Without a doubt, they are one of the most important elements of a computer., since it is the main storage center for this equipment. In other words, it contains everything installed on the PC, as well as photos, music, videos among others.
Therefore, if you want to sell your computer or just make a deep cleaning in it and improve your performancethen formatting will be your best option.
Fortunately, It is very simplethat is why below we teach you how to carry out this process both to a external and internal hard drive easily and quickly.
When should a hard drive be formatted?
There are several reasons why format a hard drive in windowsone of them is when you want install a new operating system on the computer, which is essential to carry out this process to guarantee a better functioning of the equipment. It is also important to do it when you want wipe disk to remove all files stored there and add new ones.
On many occasions it is also necessary to do this action to of the disk, fix any problem in it, to reinstall all programs and solve any inconvenience in the performance of the equipment.
Also, if you are thinking of sell your computer, it would be ideal that you format it before delivering it, since in this way you make sure that no information of yours goes there. Therefore, perform this formatting process It is a very important task that you should perform at least once a year as PC maintenance.
Learn how to format an internal hard drive
In the case of internal hard drives are usually divided into primary drive and a secondary drive.
In this case we are going to explain how to format either of the two using the following methods:
Format primary hard drive in Windows
The primary disk or C disk as known is the one that contains the operating system, so it is not possible to format this drive while it is running. For this it is necessary run windows from a USB drive or installation DVD.
To do this, follow each of these steps:
- The first thing will be to have on hand the DVD or USB of windows startup and carry out its connection with the computer.
- Once successfully connected, the following will be Restart the system.
- Here the startup application should automatically run. windows. In case it does not start, then a message will appear on the screen where you must press any key to start. You should now get a message of “Windows is loading files”.
- Subsequently, theWindows setup wizard” there you must select your language, the time zone and click on “Following”.
- In the new window that appears on the screen you must select the “Install Now” for Windows to carry out some processes.
- Now you must follow the instructions so that you can choose a new version of Windows and select the “I accept terms and conditions”. You must also select the type ofFacility”, in this case selects “personalized” for W10.
- The next thing will be to choose “Format” in the window that appears on the screen. When asked where to install Windows, choose “primary unit” and click on “Following”.
- Again you must click on “Format” and the system will throw you a notice indicating that: “The drive contains files or applications from the manufacturer. If you want to delete this partition, all data contained in it will be lost.”. So, make sure that you choose the primary or C drive correctly and that you don’t have anything important to keep from there. done this, click on “To accept”.
- Now you must wait for the formatting process to complete, which may take a few minutes.
- Once finished, your drive will have been successfully formatted and everything has been erased. Note that the PC will not have any operating system installed so you will have to restart it.
- Now you must from your bootable USB drive either DVD for your installation.
Format an internal hard drive in Windows
In case your hard drive is divided into several partitions, that is to say, it has its primary C drive and several units with names of Disc of, among others. Then you will have to format these drives, which are easier since they do not contain the operating system.
To do this, follow these steps:
- The first thing will be to start the PC as usual, but this time by holding down the “windows” and press the “ keyR.” to open the “Run”.
- When the dialog box appears on the screen, then you are going to type “diskmgmt.msc” without the quotes and click on “To accept”.
- The window will automatically appear “Disk Management” here you will have to select the drive you want to format. To do this, right-click on it and select “Format” in the list of options.
- A box will open for youformatting“where you will be able to choose various options such as a quick format or a normal format, in case you only want to clean with the first option it will be enough. Now if you want to format it for sale or a deep cleaning, then select the second one. Once the option is selected, click onTo accept”.
- In case you want to use a different file system, then from the “File Browser” Right-click on the drive and choose format. You can also select between NTFS, exFAT or FAT32 and click on “Okay”.
In this way you will be carrying out the formatting your hard drive to clean it and delete the files contained in it. This will allow your computer to function better at all times.
Find out how to format an external hard drive
if you have a portable or external hard drive in Windowsso here we are going to show you two ways to format it without having to install a third party program for it.
To do this, follow each of the methods that we explain below:
Using Diskpart
To carry out this method you will have to use the tool diskpart through the command console, either from “command prompt” either “PowerShell”.
To do this, follow each of these instructions:
- If you prefer to use PowerShellthen right click on the Windows symbol in the toolbar and in the options menu choose “Windows PowerShell (Admin)”.
- Now if you prefer to use the route of “Symbol of the system”, then press the key “Windows+R” and in the search bar type “CMD” and click on “To accept”.
- When you have entered the command console you will have to write “diskpart”, in some cases you will be asked to enter the administrator password. To start the program you must type “lis disk” and there you will see all the hard drives connected to the computer.
- The next thing will be to write “select disk” and the corresponding number of the disk to choose, in this way it will be selected for the process.
- Later you will have to write clean and press “Enter”, in this way all the files and partitions you have will be deleted. This means that this method allows you to erase hard drive with partitions.
- After this you will have to create a new partition, to do this type create partition primary and type Select partition 1 to select it. Now press “Enter” and writes “activate”.
- The next step will be to format the disk, for this write format fs= and choose the file system you want to use.
- Now write assign letter= so that you can assign a letter to the drive, select one that is not in use.
- Lastly, write exit to exit diskpart and finish the process of formatting a portable or external disk.
Using Windows Explorer
It is a much simpler method where you will have to perform the following steps:
- To start this formatting process you will have to go to the “This team” through the “Windows Explorer”.
- Once there you will have to look for the external hard drive and right click on it. In the options menu that appears, select “Format”.
- Here a new window will open where you will have to select some parameters such as the File System, the size of the drive and the type of formatting. Keep in mind that the Quick Format It is marked, in case you want a normal format, then uncheck the box.
- Finally, click on “Start” to execute disk formatting. Keep in mind that this process usually takes quite a few minutes, mainly if you have unchecked the Quick Format.
Solutions to the most common problems when formatting a hard drive
If you have gone through the process of hard drive formatting and you have had a problem during the procedure or you have received the “Windows could not complete the format”, so here we bring you the main causes and how to solve it.
Let’s see next:
malware or virus
The viruses and are one of the main causes of errors during hard drive formatting. To avoid this the most recommended is In these cases we recommend using the antivirus of your choice, for this you must access the virus detector and perform a “advanced scanning“In this way you can detect if there are viruses or malware that may affect the process to be carried out.
Missing or corrupt DLL, SYS, or EXE files
Other reasons for failures to be generated during the process It’s because of the corrupted system files.. Therefore, it is best to use the sfc Utility Tool, which will scan the system files to verify if there are files that present faults or are damaged.
You can use this tool from the “Run“pressing the keys”Windows+R” and writing the word “CMD” and there you will write sfc / scannow to scan the system files.
Incorrect format
On many occasions, errors during the process are due to incorrect formatting, this may be due to the fact that an incorrect option has been selected or that was not wanted as the “quick format or normal format”, “FAT 32 or NTFS“, among others. Therefore, it is necessary to have this clear knowledge when carrying out this procedure to avoid errors in it.
damaged hard drive partition
It may also be that the hard drive partition is damaged, so in these cases it is best to check the disk in search of an error in order to correct it. To do this you can run the program CHKDSK.
This program allows you to analyze the hard drive and provide you with a complete report of the errors it presents and its bad sectors. In order to run CHKDSK you can follow this route: “Windows + R” > “CMD” > “Run as administrator” > “Type CHKDSK C: / F” > “Enter” After completing the process, restart your PC.
Incompatible or outdated drivers or BIOS
It is very likely that he…