Make sure you have a bootable floppy disk or CD. Insert the disk into the computer, and turn it on. You can also accomplish this by rebooting your computer with the disk in the drive. Hit "Y" on the keyboard for "Yes" when asked "Are you sure you want to erase everything on drive c:," and then press "Enter. Remove the disk, and reboot your computer. Formatting a hard drive in DOS removes all data and restores the disk to its original factory state. It is important to make sure everything on the hard drive is copied to an external drive or storage device before formatting is done.
Once a hard drive is formatted, all information is erased. After hard drive formatting is completed, the operating system is no longer available because formatting removes all software and is not reversible.
Before you begin, make sure you are ready to start over again and that this is what you want to do. Copy all of your hard drive important data to an external storage device. Enter the format command at the DOS command prompt. To format the C: drive using quick formatting, for example, type the following:. If your hard drive is not drive C:, replace "C:" with the appropriate letter or your hard drive. When the formatting is complete, the drive is ready to be used again.
Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. This thread is locked. Would erase all the contents off a floppy disk. Commonly used on an unformatted diskette or one you want to erase. Quickly erases all the contents of a floppy diskette. Commonly used to erase all information on the diskette quickly. Erase the contents of your C: hard drive. In other words, unless you want to erase all your computer's information, this command should not be executed unless you're planning on starting over.
If you're in Windows or files on the hard drive are in use, this command will not work. If you want to format the primary hard drive, you'll need to boot from a bootable diskette , restore disc , or another bootable drive. Tip Although the information appears to be erased, it is still possible for software recovery programs to recover information from a formatted drive.
Availability Format syntax Format examples. Windows 10 and Windows 11 syntax. Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 syntax.
Microsoft Windows and Windows XP syntax. Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME syntax. Caution When using the format command, remember all the information on the drive you want to format will be erased entirely. Note If you're in Windows or files on the hard drive are in use, this command will not work.
Related information How to erase my hard drive and start over. How do I format a floppy diskette? Forces the volume to dismount first if necessary. All opened handles to the volume would no longer be valid. The default revision is 2. By default, a non-tiered volume will be formatted with small-sized file records, and a tiered volume will be formatted with large-sized file records.
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