- #Completely reformat usb drive using cmd driver#
- #Completely reformat usb drive using cmd Pc#
- #Completely reformat usb drive using cmd windows#
In the command, change X for any available letter you want to use. Type the following command to assign a volume, and a drive letter for the USB flash drive and press Enter: assign letter=X Type the following command to make the hard drive bootable and press Enter: format FS=NTFS quick Type the following command to make the selected partition active and press Enter: active Type the following command to select the new partition and press Enter: select partition 1 Type the following command to create a primary partition and press Enter: create partition primary Type the following commands to delete everything from the USB thumb drive and press Enter: clean In the command, replace 3 with the number of the flash drive you want to use. Type the following command to select the storage and press Enter: select disk 3 Type the following command to determine the drive to format and press Enter: list disk Type the following command to open Diskpart and press Enter: diskpart Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option. To format a drive with the Diskpart command-line tool, use these steps:
#Completely reformat usb drive using cmd windows#
Format hard drive on Windows 11 via Command Prompt Once you complete the steps, the tool will create a partition and format it using the file system you specified. Select the Format this volume with the following settings option.
#Completely reformat usb drive using cmd driver#
Select the Assign the following driver option and choose the letter for the drive. (Optional) Specify how much storage to assign the drive. Right-click the drive and select the New Simple Volume option. If the drive doesn’t have a partition, use the steps: Right-click the drive and select the Format option.Īfter you complete the steps, the existing partition (also referred to as a volume) will be re-formatted, deleting any previous data. Search for Disk Management and click the top result to open the app. To format a hard drive with an existing partition with Disk Management, use these steps: Using the legacy Disk Management utility, you can format a drive with or without a partition. Format hard drive on Windows 11 via Disk Management In this case, you can use the new “Disks & volumes” settings or the legacy “Disk Management” utility to format the storage. If the hard drive doesn’t have a partition or drive letter, it won’t appear in File Explorer. Once you complete the steps, the drive will be available in File Explorer. In the “Volume label” setting, confirm the name for the drive. Under the “Devices and drives” section, right-click the drive, and select the Format option.
#Completely reformat usb drive using cmd Pc#
To format an internal or USB drive through File Explorer, use these steps:Ĭlick on This PC from the left navigation pane. Format hard drive on Windows 11 via File Explorer (Optional) Check the Enable file and folder compression option if you want to save space when storing files.Īfter you complete the steps, a new partition will be created and formatted using the specified settings. If you don’t select this option, the operation could take a long time. (Optional) In the “Size” setting, specify how much storage to assign the drive.Ĭheck the Perform a quick format option. In the “File System” setting, select the NTFS option. In the “Drive Letter” setting, select the drive letter to make available on File Explorer. In the “Label” setting, confirm a label for the drive. Select the “Unallocated” space and click the Create volume button. Use the “File System” setting and select the NTFS option. To format an internal or external drive with an existing partition on Windows 11, use these steps:Ĭlick the Storage page on the right side. On Windows 11, depending on whether the HDD or SSD already has a partition or not, the format steps will be slightly different.
Also, the ability to format a drive on Windows 11 can help fix errors and other logical problems.Īlthough it might seem like a tedious process, it’s not, and Windows 11 includes several ways to format a drive using the Settings app, File Explorer, Disk Management, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.
If you plan to retire the storage drive, you may want to format it to erase your files to prevent praying eyes from accessing your data. When connecting a new hard drive, it’s best to wipe out all the data and apply a file system to allow the OS to read and write data to it. On Windows 11, you can format an internal or external hard drive in multiple ways, and in this guide, you will learn how.