Command line quick format command. Formatting the hard drive correctly. Formatting the system drive

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List of popular free programs for various types of hard disk formatting (HDD, SSD, RAID) and removable media (USB, Firewire, SD). In this article, you will learn how to properly format a hard drive, learn about various types of HDD formatting - including low-level format. Let's also choose a good program for partitioning the hard drive.

HDD Formatting Methods - From Easy to Complex

Formatting is a simple operation that can be performed by inexperienced users. Next, I will tell you how to format the 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 for performing this operation. Formatting the hard drive is done like this:

  1. Open "Explorer" (or another file manager),
  2. We go to the section "My Computer"
  3. Click on the desired disk
  4. Select the item "Format"
  5. Next, click on the "Start" button

This is the easiest way to format your computer without additional tools. For all its simplicity, however, all stages must be carried out consciously, clearly understanding why you are doing this. Before you give your consent to formatting, carefully check that the correct drive is selected.

Perhaps the video tutorial shows you more clearly how to format the disk.

Alternative way of formatting in OS Windows 7/8/10

  1. In different systems, the path to Disk Management is different - the easiest way is to open the program search and enter "management". When the system gives a search result, search for "Computer Management" and open it
  2. In the menu on the left go to "Disk Management"
  3. Right click on the desired section and select "Format". Since the process takes place inside a running OS, the "Format" menu item will be inactive on the system partition
  4. Next, select a label for the new partition, the type of the future file system and the required cluster size (if you do not know what size you need, leave it "default")
  5. For high-level formatting, you can leave the "Quick Format" checkbox active. If you need to deep clean the contents of the section, then uncheck this box
  6. After pressing the "OK" button, the system will ask for confirmation - press "OK" again
Administration section "Computer Management"

Formatting the hard drive via the Windows command line

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

Note... To format the disk via the command line, you need administrator () rights. Start - CMD - open the context menu by clicking on the application icon "Command Prompt" - Run as administrator. If you try to format the disk without administrator rights, you will fail: access will be denied. In general, watch the video where I show you how to format as an administrator.

To format through the console, use the following commands:

Format drive letter

Press Enter. We carefully read what is written in the console, we perform further actions with the hard disk according to the situation.

Full formatting of the hard drive via HDD Low Level Format Tool

Low-level formatting will optimize the HDD structure. This is useful in preparation for reinstalling the operating system. At the same time, you can solve problems with bad sectors of the hard disk.

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

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

how completelyformat the hard drive:

  1. After installation, run the HDD Low Level Format program
  2. In the Drive selection window, select a hard disk (in case several HDDs are connected to the PC). The easiest way to tell one hard drive from another is its size. Click Continue
  3. Go to the LOW-LEVEL Format tab
  4. For quick formatting (deleting partitions and MBR records), select the Perform quick wipe option.
  5. For full formatting of the hard disk, the above option should be ignored
  6. Before completely formatting the hard drive, make sure the correct drive is selected. Only then click the Format this device button.

AOMEI Partition Assistant

AOMEI Partition Assistant

The program offers a number of useful features, including low-level formatting of hard drives and most types of removable media. The interface resembles standard Windows tools, so it's easy to figure it out:

  1. 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
  2. In the lower block of the left menu, select "Erase Hard Drive"
  3. When you press this button, you will be prompted for the number of passes of the operation. If in the future it is planned to restore destroyed data, then select a value from 1 to 7. If you specify parameter 8 or more, it will be almost impossible to recover information from the device
  4. Confirm your choice by clicking "Yes"
  5. To start formatting, you will need to reboot the system - after clicking the "Restart now" button there will be no turning back, so make sure you have selected the correct drive and the desired operation settings

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

DiskWipe

DiskWipe is an excellent solution for situations where data on a medium needs to be permanently destroyed. The program uses several proven algorithms in its work (Dod 5220-22.M, US Army, Peter Guttman), and advanced settings allow you to choose the formatting depth. According to the developers, the program does not contain hidden viruses, etc., and also does not transfer user data.

