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.

Create and format a hard disk partition

To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, you must be logged in as an administrator, and there must be either unallocated disk space or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.

If there is no unallocated disk space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a third-party partitioning program.

Open Computer Management by selecting the Start button. The select Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

In the left pane, under Storage, select Disk Management.

Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then select New Simple Volume.

In the New Simple Volume Wizard, select Next.

Enter the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then select Next.

Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then select Next.

In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

If you don’t want to format the volume right now, select Do not format this volume, and then select Next.

To format the volume with the default settings, select Next.

Review your choices, and then select Finish.

Note: When you create new partitions on a basic disk, the first three will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the fourth, each one will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition.

How to Format Hard Drive from BIOS in Windows 10 Effectively [Partition Magic]

By Amanda | Follow | Last Updated April 17, 2020

Summary :

Chances are that you are trying to format hard drive from BIOS for certain reasons. But can you really format hard drive from boot? If you can, how to do? Don’t worry, and you can get answers from this post. MiniTool Partition Wizard is one of the best boot managers to help format hard drive from BIOS in Windows 10.

Quick Navigation :

It is a common operation to format hard disk for installing Windows or other purposes. Also, many users ask on the forum about formatting hard drive from BIOS. Here is a typical case of formatting hard drive from BIOS raised by Windows user:

My computer is in a boot loop and it doesn’t even get to the Windows logo. I need a way to format the from bios because I have no other way to format the drive. Am I able to format a hard drive from a bios? Thank you for any kind help! www.reddit.com

If you have the same problem and want to make this operation as well, you need to figure out firstly whether you can format your hard drive from BIOS in Windows 10 successfully.

Can We Format Hard Drive from BIOS?

Can we format hard drive from boot? The truth is we can’t! Actually, we cannot format any drive or partition directly from BIOS setting.

BIOS is an integral part of your computer and is the program that is made accessible to the microprocessor on an erasable programmable read-only memory chip. BIOS determines whether all of the attachments are in place and operational when you boot up your computer. Also, it loads the operating system into your computer’s random-access memory from the hard drive.

You should know that BIOS only supports detecting the hard drive and allows you to boot the computer from it. It is the operating system you boot up that allows you to format hard disk, except the current system drive.

Now that we cannot format hard drive from BIOS, why plenty of users still wonder if there is any method? The reasons are following:

• To format the system partition or system disk for personal reason. If computer is booted from hard drive, it is impossible to format system partition/disk because the OS is installed on this drive.
• To reinstall operating system. Reinstalling operating system requires format C partition and this format cannot be executed if computer is booted normally.
• Something goes wrong with the bootable partition and the computer is unable to boot from it properly.

Although you are not allowed to format hard drive from BIOS, you can boot your Windows 10 PC from bootable CD/DVD or USB flash drive by changing BIOS settings and then perform formatting. Here are 2 effective ways for you.

Format Hard Drive from BIOS Using Windows Installation Media

You can use Windows installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation or reinstall Windows 10. Of cause, you can format the system partition using Windows installation media.

To create the Windows installation media, you need the help of Windows 10 Media Creation Tool. If you have created installation media using this tool, either a bootable USB flash drive or the ISO file burned to a DVD, then just keep reading.

With the installation media in your hand, you can format hard drive from BIOS via Command Prompt or during Windows installation. Let’s see the specific steps.

Format Via Command Prompt

With Windows installation media, you can choose to format the system partition via Command Prompt. You can format it successfully with several simple commands, but things might be a little complicated when you try to find the system partition in Command Prompt. Here is the tutorial.

Step 1: Boot your computer from this installation media by setting it as the boot drive in BIOS.

Step 2: Once Windows Setup loads, you will be presented with a Windows Setup window like the following screenshot. In this interface, you need to set your preferred Language, Time and current format, and Keyboard, then click Next.

Step 3: Click Repair your computer.

Step 4: Choose Troubleshoot among these options.

Step 5: Then you will get advanced options in the following page, just click Command Prompt to open it.

Step 6: You need to find the system partition first because the system partition might be shown with another drive letter here instead of letter C. To do that, just type the following commands one by one and hit Enter key after typing each command:

• diskpart (to enter diskpart.exe)
• list volume (to list all the existing volume)
• exit (to exit diskpart.exe)
• dir F: (to list the directory of the selected volume. F: can be replaced with the drive letter of any existing volume.)

Step 7: After finding the system partition, enter format F: /fs:ntfs (F should be the drive letter of the system partition you have found) and press Enter to format it to NTFS. Normally, we recommend to format the system partition to NTFS file system rather than FAT32 or exFAT for its better stability and higher security.

