots instead of booting from the hard drive. You can format it directly in Explorer, similar to methods with non-system hard drives. This is possible because most of the data is in random access memory and this does not prevent the computer from starting.

There are also many programs, but they are paid and their use will be unnecessary for such tasks. This information should be sufficient.

If something was not clear to you, then watch this video. It clearly depicts all the actions with detailed comments and you will have no questions left.

Were you able to format your hard drive?

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

What is the formatting process?

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

Typically done for:

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

On this moment exists a large number of various file systems. They are used on a variety of equipment, including not only computers, but also mobile devices. To work in latest versions Windows uses the NTFS file system.

Video: How to format a hard drive

Why format your hard drive?

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

In most cases they resort to it:

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

Formatting with Windows tools

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

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

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

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

To open this menu, do the following:

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

Formatting via the command line

You can also perform this operation using the command line:

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

Formatting HDD in BIOS

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

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

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

To format, you must perform the following steps:

Attention! The drive partition letters may not match. For more precise definition of the required disk, use the command wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, size, description.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Acronis Disk Director

To create a bootable flash drive you will need:

Algorithm of actions:

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

Working with a bootable USB flash drive Acronis Disk Director

To load a flash drive you need:

How to format an external hard drive to NTFS

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

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

Steps describing how to format a hard drive as ntfs:

Utilities

In addition to the standard Windows programs There are various utilities used for the same purpose.

The most common options include the following:

What is the best program to format drives in ntfs?

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

Problems and solutions when formatting

How to quickly format a disk without losing data?

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

Which drive is better: external or external?

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

Unable to format hard drive

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

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

If you have removed the above factors, but 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 icon in the form of a sphere located in the center of the interface;
• select Surface tests;
• check the box next to Erase;
• go to the Add test tab;
• click on Scan;
• in the lower right corner, write down the error data;
• set the EraseWAITs option to ON and select Scan again;
• repeat until the error is cleared.

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

How to force format a flash drive?

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

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

Sometimes situations arise when you need to clean your hard drive, that is, format it. C, D, E or any other. But in most cases, Windows OS is installed on logical drive C. She won't let you clean it up just like that. The rest are easy to clean completely.

There are three types of formatting:

• We have nothing to do with low-level. After all, it is produced at a component manufacturing plant using special equipment. IN service center, not to mention at home, it won’t be possible to do it.
• The second formatting method involves dividing the logical media into several smaller sizes. That is, instead of one we get two or more disks. This manipulation can only be done when installing the OS.
• The third type is high-level formatting. It is divided into two subspecies. In the case of quick formatting, the files remain in their places, only the file table is updated, and the OS sees the disk as empty. This is very convenient when we do not want to completely lose data or have formatted it by mistake. When fully formatted, all information is erased without return, in addition, the system checks the device for serviceability. If a problem is detected, no data will be recorded.

There are four ways to perform high-level formatting: wiping the partition using Windows, through the command line, when installing the operating system, using a system utility.

When formatting using OS tools, no third-party scripts or programs are required. Let's go to "My Computer", right-click on the desired disk and select "Format". IN open window with formatting options, select the cluster size or file system. But in practice, only the volume label is set. If you uncheck the Quick box, the cleanup will take significantly longer. Then click “Start”. At this stage, a warning will appear that all data will be deleted, so you need to click “Cancel” if you have not made a copy. If the information is saved, click “OK”. When formatting is complete, a message will appear asking you to click “OK.” You can close the window with parameters - the disk is cleaned.

Another formatting option is performed using the command line. Open “Start” – “Run”. Alternatively, press the combination “Win” + “R”. In the new window, enter “cmd” and click “OK”. A command line will open, in which we write “format f”, where f is the name of the disk. Afterwards the OS will ask you to confirm the action: Y – yes, N – no. Please note that there will be no warning message regarding data deletion. In addition, formatting will be performed by default, namely full. To do a quick one, enter “format f: /Q”. Finally, you will be able to set a volume label. Just click “Enter”.

If you want to format the disk while installing Windows, you will need a flash drive or installation disk. We start loading the OS from physical media, carry out similar actions as if installing Windows. When given the option to select an installation partition, click Disk Setup. The following options will open: “Delete volume”, “Create volume”. You will also see a “Format volume” link there. Click “Format”, select which partition to clear, including the one where the OS was located. In this case, a quick format will be performed. If you do not need to install Windows, you should close the window to interrupt the process.

Owners of Windows 7 OS can use the built-in system utility. Just follow the path “Start” - “Control Panel”, then “System and Security”, then “Administration”. Then click “Create and format hard disk partitions.” In this menu it is convenient to view which disks are connected to your PC and their breakdown. In it, right-click on the desired partition and select “Format”.

Thus, from this article you learned how the process works hard formatting disk in Windows OS. There is nothing complicated about this, as you can see, finally consolidate your knowledge by watching a thematic video.