DiskWipe

Formatting the desired device using DiskWipe is extremely simple:

  1. Run the program. In the block on the left you will see all the devices available for formatting
  2. Select the desired device and click "Wipe Disk" in the top menu
  3. The advanced settings will open with predefined default values. For complete and irreversible formatting, you can mark all available fields with checkmarks, and in the right block, indicate "Highest"
  4. After selecting the settings and clicking "OK", the formatting of the selected device will start

Paragon Partition Manager

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

Paragon Partition Manager

The formatting process is intuitive:

  1. In the main window, click "Partition Manager" in the left menu, then select "Start Partition Manager"
  2. From the list of devices offered, select the one you need, open the context menu with the right mouse button, and click "Format Partition"
  3. Specify the type of the future file system and the name of the volume, then click "Format"
  4. The procedure will be queued - to apply the changes, you must click on the green checkmark in the top menu
  5. After confirming the operation ("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.

reference Information

What is formatting?

Formatting a disc is the process of labeling a storage device — a hard disk drive (HDD), memory card, CD / DVD, or other storage medium. Format operation is equally useful for new and “worn” HDDs that have served their day.

A disk that has no markup is completely useless. In addition to marking up the disk, formatting erases 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 operation of the operating system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), the hard disk turns into a "trash heap", 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. There are various freezes, slowdowns, the disk clicks, makes noise - behaves inappropriately. After reformatting, the hard drive is optimized and performs better. Many devices serve for a long time without this procedure. I advise you to insure yourself and format your hard drive at least once a year.

Sooner or later, disk formatting is inevitable. However, before doing this, it is very important to update or reinstall the operating system on your computer. Along with deleting 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.

Back up any important data on another drive before formatting. As already mentioned, during the execution of this procedure, various service information, marks, are recorded on the disk, which allow you to subsequently record information on the HDD without hindrance.

Stages of formatting a hard drive

    Low level- at this stage, the basic marking is applied to the disc at a low level. This is usually the responsibility of the hardware designer. In this case, special tracks and service data are applied to the disk. This information remains on the hard disk almost forever - it can be overwritten only using proprietary utilities. These programs can only replace service data. By the way, if you make a low-level formatting of the hard drive, then you won't 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

    Breakdown of sections... It is clear that storing data on a disk without partitions is rather inconvenient. For some logical organization, the HDD is divided into special zones, drives - drive C :, drive D: and so on. For these purposes, both the service utilities built into the OS and external programs for formatting the hard drive, which I have already written about, can be used.

    High-level... During this type of reformatting, boot sectors and file tables are created.

Types of disk formatting

You may know that the standard system tools provide 2 methods with which you can format a hard drive - external or internal:

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

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

Greetings to all readers of my blog, Denis Trishkin with you.
Using a computer for a long time, sooner or later it becomes necessary to reinstall Windows. This can be done in several ways. The correct one is the one before which you need to format the hard disk. In this article, I will tell you exactly how this happens, and also introduce you to the main concepts.

So what is formatting? Back in school, this process was presented as a division into sectors and tracks, with the loss of all information previously recorded on the carrier. In the realities of today's technological world, formatting is the process of marking up an electronic data carrier, regardless of its shape and structure, whether it is an optical or hard disk, a memory card, a flash drive.

Simply put - the process is like erasing all existing files in the specified area. Moreover, when new ones appear, they are already placed on top in a solid manner. Because of this, in the future, access to them will be easier, and, therefore, the speed of processing requests will decrease. The OS and individual programs will run faster.

File system types( ^)

Before proceeding directly to acquaintance with the process itself, it is important to acquaint you with such a concept as file system and its types... So, it is a table that indicates the order of storing, recording and naming information on media. In other words, she is responsible for all processes related to the transfer and reading of data.

There are several of the most famous and used types:


Formatting process( ^)

We need to clarify right away that we are talking about formatting before installing Windows. Therefore, we will focus on working with hard drives, and not with other data storage devices.

This process consists of three stages:

    1 Low-level formatting is considered the main one. During this process, the information storage area is marked. This is done directly during the manufacture of the hard drive. With low-frequency formatting, all structures necessary for operation are created in the corresponding area. These include:

    • tracks (tracks);

    • information management program.

