How to format a disk. Formatting a hard drive at a low level

Sometimes situations arise when you need to clear 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, during installation operating system, using the 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 the 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 it will be done quick formatting. 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 partitions” hard drive" 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 to format a hard drive in Windows. There is nothing complicated about this, as you can see, consolidate your knowledge by watching a thematic video.

Now many modern users PC and I don’t know how often any program for formatting a hard drive has helped out in the past .

After all, hard drives had to be formatted regularly.

Imperfection is to blame software products– both those used for basic user purposes and those used to perform maintenance operations on installed systems.

Background

Another aspect of the need for the once frequent use of programs to format hard drives is problems with the hardware. Small media volume, frequent hardware errors and the like.

But oddly enough, over time, the need to format disks still remained, even with the advent of modern solid-state drives. At the same time, the formatting operation has ceased to be an everyday norm, and if it is necessary to format a hard drive, many users are at a loss as to how and in what way it can be done.

Fortunately, over time, both the quality of software products designed for formatting hard drives and their number have increased noticeably. And now the user is not limited to built-in system utilities, but has access not just to third-party software products, but to entire sets of software tools that allow you to perform not only formatting, but also several other useful operations, in particular, improving state of hard disk and its service life.

Some of these tools are classified as shareware, some come with free license, and the rest, however, is only available upon purchase. Each of them has its own advantages and we propose to consider several of the most commonly used and popular tools with sufficient functionality.

Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition

A hard drive formatting program called Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition stands out from other similar software products by its ability to perform operations on virtual storage media. In addition, for those who still cannot refuse using Windows XP, it will provide the ability to support high-capacity disks of the order of 2 TB or more. But it also works on modern Windows 7 and 8 operating systems.

An additional advantage of this complex is its support for multi-boot management functions. This option will be useful for those who use several operating systems in test mode or simply require their parallel use.

The program interface is quite simple and understandable, and in some cases it is simply irreplaceable. An example of this is the function of merging partitions without losing data, which is especially important when formatting partitions. In this case, the user is given the opportunity to even convert partitions.

As for file systems, the number of them supported is quite large. They can be converted from one to another using this program, in particular, NTFS to HFS.

Among other functionality, there is copying and restoring disks, merging them, moving them and resizing them. And all this in the presence of a Russified shell.

Some may find the defragmentation function superfluous, but absolutely everyone will like protection against system failures and detection of bad sectors.

Rice. 1 – Paragon Partition Manager window fragment

EASEUS Partition Master

This program for formatting a hard drive has the advantage of having several versions with different functionality. Some of them are free, but the Home Edition and Master Free versions deserve special attention from ordinary users.

The program has excellent functionality, accessible through the Russian-language software shell. It can work under family control Windows operating systems, in particular, versions 7, 8 and 10, both 32-bit and 64-bit, and some versions allow you to run through Linux.

The software product provides work with a wide range of heterogeneous drives, the most important of which are:

HDDs;
solid state drives SSD;
USB flash drives;
memory cards in various designs.

You can not only format them, but also create or change sections, for example, merging, deleting, copying and resizing.

The program has access to working with RAID arrays and provides user interaction with MBR and GPT. Some operations can be performed using built-in wizards, which greatly facilitates the user’s work.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that each version of the product has its own limitations, in particular on maximum size drive. For example, in the Home Edition it is 8 TB, and in Master Free it is only 4 TB. The user is also advised to pay attention to the installation process, since unnecessary utilities can be installed along the way.

Rice. 2 – EASEUS Partition Master window fragment

Aomei Partition Assistant

A program for formatting a hard drive called Aomei Partition Assistant is a product that is distributed free of charge, but has decent functionality. It provides a number of functions that are not available in other free products and therefore belongs to a completely different class.

This software package, like the previous product, has a Russian-language shell and supports modern operating systems of the Windows and Linux families and, accordingly, file systems running under their control: FAT 12/16/32, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, exFAT/ReFS.

In parallel with work on physical media, the program also performs operations on virtual disks.

As for the special functionality, it is implemented in the form of access to disks invisible to other software. The program allows you to check them, test them and a number of other useful operations. All this against the backdrop of minimal system requirements, ranging from the processor version to the amount of available disk memory.

