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Formatting - There are many reasons why you need to completely erase all data from your computer. Perhaps the computer was given as a gift and you want to get rid of the data from the previous owner. Perhaps the introduced virus is so deep that it is easier to erase all files than to try to treat it. Sometimes you just have a desire to erase everything and install the operating system and necessary programs With clean slate. And an inexperienced user is faced with the question “How to completely format a computer.” The most common computers in Russia are PCs and Windows operating systems. Therefore, we will consider formatting on this platform.

Before you format your computer, you should save all important files on a flash drive or other media. Otherwise, most likely necessary documents can't be returned. If you need to format not the entire computer, but a specific local drive, then just go to My Computer, right-click on the desired drive and select the Format section. In the window that opens, check the box next to Quick formatting and click Start. The process will take up to several minutes depending on the size of the local disk. If you need to format the entire computer, then it will be somewhat more complicated. There are several different ways how to do it. Below is one of the simplest and most convenient ones.

If there is a need to format a hard drive, then as a rule, operating system reinstalls immediately after formatting. Therefore, a boot disk with the operating system is required. You need to launch it and wait until the installation menu starts loading. Next, you need to follow the installer's instructions until you reach a menu where you need to choose where to install the OS. You will be prompted to select the partition on which to install the operating system. But at this stage you need to choose not to install, but to format. You should select Quick Format to save time. File system – NTFS. And repeat this operation with each local disk.

Next, select where the system will be installed and continue the installation. If there is a need to change the size of local disks, this can be done here. However, it should be remembered that even if you completely format the hard drive, some of the data can still be recovered later. An experienced system administrator will be able to do this using a special software. There are also many other ways to format a hard drive. For example, using the command line. However, the method described above is the simplest and most accessible to the mass user.

On any home computer there is a “C” drive, and sometimes also a “D” and “E” and several more. Why do we need so many? Let’s take and format one, for example, “C”. Just for the sake of experience, to see what happens. Let's begin by praying... But first we need to know what formatting is. Still, it’s stupid to do something you don’t know.

A computer hard drive is simply a magnetic storage device. In order for a computer to accurately find old files and write new ones, the disk must have some structure. Formatting creates exactly this - the entire disk is divided into certain areas - sectors and clusters, of a strictly defined size, into which all information is recorded. In addition, service information is created and also written to disk. This also includes a table of files. Simply put, it stores information about which file is in which sector - by reading this table, the computer quickly finds the necessary files. Formatting just creates a new partition on the disk. The so-called “quick format” only clears the table, but the files are still lost, since their addresses are erased. Although it is possible to restore them using some programs.

So, right-click on the “C” drive shortcut and select “format”. There are several waiting for us here unexpected reaction computer if we have the operating system Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 installed. Usually they are located just on the “C” drive, and the system is not a kamikaze to destroy itself, even with our divine permission. That's why we won't succeed, we will only receive a warning window, which says that by formatting we will damage service files.

However, we are more cunning, so we take out some kind of disk from which we can boot bypassing Windows. We insert it into the drive, select boot from it in the BIOS, and wait. On the disk we will certainly find many programs to satisfy our destructive needs. The most common program that is now on almost any boot disk is Acronis Disk Director. It is quite suitable for us, especially since everything is clear and in Russian. Let’s select the unfortunate “C” drive and try to format it. Surprisingly, this time everything will go smoothly, without any warnings. If we wish, we can even completely delete the entire “C” drive, but this is completely perverted... We have achieved our goal, we remove the drive and restart the computer...

Yeah, all the LEDs blinked, as during a normal boot, the monitor turned on and behold... We are sitting in front of a black screen, looking at him blankly. Why did we expect him to dance, or what? Here we are sitting in front of a pristine computer that no longer has an operating system, and without it it is just a pile of hardware. She now grazes on the heavenly hard drives, taking with her “My Documents”, viruses and antiviruses, the desktop and much more... Now the operating system needs to be installed again, so take the installation disk and go! Or we call someone who knows how to do it...

However, if our system was not on the “C” drive, but, say, on the “D” drive, nothing bad will happen. We will simply lose all the files in “C”, but this is safe for the system - it was in a different place at that moment...

It is worth noting that in general the operating system is installed on the “C” drive, and not just because it is first on the list. It’s just that usually all disks are not separate hard drives, but one, but of large capacity. It’s just divided into several so-called “logical” disks. The computer perceives them as different, but there are differences. In this case, disk “C” is not just the first in the list, but also the first from the axis of the real magnetic disk - they say that it is “at the beginning of the disk.” This means that it is easier for the hard drive’s reading head to search for information in this place; it has to move less due to the smaller radius of this area. Fewer unnecessary movements – higher speed of reading/writing files. And the overall speed of the system depends on this, which is why the operating system is placed on the “C” drive. Although it is possible for any other, of course, but this is no longer professional. Usually, not very understanding “home hackers” can find the system folder in the most unexpected places.

But we already understand everything, so we will install our system on the “C” drive, and we will format it only before installing it, and even then we will first copy all the necessary files from it to other drives. And such experiments... Well, keep them away, it won’t take long to lose a six-month job. It’s a pity for the daytime...