    In the future, this markup will not change over the entire period of media usage. Many utilities that claim to be able to do low-level formatting don't actually do it. At best, they are just prescribing a new control program.

    2 Partitioning. During this process, the entire volume of the hard disk is divided into logical parts (most often they are called letters of the Latin alphabet: C, D, E and others). This is done by built-in services of the operating system itself or by third-party programs. The process is optional - you can skip it - the media will only have one partition. But due to the fact that modern hard drives have large amounts of memory, they are usually divided into logical partitions.


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    3 High-level formatting. During the process, logical structures are formed that are responsible for storing files. This type is divided into two types:

How to format before installing a new system( ^)

There are only a few ways to format before installing a new Windows:

    using built-in capabilities;

    command line (same tool used);

    third-party software (most often this Acronis Disk Director);

    use a different computer.

Step-by-step formatting instructions with built-in capabilities( ^)

It should be noted right away that I will talk about Windows 7, 8, 10, since the previous versions are no longer supported by Microsoft. So, when, during the installation of a new operating system, you have reached the point of selecting a disk, you need:


The built-in tool allows you to format the disk only in a quick way.

However, it does not provide additional functions. That is why many specialists use special formatting programs that work even without an operating system installed. The most convenient is the above Acronis Disk Director... This application is paid, although there is the possibility of temporary use.

Formatting with Acronis Disk Director( ^)

To work with the application you need:

    1 Download the program image file using a torrent tracker.


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    2 Write the downloaded image to a USB flash drive


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    3 Through BIOS (BIOS), check that the system boots from the USB flash drive first, press the F10 button, agree.


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    4 After rebooting, confirm the operation from the flash drive.

    5 A black screen appears where you need to select the full version Acronis Disk Director.


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    6 On the pop-up window, mark the "manual" mode.

    7 After that, select the section and click on the item in the left menu.


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    9 After that, the program sends us to the initial window for selecting a section. This is required to make additional changes. But since we are only doing the formatting of the disk, on which Windows will be installed later, we click on the checkbox.


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    10 We are waiting for the end of the process. After that, you can exit the program and continue installing the OS. In this case, it is no longer necessary to format the disk with the built-in program.


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Command line formatting( ^)

Almost no one uses this method, since the above methods are enough for most of them. But sometimes there are still situations when he remains the only one.

Several times I have encountered situations where malicious software (aka virus) has damaged system files on the hard drive. As a result, the operation of important mechanisms is disrupted, which leads to a formatting error in the standard utility. It turns out that in order to cope with the "infection", you need to install a new Windows. And it wouldn't make sense without formatting.

The situation can be solved using a third-party computer. An infected hard drive is connected to it and is cleaned in the standard system. To do this, after booting the system in the section " My computer"You need to select the damaged section, right-click on it, and then select the appropriate menu. The file system, cluster size and volume label are listed.


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After formatting, the hard drive is installed on the original computer and Windows is installed. Sometimes during this, the system requires you to re-divide the section into sectors and tracks. Don't worry - that's okay.

Formatting your hard drive before installing Windows is an important step. If you do not do it, the new version will work with errors and most likely not for long.

Hopefully, this article will clarify for you the basic questions that are related to the formatting procedure. Subscribe, recommend me to your friends, and with sleep become literate in the computer field.

One of the most common actions for any type of hard drive is to format it. There can be a lot of situations when a logical partition or hard disk requires formatting. But in some cases, in particular with respect to the system partition, the standard procedure cannot be performed using Windows tools. In this case, the command line is used (we take Windows 10 as an example), which can be launched by booting from removable media. Next, we will consider several options for carrying out the formatting process both in the operating system environment and when booting from an optical disk or a regular flash drive.

Formatting a hard drive through the command line: why do you need it?

First of all, it should be said that absolutely all specialists note the fact that formatting is best done from the command console, despite the fact that the system itself has its own tool.

