If you use “format c: /fs:ntfs” to format hard drive Windows installed on from Command Prompt in Windows, you’ll receive see the message that Format cannot run because the volume is in use by another process when you format the volume that holds the operating system. Format hard drive from Command Prompt in BIOS PS.: You can follow the steps above to format SD card or USB flash drive from Command Prompt in Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11. Then, assign a drive letter in Disk Management to it and you are able to access and open it from File Explorer to back up your files on the local disk.

▪ format fs=ntfs quick, where “ntfs” can be replaced with fat32 or exfat according to your own demand.Īfter successfully format the hard drive to a wanted file system, input exit, and hit Enter to close Command Prompt window.

▪ select disk m, “m” refers to the number of your disk that will be formatted Then, type the following commands in order and hit Enter after each one. In Command Prompt window, input “ diskpart” and hit Enter key. In the Search box, input “ command prompt”, right-click Command Prompt among listed results and choose “ Run as administrator”. It is suggested to back up data to cloud or local disk. Note: Formatting will erase all data on the external hard drive.

It is not recommended to use “format f: /fs: ntfs” command to format hard drive, there are chances that it will fail. At this point, you can try to format disk from Command Prompt. When the external hard drive becomes raw, it is possible that the file system of it is damaged. Format hard drive from Command Prompt (CMD) But when I format hard drive system partition in Disk Management, I found that the option of “ Format…” grayed out. But when I tried to format it within File Explorer, I received an error message – Windows was unable to complete the format.Ĭase 2: My hard drive Windows installed is full, thus I want to format it and reinstall the operating system & applications. I was prompted to format it before using it.

Case 1: “To back up some files on my local disk, I connected an external USB hard drive to my computer.

How to format my hard drive vista