This software product is able to work even under such conditions when the device has 128 disks installed and the volume size is 16 TB. It is also one of the few products that can work with SSHD, flash drives and flash cards. Is it worth mentioning that it supports UEFI Boot, and all operations performed are performed without damaging user information, according to the creators?

Rice. 3 – Aomei Partition Assistant Window

MiniTool Partition Wizard

This program for formatting a hard drive is more modest, but much more popular, not only in the domestic space, but throughout the world. It is free and provides interaction under operating systems of the Windows family, including the latest versions of various bit depths, while processing and disk partitions EXT, as well as Linux Swap.

The software interface has a Russified shell and provides work with partitions with a capacity of more than 2 TB. It is quite simple and will be understandable even for a novice user. The functionality of the interface is quite wide and even includes the new-fangled migration from HDD to SSD.

The software product also performs a number of basic operations with disks and their partitions, including their cloning, creation and modification. An additional operation can be considered the conversion of FAT/FAT32 file systems to NTFS while maintaining the integrity of user data, which is complemented by functionality backup stored information and a data recovery utility after failures. If desired, the user can test their disks by testing their performance.

Like some of the programs described above, this one can convert disks from MBR to GPT, and this is important when a frequently used system partition is worn out. In parallel with this, it is possible to assign active sections and interact with them.

Rice. 4 – MiniTool Partition Wizard Window

HDD Low Level Format Tool

This program for formatting a hard drive belongs to a different category than those discussed above software. Therefore, it deserves special attention. This is not a large software package with wide functionality, but a small program that only has the ability to low level formatting.

This option provides, with the given settings, the ability to restore the functionality of storage media. Moreover, this functionality applies to both hard drives and flash drives. The only problem for the user in this case is the complete destruction of the data on the media without the possibility of further recovery.

Unfortunately, there are no other operations that this product can perform with media.

Rice. 5 – HDD Low Level Format Tool window

Acronis Disk Director

This program for formatting a hard drive is also quite interesting. Its peculiarity is that it can be launched from any media. So, you can install it on a boot disk or flash drive and even without a full-fledged operating system be able to work with disk partitions.

This kind of functionality is especially important in emergency situations, when it is more important for the user to restore the functionality of the system, and not just create an additional partition for more convenient storage data or installation of any game. The program's functionality is suitable for working with disks and under Windows control, and under Linux control. However, this product has one significant drawback, which is noticeable when compared with the above programs - its cost.

In fact, this application belongs to the category of shareware products. After the specified trial period has expired, the user is offered two options - purchase a license or remove the software product. Therefore, it can be safely used and compared with other programs on a free basis, but for a limited period.

Otherwise, this is a full-fledged tool for working with disks and their partitions with wide functionality. It includes all the basic operations for working with partitions, including formatting, and also allows the PC owner to view the information stored on these partitions in a general way.

Rice. 6 – Window Acronis Disk Director

Standard Windows OS Tools

When describing programs for formatting disks, one cannot fail to mention standard means operating systems, available to users without downloading third party software. This can be done using the example of operating systems of the Windows family. The peculiarity of these systems is that they have several tools for working with hard drives and their sections.

The first tool is quite simple and this utility is available to the user from the Explorer program. In order to use it, for the logical partition of the hard drive you can call context menu, and in it select the “Format” item. After this, a form will become available in which you can specify the desired parameters of the formatting operation.

This functionality will be available for all logical disk partitions, with the exception of the active system disk. In this case, you need to use a slightly different tool, accessible exclusively from the command line. Working with it requires special skills that are only available to experienced users.

Important! To access them you must have boot disk, as well as exhibited in BIOS settings, forcing the PC to boot from removable media, and not from the hard drive, in order to provide the functionality necessary for the system. This is provided by a small utility called diskpart. But its main problem is that the user does not receive high-quality visualization of the actions being performed, and any error in their execution can cost the functionality of the system.

This state of affairs forces users to resort to using third-party software products.

Rice. 7 – Formatting utility window

Formatting your hard drive before installing Windows

In the video I will show you how to format a hard drive. This may come in handy when you reinstall the Windows operating system.

Popular list free programs for various types of formatting hard drives (HDD, SSD, RAID) and removable media (USB, Firewire, SD). In this article, you will learn how to properly format a hard drive and learn about various types of HDD formatting, including low-level. We will also select good program to partition the hard drive.

