How to Secure Format Hard Drive in Windows 10/8/7?

Here come 3 different methods to securely format hard drive in Windows 10/8/7- Command Prompt, Disk Management and 3rd partition manager.

By AOMEI / Last Updated April 26, 2020

About hard drive format in Windows 10

Whenever you get a new hard drive, you need to format it before starting to store files inside it. Namely, formatting hard drive is an essential task before using a new drive normally. That can ensure the drive is working well and completely clean without any malware/virus.

However, it is not just an operation on a new hard drive, but also for used hard drive. With the formatting process, you can delete files from the hard drive quickly instead of remove them one by one manually, and you can change its current file system to another proper one for avoid compatibility issues. Therefore, learning how to format hard drive is quite important.

How to format hard disk via Windows 10 native tools?

No matter why you decide to format hard drive in Windows PC, for instance, your partition has been ruined by viruses and you want to wipe them from your PC; or you try to delete all personal data inside before upgrading to a larger one, you can first try the following 2 methods:

Tips: It is suggested to backup data to cloud or external since all files on the hard drive will be erased.

1. Format hard drive via Command Prompt

As many users are asking how to format hard drive using Command Prompt in Windows 10, here we will show how to complete this task first of all.

Step 1. Press «Win+R» at the same time to open Run dialogue, input “cmd” and press Enter to open Command Prompt window.

Step 2. In the window, type “diskpart” and hit on “Enter” to launch DiskPart tool.

Step 3. Then execute the following commands in given order.

list disk

select disk #

list partition

select partition #

format fs=fat32 quick

When it is 100 percent completed, you can execute “exit” command to leave this window. Using Command Prompt to format hard drive can be a great choice for computer IT and experts.

2. Format Hard drive in Windows 10 with Disk Management

Same as Command Prompt, Disk Management is a Windows 10 built-in tool for users to perform some basic operations on hard disk partition such as formatting/creating/deleting/extending/shrinking partition. To use this tool to format Windows 10 hard drive, you should open Disk Management through one of the following ways at first.

Ways of opening Disk Management:
1. Right click «This PC» > «Manage» > «Disk Management».
2. Click «start» menu and then type Disk Management to search.
3. Click «start» menu and type cmd to open command line and then input «compmgmt.msc» and then click Enter.
4. Press «Windows + R» to open the command line and then enter «diskmgmt.msc» to launch Disk Management.

After getting Windows 10 Disk Management open, do as below, please:

Step 1. Right click the Windows 10 hard drive partition you need to format (partition D) and then choose “Format”.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, you can set file system and cluster size and then click «OK».

Unable to format hard drive in Windows 10

Above is on how to format a partition in Windows 10 with the help its native tools. Basically, the built-in Command Prompt and Disk Management can accomplish the disk formatting tasks. However, they will be unable to format hard drive in Windows 10 under some special situations including:

в–¶The target hard drive is over 32GB and you are trying to format it to FAT32 file system.

в–¶You are trying to format the C drive when Windows is running.

в–¶The selected partition is on the internal hard disk and you plan to format it to exFAT file system.

в–¶The hard drive is write-protected or becomes RAW due to the file system corruption.

Best way to format hard drive successfully in Windows 10/8/7

To successfully format hard drive in Windows 10, a powerful disk formatting tool is a better choice. Here we would like to share you with a free partition manager: AOEMI Partition Assistant Standard.

When you cannot format partition in any of the above situations, it can be a nice alternative. It is able to format large hard drive to FAT32, force format hard drive which is write-protected, or format internal hard drive to exFAT, etc. More powerful than Windows native formatting methods! Next we will take formatting an over 32GB hard drive to FAT32 as an example.

Note : before you do, you can use free backup software — AOMEI Backupper Standard to backup necessary data.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Partition Assistant Free, install, and launch it. choose the Windows 10 hard disk partition you want to format and select «Format Partition».

Step 2. In the pop-up window, you can set the type of file system, the size of cluster. And then click «OK».

Step 3. To execute the operations, please click «Apply» > «Proceed». Then you can successfully format the hard drive in Windows 10.

вњЌ Tips:
● If you are formatting a FAT32 partition into NTFS, or NTFS partition to FAT32 file system, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard’s “NTFS to FAT32 Converter”, which allows you to convert file systems between NTFS and FAT32 while keeping inside data safe instead of formatting.
в—Џ To format C drive in Windows 10, you need to create a bootable media first. Then, boot Windows 10 from the bootable media by setting boot priority to the bootable drive you created in BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). Finally, format C drive in WinPE mode.

Summary

With three different methods introduced to format hard drive in Windows 10, now you can choose one based on your actual requirements. If you format the hard drive with the purpose of protecting personal data from leakage, it is recommended that you use “wipe partition” feature of AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard.

To enjoy more advanced disk partition management functions such as converting boot disk between MBR and GPT without deleting partitions, recovering deleted data or boot partitions, allocating free space from one partition to another, and more, you can upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant

4 Free Disk Formatting Utility to Format Hard Drive in Windows 10, 8, 7

In this article, we would like to share you with 4 free yet effective disk formatting utilities for Windows 10, 8, 7. You can easily format a hard drive for your own requirements.

By Emily / Last Updated March 29, 2021

When you will need a disk formatting utility?

Formatting is a process of creating a file system on a volume/partition so that the operating system can store and retrieve data on that volume. And a file system offers a way of organizing and retrieving information written to a hard disk or any other storage medium. It is created when the volume is formatting. And a professional disk formatting tool will be necessary to format a partition in the following cases:

•When you install a new hard drive to your computer, you will be required to initialize the disk and partition and format it before using it for data storage.