“How can you format an HDD without uninstalling Windows” or “how to format an HDD under Windows” are very popular queries in search engines that remain unanswered. In this article we will figure out why there is practically no information on this topic on the Internet, and we will take a closer look at the problem.

What is formatting

To format a hard drive means to form a new file system on it, which means cleaning main table placement of MFT files. MFT is a database of files stored on disk, made in the form of a table, the rows of which are represented by file names, and the columns are their attributes. Attributes are metadata that describes the file. These include the date and time the file was created/modified, its storage directory, and access rights.

Considering the above, we can come to the conclusion that it is impossible to format a computer on which one HDD is installed. At least without resorting to tricks.

Who hasn’t realized yet, when a special program or Windows starts formatting a hard drive, they delete the main file table. Due to this, access to all files using the standard method becomes impossible, and the space occupied by them is marked as free. If you try to format your computer using Windows, the operating system will display the information message below, because the files it uses are located on the first partition of this disk.

Let's be smart

Above we mentioned a certain trick, thanks to which you can format your computer while maintaining Windows functionality. Formatting a PC means cleaning a single hard drive.

If the computer has only one magnetic storage device, for some reason you want to format it but keep Windows with programs and settings, we will need a few things:

  • Bootable USB flash drive with Acronis True Image;
  • external hard drive or the ability to upload images to the cloud.

If user data is also located on the HDD, it will have to be uploaded to the cloud or copied to another medium.

Let's get started

  • We restart the computer and boot from the flash drive, be it bootable media with True Image or WinPE with this program included.
  • In the main window, click on the button icons as shown in the screenshot to open the window for creating a new copy of the disk.

  • Select the source type.

  • We indicate the target disk that we will format, making sure to select the space reserved by the system.

If all the information has been transferred to another medium, uploaded to the cloud, or is not valuable, select only the system volume.

  • We decide on the storage location for the image. What’s noteworthy is that the program allows you to save it in the cloud or transfer it via local network, which is what we need.

  • Click “Create Now”.

  • We are waiting for the finish.

Keep in mind that when transferring an image, which can occupy a couple of tens of GB, it will take a lot of time to the cloud service, in contrast to saving it to a computer on the same local network or to a portable HDD.

  • We boot from the flash drive and run the program that allows you to format the computer.

A tool that can format hard drives can be DOS, WinPE, Acronis DiskDirector, Partition Manager or another specialized utility.

  • Again, boot from a flash drive with Acronis or WinPE and launch True Image.
  • Select “Backup” and our copy of the hard drive or its system partition. Click “Restore disks” that you were able to format in step 8.

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 yet, then let's figure it out theoretical part 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 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 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 hard drive The Windows operating system has its own own set 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 solution is a simpler option compared to Acronis Disk Director.

For this method, you only need 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 require installation 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 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. Most popular instrument– HDDscan, easy to install and, moreover, 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.

How to format a write-protected drive?

  • open command line;
  • enter the following commands:
  1. diskpart;
  2. list disk;
  3. select disk Z. Z - flash drive number, execution of the previous command is shown;
  4. attributes disk clear readonly;
  5. clean;
  6. create partition primary;
  7. format fs=ntfs;
  8. exit.

The operating system includes utilities that:

  • provide the necessary set of functions;
  • They have a fairly simple interface that will be easy for novice users to work with.
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Among younger computer users, there is a lingering belief that when your computer begins to cause problems, you should reformat the drive and reinstall the operating system.

If the computer is only used for gaming and there is no other information on it, this solution seems like an exam.

But what if there are dozens of programs installed on your computer? It takes many hours to reinstall them, provided that we have at hand the installation versions of these programs (for example, disks).

Add to this the time it takes to protect the data stored on your computer. Almost every computer user collects important documents, emails, photographs.

When reformatting the device, in order not to lose this data, you need to transfer it to safe place. When we approach repairs so seriously and professionally, formatting turns out to be unnecessary disk quickly solve our problems.

There are many programs that allow you to find and remove errors in your computer's configuration. Examples include TuneUp Utilities Ashampoo WinOptimizer 9 or using them the computer starts working normally again.

And most importantly, all our data remains in place. Nothing to look for, or re-install. Everything is as it was before the repair, of course, except that the computer is already working properly.

In addition, diagnostics can further improve the computer - for example, by eliminating programs that are not necessary for us, and slow down the computer. These programs, however, have the disadvantage that using them effectively requires certain knowledge.

In addition, the best of them are quite expensive programs. Then it is more profitable to use professional help that has such a tool. The cost of computer repair will be part of the cost of the program itself. Oh, and you don't need to find out their service because it's called a specialist.

In conclusion - there are three solutions

1. The computer is used only for playback, and no documents are placed on it - format the disk or take the help of a friendly teenager who formats the disk solves all your computer problems.


2. The computer contains a lot of programs and data, and you have the guts to experiment - get reviews of diagnostic programs, download free or demo versions. You can achieve good results and satisfy yourself by solving this problem.

3. The computer contains a lot of programs and data, and you treat it purely as a tool for work and play and have no computer knowledge - talking to a specialist will save you time and stress and get your computer working as it should again.