Methods for formatting HDD - from simple to complex

Formatting is a simple operation that can be performed inexperienced users. Next, I will tell you how to format a HDD yourself - from simple to complex, depending on your skills and level of PC proficiency.

Using standard Windows tools when formatting

The Windows XP-10 operating system has built-in tools to perform this operation. Formatting hard disk is done like this:

Open “Explorer” (or another file manager),
Go to the “My Computer” section
Click on the desired drive
Select “Format”
Next, click on the “Start” button

This is the easiest way to format your computer without additional tools. Despite its simplicity, however, all stages must be performed consciously, clearly understanding why you are doing it. Before giving your consent to formatting, carefully check whether the drive you have selected is correct.

Perhaps the video instructions show more clearly how to format a disk.

An alternative formatting method in Windows 7/8/10

Different systems have their own path to Disk Management - the easiest way is to open the program search and enter “management”. When the system displays a search result, find “Computer Management” and open it
In the menu on the left, go to "Disk Management"
Right-click on the desired partition and select Format. Since the process occurs inside a running OS, the “Format” menu item will be inactive on the system partition
Next, select a label for the new partition, the type of future file system and required size cluster (if you don’t know what size you need, leave it “default”)
For high-level formatting, you can leave the “Quick Format” checkbox active. If you need to deep clean the partition contents, uncheck this box.
After clicking the “OK” button, the system will ask for confirmation - click “OK” again

Administration section "Computer Management"

Formatting a hard drive via the Windows command line

To start formatting, open a command line (console) on your computer. To do this, use the key combination WIN + R, in the “Run” window that appears, enter the CMD command, press ENTER.

Note. To format a disk via the command line, you will need administrator rights (). Start - CMD - open the context menu by clicking on the application icon " Command line" - Run as administrator. If you try to format the disk without administrator rights, nothing will work: access will be denied. In general, watch the video where I show how to format as administrator.

To format via the console, use the following commands:

Format drive letter

Press Enter. We carefully read what is written in the console and perform further actions with the hard drive depending on the situation.

Full hard drive formatting via HDD Low Level Format Tool

Low-level formatting will optimize the HDD structure. This is useful when preparing to reinstall the operating system. At the same time, you can solve problems with bad sectors of the hard drive.

HDD Low Level Format Tool is suitable for low-level formatting. The utility will help you format your computer's hard drive, external HDD, tablet SD card and other storage devices.

In addition to the basic functions, HDD Low Level Format Tool can be used to read SMART indicators, check read errors, disk uptime, etc.

How fully format the hard drive:

After installation we launch HDD program Low Level Format
In the Drive selection window, select the hard drive (if several HDDs are connected to the PC). The easiest way to distinguish one hard drive from another is by capacity. Click Continue
Go to the LOW-LEVEL Format tab
To quickly format (delete partitions and MBR records), select the Perform quick wipe option.
To completely format the hard drive, the above option should be ignored
Before you completely format your hard drive, check that the drive you have selected is correct. Only then click the Format this device button.

AOMEI Partition Assistant

The program offers a number useful functions, including low-level formatting of hard drives and most types of removable media. The interface resembles standard Windows tools, so it won’t be difficult to figure it out:

The main window automatically displays the disk with the installed OS. If you need to format another device, select it by clicking “Disk” in the top menu
In the bottom block of the left menu, select “Erase Hard Drive”
When you click this button, you will be prompted for the number of passes for the operation. If you plan to restore destroyed data in the future, then select a value from 1 to 7. If you specify a parameter of 8 or more, it will be almost impossible to recover information from the device
Confirm your choice by clicking "Yes"
To start formatting, you will need to reboot the system - once you click the "Reboot Now" button there is no going back, so make sure you select the correct drive and required settings operations

After restarting the computer, the program will perform all the specified actions and you will have a clean hard drive at your disposal.

DiskWipe

DiskWipe is an excellent solution for situations when data on storage media needs to be destroyed beyond recovery. The program uses several proven algorithms (Dod 5220-22.M, US Army, Peter Guttman), and advanced settings allow you to select the formatting depth. According to the developers, the program does not contain hidden viruses, etc., and also does not transmit user data.