Firstly, additional attributes can be applied to the main formatting commands, which, in addition to carrying out the process itself, allow you to perform some additional actions. Secondly, the console becomes absolutely irreplaceable when reinstalling the operating system, troubleshooting failures, or when the hard drive does not open, for example, due to damage, and the OS becomes impossible to boot. When critical failures appear on the hard drive, whether you like it or not, you cannot do without full formatting. Some users try to apply quick formatting, however, as practice shows, it is only capable of clearing the table of contents and ultimately, when it is required to bring the hard drive to life, turns out to be far from the best tool, unlike full formatting.

How is Windows 10 Command Prompt invoked?

First, let's look at calling the console itself. In any Windows system, there are several simplest ways.

The most used and most widespread method specifically for Windows 10 is to use a special Run menu, in which this option is entered. In systems with a rank below, this option can also be used, but after all, the link to the console was displayed directly to the main menu called through the Start button , but in the tenth modification this is not.

An equally simple way is to enter a query in the search field, which can be called from the menu of the right click on the "Start" button. Here you can simply start the console, or you can start using the PCM as an administrator (working with the command line very often requires administrator rights, especially for carrying out any critical actions in relation to the hard drive and to the operating system itself).

Finally, you can open the System32 directory in the standard "Explorer" located in the main directory of the system and launch the cmd.exe file using the methods that were shown just above (opening the file as administrator).

When booting from removable media (installation disks, recovery disks, or USB media), in most cases, Shift + F10 is used.

Some nuances of access to disks

Immediately I would like to draw the attention of all users to the point that even when using the cmd.exe applet, it will not work to format the system partition. This is understandable. Well, the system cannot format the disk on which it is located.

Therefore, the formatting of the hard disk through the Windows command line in the operating system itself is applied exclusively to logical partitions, removable media (including USB HDD), as well as to other hard drives installed on the computer (RIAD arrays). By the way, even if the operating system is installed not on the C drive, but, for example, in partition D, the formatting of the first partition will still be unavailable, because when booting, the primary BIOS system refers to this partition, and in any case there are files necessary to start the OS.

Standard logical partition formatting

Now directly about the process itself. For now we will not touch the system partition, but focus on logical and additionally installed disks of any type.

After calling the console, in the simplest case, the hard disk is formatted via the command line using the universal format command, after which the disk or partition letter with a colon is entered after a space. For example, the disk in the system is designated by the letter H. The command in this case will look like "format h:".

This is a complete formatting of the hard drive through the command line, although you can use another method, which will be described in more detail below.

Additional attributes of the format command

As already mentioned, this command is good in that you can add additional attributes to it, as a result of which you can perform some more actions.

You can view a full description of all possible options for executing a command in the console itself by entering the string format /? (this command opens the complete list of additions). There are a lot of attributes, but among all of them, it is worth noting fast formatting with input after the main command / q, formatting with the installation of a specific file system, for example fs: ntfs, as well as using the V: NAME combination to set the volume label, where NAME is an arbitrary name of the disk or section.

Booting from removable media and invoking the command line

In situations where there are problems with access to the system partition, in particular, the hard disk does not open, formatting it (if other troubleshooting methods do not help) can be done exclusively from the command console launched when booting from removable media. One of the most revered tools is starting from a LiveCD.

Formatting the hard disk through the command line, which is accessed by pressing Shift + F10 (from the recovery console or without it), can be done with the same format command specifying the system partition letter and setting additional formatting parameters.

Using the diskpart tool

However, as most experts recognize, it is not always appropriate to use a standard command. Another method is considered more effective, although in most cases it is customary to use it for removable USB devices, including USB hard drives, from which you need to make a boot device.

In this case, formatting the hard disk via the command line (diskpart) begins with entering the command of the same name, after which list disk is entered to view all the drives installed in the system.

All disks are no longer marked with letters, but with numbers. Therefore, some users are faced with the problem of identifying their device. The easiest way to recognize it by the indicated size (the same USB flash drive with a hard drive is clearly not to be confused).

Next, to select a disk, use the select disk X command, where X is the number of the required disk from the list presented. The clean line then cleans up the contents of the media, and then creates a primary partition (create partition primary command). After that, the current partition is selected again (select partition 1) and activated (active). This command is not always used. If you do not plan to make it bootable, you can skip it.