•If your disk becomes read-only because of the corrupted file system and you cannot add any data to it, formatting the disk is one of the effective ways to remove the write-protection.

•When the disk is infected by malware or viruses, you have to format it for normal reuse.

•If the current file system of the disk is not compatible with your current device or OS, you can reformat it to another different file system.

•When you want to clean the disk or free up space on the drive, formatting the disk is always the method you can adopt.

4 Free disk formatting utilities for Windows 10/8/7

No matter why you need to format a hard drive in Windows 10/8/7, you can try the following 4 disk format tools. Since any data stored on the disk would be erased with disk formatting, please back up necessary files to ensure data security before going any further.

The first three hard drive formatting tools (Disk Management, File Explorer and Command Line) are Windows built-in tools. The last one is a free hard drive formatting tool. Below we will introduce them one by one. Then you can choose one based on the actual situation and requirements.

в–Њ Option 1. Disk Management

Disk Management is a Microsoft Windows utility first introduced in Windows XP as a replacement for the fdisk command. It allows users to view and manage the disk drives installed in their computer. Take the below steps to format hard drives:

1.1. Right-click “My computer”/ “This PC”>”Manage”, and select “Disk Management” under “Storage”.

1.2. Right-click the target volume and select “Format”.

1.3. In the next window, choose the desirable file system and click “OK”.

в–Њ Option 2. Windows File Explorer

To make use of Windows File Explorer to format hard drive in Windows 10, you can right-click “My computer/This PC” —> “Open” to enter into the File Explorer, then right-click the disk you wish to format, select “Format. ”, then select a proper file system and click “Start”.

в–Њ Option 3. Command Prompt

Command Prompt is a command line interpreter application, which is available in most Windows operating systems. It can execute entered commands to perform advanced administration functions, and troubleshoot some Windows issues. It is relatively proper for computer experts and professionals due to its complexity.

3.1. Open the command Prompt clicking Start and typing “cmd”, right-clicking it and selecting “Run as Administrator”.

3.2. In the elevated Command Prompt window, first type “diskpart” and press “Enter” to launch diskpart.exe tool.

3.3. Then execute the following command:

list disk: get a detaied list of all disks on your computer.

select disk #

list partition: all the partitions will be displayed.

select partition #: the partition you want to format will be selected.

format fs=fat32 quick or other desired file system.

Then, the disk will be formatted.

Limitations of Windows native disk formatting utility:
в—Џ They cannot format a large hard drive (which is bigger than 32GB) to FAT32 file system.
в—Џ They cannot format an internal hard drive to exFAT file system while exFAT is generally ideal for flash drives.
в—Џ They cannot format a drive successfully when its file system is corrupted, and becomes RAW file system or write protected.

в–Њ Option 4. Free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard (Recommended)

As mentioned above, the Windows built-in formatting tools sometimes y simply do not work quite well. If you get “Windows was not able to complete the format” error message or “The volume is too big for FAT32”, or if the “Format” option becomes greyed out and not clickable, you need to turn to a third-party disk formatting tool. Here we share a professional disk formatting utility named AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It is free yet more powerful and versatile than Windows native formatting tools. For example:

вњ” It is able to format hard drive to FAT32 even though it is larger than 32GB.

вњ” It can format both internal and external hard drive to exFAT file system without any hassle.

вњ” It can format hard drive to Ext4/Ext3/Ext2 Linux file system under Windows environment.

вњ” It can force format RAW or read only volume successfully.

1. Free download, install and run the hard disk formatting software. Right-click a partition on the disk you want to format and select “Format Partition”.

2. Set the partition label, cluster size and file system as you like, and click “OK”.

3. Begin to format the hard disk by clicking “Apply” in the main interface.

Only with three steps, you can successfully format the disk partition, even the partition is write-protected.

вњЄвњЄвњЄBonus feature: Convert FAT32 to NTFS and vice versa without data loss

As mentioned above, the formatting process will erase all data existing on the disk which needs to be formatted. But the AOMEI Partition Assistant offers an amazing function: NTFS to FAT32 Converter . It can help you convert file system between FAT32 and NTFS without losing data. Below is the tutorial.

(1) Open AOMEI Partition Assistant. Select “NTFS to FAT32 Converter” on the left volume under “Wizards”.

(2) In the pop-up window, tick “FAT32 to NTFS” or “NTFS to FAT32”, click on “Next” and follow the hints to finish the conversion.

FAQ: Does formatting a disk erase everything?
For users who plan to get rid of the current hard disk and purchase a new one, it is necessary to ensure everything on the disk has been gone before throwing away the old one. For this task, most users will be more likely to choose to format the disk. But formatting a disk deleting everything completely?
The answer is “NO”. The formatting process does not erase the data on the disk, only the address tables. The deleted files still reside on the hard drive and a data recovery programs will allow anyone to recover that data. Luckily, there is a more secure way to remove all data from the hard disk permanently: wiping the hard drive.
To perform this task, you can use AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard as well, which allows you wipe HDD and write zeros to each sector.

Summary

With these 4 disk formatting utilities introduced, now you can choose one according to your actual situation and requirements. To deal with tough partition/disk management tasks, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is a better choice. It is far more than a hard drive formatting software, it is also capable of copying partition, moving partition, merging partition, cloning hard disk, etc.

Moreover, you can upgrade to Pro edition for other more amazing features like recovering lost partitions, aligning partitions, migrating OS to SSD. If you are running Windows Server 2003, 2008 (R2), 2012 (R2), 2016 and SBS 2003, 2008, 2011, the Server edition is highly recommended.