DiskWipe

It’s extremely easy to format the desired device using DiskWipe:

Launch the program. In the block on the left you will see all devices available for formatting
Select the desired device and click "Wipe Disk" in the top menu
Advanced settings will open with preset standard values. For complete and irrevocable formatting, you can check all available fields and indicate “Highest” in the right block
After selecting settings and clicking “OK”, formatting of the selected device will begin

Paragon Partition Manager

A test period of 30 days allows you to evaluate the capabilities of the program and format necessary devices in various modes. Since Paragon Partition Manager has several options for working with partitions (partitioning, recovery, and others), it is distributed shareware.

Paragon Partition Manager

The formatting process is intuitive:

In the main window, click "Partition Manager" in the menu on the left, then select "Launch Partition Manager"
From the proposed list of devices, select the one you need, open the context menu with the right mouse button, and click “Format partition”
Specify the type of future file system and volume name, then click “Format”
The procedure will be queued - to apply the changes, you must click on the green checkmark in the top menu
After confirming the operation (the “Yes” button), it will no longer be possible to stop its execution.

Separately, it is worth noting the fact that Paragon Partition Manager not only formats the device, but also creates a new partition with the specified file system, so after the system boots, the disk can be used without additional actions.

Background information

What is formatting?

Disk formatting is the procedure of applying marks to a data storage device - a hard drive (HDD), memory card, CD/DVD or other storage medium. The formatting operation is equally useful for new and “worn” HDDs that have served their life.

A disk that has no partitions is absolutely useless. In addition to the fact that you mark up the disk, formatting deletes all data almost irrevocably (although there are many programs for recovering after formatting). Therefore, you need to be careful and prepare in advance to format your hard drive.

Over the years of operating the operating system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), the hard drive turns into a “garbage dump”, since many programs leave their files on the disk, and after uninstallation, their “roots” still remain on the HDD. As a result, the system is slow and unstable. Various freezes and slowdowns occur, the disk clicks, makes noise, and behaves inappropriately. After reformatting, the hard drive is optimized and begins to work better. Many devices last a long time without this procedure. I advise you to be on the safe side and format your hard drive at least once a year.

Sooner or later, formatting the disk is inevitable. However, before doing this, it is very important to update or reinstall the operating system on your computer. Along with deletion unnecessary files you get a completely clean environment without defects, harmful viruses, unused programs, data that lead to conflicts. Thus, before reformatting the hard drive, we reinstall the OS.

Before formatting, back up all important data to another drive. As already mentioned, during this procedure, various service information and marks are written to the disk, which allow information to be written to the HDD in the future without hindrance.

Steps to format a hard drive

Low level– at this stage, basic markings are applied to the disk at a low level. Typically, this is done by the hardware developer. In this case, special tracks and service data are written to the disk. This information remains on the hard drive almost forever - it can only be overwritten using proprietary utilities. These programs can only replace service data. By the way, if you perform low-level formatting of the hard drive, then you will no longer be able to recover data later, unfortunately or fortunately. Therefore, if your goal is to destroy information, then you can use this format. Read about low-level formatting

Section breakdown. It is clear that storing data on a disk without partitions is quite inconvenient. For some logical organization, the HDD is divided into special zones, disks - drive C:, drive D:, and so on. For these purposes, both utility utilities built into the OS and external programs for formatting a hard drive, which I have written about more than once.

High level. This type of reformatting process creates boot sectors, file tables.

Types of disk formatting

Perhaps you know that regular means systems provide 2 methods by which you can format a hard drive - external or internal:

quick formatting: takes less time, allows you to carry out the procedure as is. The point is that with this type of computer formatting, the files in the file table are overwritten with zeros, while the data is stored as if nothing had happened, and you can later restore it. Also when this method you do not optimize the file structure, and if there were defects on the hard drive, you will not fix them with the quick method

normal formatting: Longer and deeper formatting of the hard drive. Data on internal or external drive are completely destroyed, file system checked for possible errors and damage. bad sectors, bad blocks. Thus, when the usual way reformatting, you kill two birds with one stone, although you lose a little more time.