Step 6: When you are prompted with a warning that you will lose all data on the selected volume, type Y and press Enter to confirm the formatting. Then you just need to wait until the process is completed.

Format During Windows Installation

Alternatively, you can format system partition when choosing to install Windows with installation media. Detailed tutorial is provided for you as well.

Step 1: When you get the following interface after finishing Step 1 and 2 mentioned above, select Install now instead of Repair your computer.

Step 2: Then, you will get pages that require you to Enter Your Windows Product Key and Accept the License Terms. Just do as the messages prompt.

Step 3: Select the Custom installation when you get the following page.

Step 4: Then you will get the following interface directly and all the partitions of installed drive(s) will be detected and displayed here. To format the system partition, you should select the partition first, then click Format among the listed options.

Step 5: You will get the following warning message after clicking Format, just click OK button to continue. After that, the system will be formatted successfully.

Format Hard Drive from BIOS Using MiniTool Boot Manager

Apart from Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, you can also use MiniTool Boot Manager Pro Ultimate to create bootable CD/DVD or USB flash drive to format your hard drive from BIOS.

As a professional partition manager, MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you back up files from one drive to another to secure data and upgrade your hard drive without Windows reinstallation.

Compared with Windows installation media, the bootable media created by MiniTool Partition Wizard enables you to enter MiniTool Recovery Environment, rather than Win-PE. Most importantly, you don’t need to spend time finding the system partition because MiniTool Partition Wizard displays it directly and intuitively in the main interface.

To format the system partition with this convenient tool, just follow the instruction below.

Move 1. Create Bootable USB or CD/DVD

At first, you need to create a bootable USB or CD/DVD. The creation of both media is almost the same, here I will create a bootable USB flash drive as example.

Step 1: Prepare a USB which is big enough to store the bootable media and connect it to a normally running computer. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to get the main interface and click Bootable Media from the upper Tool Bar.

Step 2: Then, you will get a pop-up window like the following screenshot. Please click WinPE-based media with MiniTool plug-in.

Step 3: Next, you need to choose a destination for the bootable media. To create a bootable USB, please choose USB Flash Disk.

Step 4: In this interface you can see the process of creating bootable USB flash drive. When the operation has completed, please click Finish.

Move 2. Format Hard Drive

After you finish creating a bootable USB flash drive, please connect it to the computer where you want to format hard drive from BIOS. Then, set it as the first boot device in BIOS to boot from this bootable USB.

With the preparatory work done, it’s time to format the hard drive. Just do as the following instruction to format hard drive with ease.

Step 1: MiniTool Partition Wizard will be launched automatically after successfully booting. If not, please click Partition Wizard of the list on the following page to launch the program in WinPE.

Step 2: In the main interface, select the partition you want to format and click Format Partition from the left panel. Alternatively, you can right-click it and select Format from the context menu.

Step 3: Set Partition Label, File System and Cluster Size for the formatted partition, then click OK.

Step 4: Click Apply button to confirm the pending operation.

The above is all the steps to format hard drive from BIOS with the help of Bootable MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Do you know how to format a hard drive? This post shows detail information about how to format a hard drive in Windows 10/8/7 and for Mac.

Bottom Line

I have separately introduced how to format hard drive from BIOS with Windows Installation and MiniTool Boot Manager. You can choose either mentioned tool to format your system partition with the tutorials above.

If you have any problems carrying out the two mentioned methods, please feel free to let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or leaving your doubts in the Comment Zone.

Format Hard Drive from BIOS FAQ

If you want to completely move the data on your hard drive, performing format is not enough as others can restore the original data after formatting.

MiniTool Partition Wizard provides a feature of Wipe Partition to help you clean the data completely. After launching it, just select the target drive and choose Wipe Partition. Then, choose a wiping method, click OK and Apply to start wiping.

To format a hard drive, you can use Disk Management, a built-in tool in Windows 10.

1. Press Windows + R, input diskmgmt.msc and click OK.
2. Right-click the drive you want to format and choose Format.
3. Confirm the Volume label and File system for the drive.
4. Check Perform a quick format.
5. Click OK to start formatting.

To format hard drive from Command Prompt, you just need execute the following command one by one (* refers to disk or partition number):

• List disk
• Select disk *
• List partition
• Select partition *
• Format fs=ntfs quick

After that, the selected drive should be formatted to NTFS file system.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Amanda has been working as English editor for the MiniTool team since she was graduated from university. She enjoys sharing effective solutions and her own experience to help readers fix various issues with computers, dedicated to make their tech life easier and more enjoyable.

She has published many articles, covering fields of data recovery, partition management, disk backup, and etc. In order to provide more useful tips and information, she is still committed to expand her technical knowledge.