Only at this stage, the formatting of the active primary partition begins directly with an indication of the preferred file system, for which the format fs \u003d ntfs (or fat32) command is used. If you need to do quick formatting, quick is added to the line separated by a space. But to achieve an optimal result, you should not use it.

At the end of the process, the partition (device) needs to be assigned a volume label. This is done by the assign command (the letter will be assigned to the device automatically). After that, all that remains is to transfer the files of the installation distribution kit to the created drive.

Third party utilities

If someone doesn't like such methods, any free ones like Disk Director from Acronis, HDD Low Level Format Tool, Partition Magic, Paragon Hard Disk Manager, etc. can be used to simplify the work.

True, all of them are equipped with a graphical interface, and we are not talking about using the command console, although many users will find it much easier to work with such utilities. But, since in this case it is the use of the command line that is considered, it makes no sense to dwell on such utilities and their capabilities.

Conclusion

As a result, it remains to say that using the console, in which commands specially provided for in Windows systems are entered, which, by the way, migrated to these OS from DOS, is not particularly difficult. In addition, it is the command line that allows you to eliminate a great many more problems, which can not always be fixed by means and system tools of Windows. And the formatting process itself is head and shoulders above than if it were run in the operating system environment. It's no secret that quite often you can see a message that Windows for some reason cannot complete formatting. And if you work with the console, such problems almost never arise. And that is why, in most cases, it is recommended to carry out all processes related to cleaning, formatting disks and partitions, preparing bootable media, etc. using standard console commands, and not other built-in system tools.

As you know, the "format c:" command, originally related to MS-DOS tools, is used quite often for computer systems with Windows on board. Let many do not be confused by the fact that Microsoft's support for MS-DOS was ended a long time ago, since the built-in system tool in the form of a command console works exactly according to its principles, and some actions without the command line cannot be performed at all, as well as access to the hidden features of Windows. Next, we will consider the main aspects related to formatting and its practical application, without going too deeply into the technical components of the additionally applied attributes.

What is the "format c:" command?

As it is already clear, the command itself is intended specifically for formatting the hard disk, but in this particular case we are talking purely about the system partition in which the operating system is installed (by default, Windows is installed on the C drive, unless another location is specified, for example , when installing a second OS into a virtual partition).

Immediately I would like to draw the attention of all users to the point that this toolkit can be used exclusively on the command line. For the "format c:" command itself, some additional attributes are provided that allow you to activate certain options, depending on what action needs to be performed when formatting a system or logical partition.

Command scopes

First, let's decide when this command may be needed, and then move on to its practical application.

For the most part, disk formatting is required when installing an operating system or reinstalling it after critical failures or a virus impact, when it is impossible to restore functionality using Windows or remove virus threats.

The command can also be used when dividing a hard disk into additional partitions using the diskpart tools (although in this case the disk "C" is not formatted, but the created logical partition). Actions with the system partition are performed only in the above situations. Sometimes such measures even help to restore the performance of the hard drive.

Some nuances associated with starting formatting

Digressing somewhat from the description of the "format c:" command, I would like to cheer up the readers. There is such a good anecdote when a phone call rings in the support service:

My Word doesn't work, what should I do?

Do you have Word on the C drive?

Write: "format c:" and press Enter.

Will it help?

And how! The most effective remedy!

But this is, of course, a joke. The fact is that in a loaded (working) system, no matter how hard you try, formatting the disk (system partition) cannot be started. Windows simply won't let you do this (well, won't the system give permission to self-destruct?).

Thus, the question of how to make "format c:" is reduced only to boot from removable media initially, then call the console and use the command already in its environment. Sometimes, however, you can find non-standard situations.

For example, a user has installed two Windows systems of different modifications. One is on the "C" drive, the second is on the "D" drive. Formatting of the "C" section can be done if you boot into the environment of the second system and call the command console in it.

The same can be observed in the case when a virtual machine with the tested "operating system" is installed on the computer, which is a complete likeness of a real computer, but in virtual form.

View all command line attributes

But back to the main "format c:" command. The command line allows you to perform many operations using this function. In order not to describe absolutely all the applied attributes, any user can be advised to view them on their own.

Just call the command line and write the "format /?" Command in it. After its completion, a complete list of additional attributes with a detailed description of each of them will appear on the screen.

