On your Windows 11 computer, you might occasionally need to format a hard drive or SSD. Whether it’s to erase all the data and start over or to give the storage device to another person. A storage disc that has been formatted is defragmented and has fewer chances of having bad sectors. Therefore, we have developed this article with four straightforward approaches so that you may learn how to format a hard disc or SSD in Windows 11. You can quickly format a drive, delete all of its data, make main partitions, and many other things. So without further ado, let’s start learning about formatting HDD or SSD in Windows 11.
Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 (2022)
Four methods to format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 are covered in this guide. We have covered all the popular techniques, including File Explorer, Settings, Disk Management, and Command Prompt. Expand the table below to see all of its sections.
1. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 from File Explorer (Easiest Method)
Through the Windows 11 File Explorer, formatting a hard disc or SSD is the simplest and quickest process. It is significantly quicker than previous methods and works for both internal and external discs. This approach operates as follows:
1. Type the keyboard shortcut for Windows 11
To launch File Explorer, press Windows + E. Select Format from the context menu by right-clicking on the hard disc or SSD that is connected to your computer in this area.
2. Make sure File system is set to NTFS, which is a Windows file system, in the pop-up box that follows. You can select between the FAT32 or exFAT file systems if you want the hard disc to work with macOS as well.
3. Keep the allocation size as-is and don’t alter it. Then click Start to begin formatting the storage disc after checking the Quick Format box in the Format Options section. Then, in a matter of seconds, Windows 11 will have formatted your HDD or SSD.
2. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 from Settings
Note: Although Quick Format is quicker, the data is not completely erased. Instead, it only deletes the memory references, rendering them unreachable. When you start adding new files to the storage device, the data will be overwritten. Uncheck Quick Format if you wish to completely delete the data from all sectors. When you want to handover the storage device to someone else, you should take this step since it makes it more difficult for third-party software to recover erased data.
In Windows 11, you may format a hard drive or SSD from the Settings app in addition to the File Explorer. How to do it is as follows:
1. To enter the Settings app in Windows 11, just press Windows + I. Go to System -> Storage from here.
2. Select Disks & volumes after expanding the Advanced storage settings option.
3. Select the primary partition for the HDD or SSD you wish to format by clicking on it here. Select the Properties option after that.
4. After that, select Format.
3. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 Using Disk Management
5. Select NTFS as the file system and enter a name in the Label field of the pop-up box that appears. Finally, click Format to complete the process. This is how you use Windows 11’s Settings to format a hard drive or SSD.
Disk Management is actually the best way to format a hard disc or SSD in Windows 11, despite the fact that it may appear a little intimidating to some. It’s how I prefer to format hard discs, SSDs, SD cards, thumb drives, and other storage devices. So with that, let’s get started.
1. To access the Quick Links menu, press Windows + X or right-click the Start menu. Click on “Disk Management” now.
2. The attached hard drive or SSD storage can be found at the bottom of the Disk Management window, usually labelled as Disk 1 or higher. The principal partition will be displayed on the right side. Select Format with a right-click on this.
3. After that, click OK after giving the HDD or SSD a name in the Volume label area. If you want to actually delete all the data in place of memory references, uncheck Perform a fast format.
4. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 From Command Prompt (CMD)
4. And that’s how you use Windows 11’s Disk Management to format a hard drive or SSD.
In Windows 11, the Command Prompt terminal may also be used to format a hard drive or SSD. The populardiskpartcommand must be used to format the drive, partition, or disc. After that, let’s look.
1. Press the Windows key, then type cmd into the Start Menu’s search box. Then, to open the Command Prompt window, click on Run as administrator in the right pane. Visit our linked post if you wish to constantly execute CMD with administrator privileges.
diskpart
2. Next, use the command listed below to launch DiskPart in the Command Prompt window.
list disk
3. Next, use the command shown below to list every HDD and SSD plugged into your Windows 11 PC.
select disk X
The HDD’s disc number, which is displayed under the second column, should be noted down. Make sure to select the correct disc number because doing so will unintentionally destroy your data.
clean
4. After that, select the disc by executing the command below. Put the disc number you noted above in place of X here.
create partition primary select partition 1 active format FS=NTFS quick assign letter=X exit
Erase Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 in Four Easy Ways
5. Finally, execute the following command in Windows 11 to format the hard disc or SSD.