It is usually recommended to format a hard drive before directly using any computer equipment. This procedure must be followed by every PC owner. Due to the special quality and capacity inherent in modern hard drives, they can be freely used throughout the entire period of use, without resorting to additional reformatting.

Why formatting is required

In some cases and over a certain period of time, it is necessary to format the hard drive (hard drive), as this allows you to easily update it. Due to the fact that the Windows operating system sometimes gets clogged, that is, it contains irrelevant, old files on the disk that are not used by current programs, formatting will be very useful. It will help get rid of such files that occupy a certain amount of memory space and can have a negative effect on system productivity.

For their convenience, PC owners periodically install and remove the applications they need from their computer. As a consequence of this, a file dump arises and grows rapidly, causing serious problems: each application, having become part of the OS, affects the configuration of the entire environment. The solution to effectively solve this problem in the most optimal way is to format the HDD (hard drive) after certain periods of time and reinstall the operating system.

Despite the radical nature of this method, it is the most effective, because not only useless files are destroyed, but also malware, viruses. For this reason, it is recommended that before formatting the hard drive, rewrite the main data to some other media so as not to lose it.

It is worth noting that when formatting, service marks are created on sectors of the hard drive, which are necessary for searching for data and working with it correctly (reading, writing, deleting). In addition to this procedure, formatting creates service information intended for the file system. Due to the fact that unpartitioned disks are useless for use, formatting acts as a priority operation to prepare a new “untested” disk for successful operation.

Thus, to reduce the risk of losing important data in the uncertain future, formatting will help achieve:

guaranteed fast cleaning of the hard drive;
effectively detecting the presence of badblocks (damaged disk sectors);
high-quality monitoring of all kinds of defective areas.

Quick or regular formatting: process analysis

The user has two types of formatting according to the capabilities of the Windows OS - quick (Quick Format) or normal (Format). The uninitiated user will see the difference in them only in the time spent on performing each of these processes. But besides the visible factor, there is a more significant difference.

Quick formatting is a special disk cleaning method that allows you to create a table of files without overwriting it or deleting information on the hard drive. In terms of time, quick formatting occurs faster than regular formatting. As such, a quick format simply resets the file table: important information data can be restored - it is not destroyed. This method is appropriate when the user is confident that there are no damaged segments and the hard drive has not been previously formatted.

When resorting to conventional formatting, the PC owner always completely empties the disk of files and checks it for the possibility of incorrect, damaged segments. It is precisely the verification time that stretches, affecting the total duration of the entire process.

High-level formatting was discussed above, but practice shows that the understanding of the term low-level formatting is no less popular. When performing such an operation, special markings are applied to the disk plane, which are necessary for standard operation of the drive. This also allows you not only to save data and have open access to them, but also to ensure the correct operation of the internal circuits of the drive, in addition to hiding existing mechanical surface defects.

Can data be restored after formatting is complete?

Low-level formatting does not provide for the possibility of restoring previous information.

High-level formatting, in turn, gives significant chances to partially restore erased data. This is explained by the fact that at the time of formatting, new logical structures arise with selective overwriting of data.

Formatting Options: Practical Tour

It will be better to format a hard drive yourself if you move from theory to practice. Let's look at several methods, moving from the simple and most understandable to the more complex.

Formatting options:

The simplest formatting method: open “My Computer”, right-click on the required type of formatting, select “Format” in the menu that appears and select the “Start” button.
A special path in Windows: Open “Start” and go to the “Control Panel” to the “Administrative Tools” file, select “Computer Management”, and then “Disk Management”. We find the required disk and, to format it, perform the operations presented in the simple procedure.
Important: There may be slight differences in the path depending on the version of Windows.
Command line: by pressing “WIN + R” and in the window that pops up, writing CMD followed by pressing ENTER, open the command line.
There we write: format d: or format c: to start the process relative to the drive D:\ or C:\. After entering, by pressing ENTER you will see on the display: “ATTENTION, ALL DATA ON THE FIXED DISK WITH: WILL BE DESTROYED! Should I start formatting?

When ready to delete data, select Y and press ENTER.
When you have removable media with installation file operating system. Those who have the installation disk and are familiar with Windows installation, they probably know when it’s best to format disks. Perhaps this approach is used by few people only for formatting. However, it is very convenient if after the procedure the user plans to reinstall Windows.