Practical implementation of formatting

Now about the practical use of the "format c:" command. Windows systems will not allow it to execute, so we assume that the boot is performed from removable media (installation or recovery disk or USB flash drive).

Entering the command in its standard form will fully format the specified section. If you set the additional attribute "/ Q", it will lead to quick formatting (Quick format). It is unlikely that an ordinary user will be able to set the size of clusters or other specific actions, so for now you can limit yourself to such a simple example.

Formatting when creating new sections

The creation of new partitions and bootable media looks much more interesting. True, the "format c:" command in this case is not used as such, but familiarity with the general use of the formatting command may be useful to many users:

When using the "diskpart" toolkit, it is sometimes necessary to create a primary partition and then activate the boot partition. At one of the stages, formatting is necessary (you can even use manual indication of the preferred file system), for which an additional "FS" operator is introduced, after which, for example, the type of NTFS is indicated. If such a pointer is not used, formatting will be performed with the current system preserved.

The use of such tools sometimes allows you to quickly change the disc format from unreadable (RAW) to normal. This is much faster than trying to change it with the same operating system tools.

When using the general command, if the "/ U" attribute was not initially specified, it is possible to undo the formatting by entering the UNFORMAT command, since the old file allocation table is saved along with the root directory. However, such actions are mostly related to processes associated with removable media and logical partitions.

Finally

That's all, in short, about the formatting command. Here, the description of each applied attribute was not specifically considered, since for most users in practical use they turn out to be unnecessary, but are required mainly by system administrators or specialists involved in the repair of computer equipment (in particular, hard drives).

But even the general knowledge presented above will help any user to understand what the described command is for, how and where it is used. However, situations are different, so you should not neglect the use of formatting through the command line, especially since the general command is used even when manually creating bootable media using the operating system, which excludes the use of third-party software.

Modern hard disk drives (HDDs) are becoming more spacious and less expensive, and many people find it better to buy one large drive - 2 - 3 - 4 terabytes, than several small ones. But not everyone realizes what difficulties they will face when installing an operating system on such a disk. The fact is that disks larger than 2TiB use a non-standard, new type of data organization - the GPT partition table. It also contains “surprises” that await the inexperienced user.

The main differences between GPT (new) and MBR (old) disks

  • Partitioning disks according to the MBR standard cannot address space exceeding 2.2 TiB, and there are no restrictions for GPT disks (or rather, their limit is an astronomical number by our standards - 8.6 billion TiB).
  • GPT discs can only install Windows 64-bit, starting with Windows Vista x64. 64-bit Windows XP and all x86 versions since Vista can write to and read data from GPT partitions, but cannot boot from them. Windows XP x86 and older do not support the GPT platform.
  • The GPT partition table is part of the UEFI interface - the new BIOS, so to speak. Computers with traditional BIOS do not support the GPT structure.

But that doesn't mean modern, roomy GPT hard drives can't be used the old fashioned way - on non-UEFI computers or to install 32-bit systems. You can: for this, the GPT partition table just needs to be converted to MBR. Part of the volume - the one outside 2.2 TiB, will not be available, but nothing can be done about it.

Convert Partition Table from GPT to MBR

Work with hard drive up to 2 TiB

When installing Windows 7 x86 (32-bit) to a GPT disk, an error message pops up clearly indicating the reason:

If your hard drive is less than 2TiB, a full formatting and deleting all partitions will solve the problem. This can be done through the "Disk setup" option from the distribution kit.

  • When, during the installation of Windows 7, you get to the choice of the partition where to install the system, and you see an error message - click the "Disk Setup" button.

  • Select each section, starting from the bottom, and delete by pressing the button of the same name. You should have one total unallocated space equal to the size of your entire hard drive.

  • Now you need to recreate each section. To do this, click the "Create" button, set the desired partition size and click "Apply". Repeat the operation as many times as you want to get sections. The system will ask you to allocate an area for its needs (boot partition 100 mb), it is desirable to agree.

  • Formatting of the newly created partitions is done by clicking the "Format" button. After these steps, the GPT hard disk partition table will be converted to MBR, suitable for installing a 32-bit version of Windows 7. Further installation proceeds without any peculiarities.

Working with a hard drive over 2TiB

To create MBR on disks of such a large capacity, you will need a utility DiskPartincluded in the distribution kit of the seven. It starts and runs through the command line.

  • When you reach the choice of the installation location, start the command line by pressing “Shift” + “F10” on the keyboard. In the opened black window, enter: diskpart and press Enter.
  • Next, command: list disk- to view all hard drives installed on the computer.
  • Select the disk where you will create the MBR. If he is alone, enter the command select disk 0if there are several - substitute the serial number of the disk you need instead of zero.
  • Next, delete all data and all markup from the selected HDD with the command clean.
  • Team convert mbr converts GPT table to MBR.
  • To close the console, enter: exit.

  • Then you can proceed to installing Windows 7.

Preparing a disk for installing Windows 7 using third-party programs: splitting, formatting, and more

You can mark and format the HDD before installing Windows 7 using third-party programs such as Acronis Disk Director, Paragon Partition Manager, etc. There are many applications for this purpose, but these two are familiar to many and are the best in their class, therefore we will consider them.

Acronis Disk Director

Powerful disk management tool. Available in two versions - for Windows and as a boot image. The second allows you to repartition, format, delete, move and restore volumes, transfer data from partition to partition without booting into Windows.

The principle of using Acronis Disk Director is intuitive - each of its options has a clear, unambiguous definition. The interface is English and Russian.

In order to divide the HDD into partitions and perform formatting in any of the proposed file systems (their list is quite solid), select the “Create partitions” item and follow the instructions of the wizard.

Acronis Disk Director has one very useful feature - the partition recovery wizard. It allows you to recover deleted volumes with all their data on a disk. Unless, of course, the information has been overwritten.

Paragon Partition Manager

Another fully functional set of disk management tools. It is a boot image with which you can do a lot of things: partition disks into volumes, format in various file systems, create boot menus, create installation packages for OS distributions (not only Windows), manage system boot loaders, etc.

As for the functions of managing partitions, Paragon Partition Manager allows you to create, delete, divide, copy, restore, merge, back up and transfer them to external media. You can even transfer the entire contents of your hard drive to another. In addition to the above, the application has network functions that make it possible to create a connection with other computers on the local network.

Despite the English-language interface, Partition Manager is quite easy to manage. Most of the options start a built-in wizard that guides the user through all stages of the selected operation. It doesn't take much time to master the program, and the result of what is being done is always good.


Partition management, formatting and other operations through the disk manager

You can also redistribute disk space from under a running system through Disk Management, a native Windows 7 tool. The tool is located in the Computer Management set.

  • Launch Control Panel and open the Administrative Tools application. Select “Computer Management” from the list of administrative tools.

  • Next select "Disk Management".

  • A "map" of hard drives and other storage devices installed on the computer will open in front of you - flash drives, memory cards and other things, if they are connected.

If the disks are divided into parts, the map will display each partition, otherwise called a volume, with its letter, size and type designation: primary or logical. Above is a table of properties for each volume. Here you can see which of them your system boots from - the boot partition has the "Active" attribute.

The active partition in Windows 7 is the 100-megabyte partition at the very beginning of the hard disk (MBR standard). It has no letter and does not appear in the explorer.

Right-clicking on one of the partitions on the disk map opens a list of available commands: what operations can be performed on this volume.

So, on logical partition D of our only hard disk, you can do the following:

  • open (via explorer);
  • change the letter;
  • change the path to the disk;
  • format;
  • expand;
  • squeeze;
  • delete;
  • view properties;
  • read the help.

If you delete a volume letter, it will not appear in Windows Explorer like the rest of the hidden partitions. Such as SYSTEM - where the Windows 7 bootloader is located, and the RECOVERY section. This protects the files stored there from accidental damage and deletion.

The “format” command will destroy all information, the “expand” and “shrink” commands are designed to control the size of the partition. “Delete”, accordingly, will turn the selected area of \u200b\u200bthe hard disk into unallocated space.

In a word, working with the disk manager is not difficult, but it requires attention and caution from the user.

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