Although it might seem a tedious process, it’s not, and Windows 11 includes several ways to format a drive using the Settings app, File Explorer, Disk Management, and using commands from Command Prompt and PowerShell. This guide will teach you the different ways to format an internal or USB external hard drive on Windows 11.
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Settings Format hard drive on Windows 11 from File Explorer Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Disk Management Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Command Prompt Format hard drive on Windows 11 from PowerShell
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Settings
On Windows 11, depending on whether the HDD or SSD already has a partition or not, the format steps will be slightly different.
Format drive with existing partition
To format an internal or external drive with an existing partition on Windows 11, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, Windows 11 will format the drive and make it available through File Explorer.
Format drive without partition
To format a new drive without a partition, use these steps: After you complete the steps, a new partition will be created and formatted using the specified settings.
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from File Explorer
To format an internal or USB drive through File Explorer, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, the drive will be available in File Explorer.
If the hard drive doesn’t have a partition or drive letter, it won’t appear in File Explorer. In this case, you can use the new “Disks & volumes” settings or the legacy “Disk Management” tool to format the storage.
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Disk Management
You can format a drive with or without a partition using the legacy Disk Management utility.
Format drive with partition
To format a hard drive with an existing partition with Disk Management, use these steps: After you complete the steps, the existing partition (also referred to as a volume) will be re-formatted, deleting any previous data.
Format drive without partition
If the drive doesn’t have a partition, use the steps: Once you complete the steps, the tool will create a partition and format it using the specified file system.
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Command Prompt
To format a drive with the Diskpart command-line tool, use these steps: After completing the steps, the drive will be erased, formatted, and mounted with the specified drive letter. In the command, replace “3” with the number of the flash drive you want to use.
In the command, change “X” for any available letter you want to use.
Format hard drive on Windows 11 from PowerShell
To format a hard drive with PowerShell commands on Windows 11, use the steps: Once you complete the steps, the PowerShell commands will delete the current partition and create a new one with the file system and drive letter you specified. In the above command, change “3” with the disk number of the drive you want to format (see step 3). If you specify the number incorrectly, you could wipe out the wrong drive causing data loss. In the above command, change “3” with the disk number of the drive you want to format (see step 3). In the above command, change “3” with the disk number of the drive you want to format on Windows 11 and “myDrive” with the name to use for the storage. In the above command, change “3” with the disk number of the drive you want to format and “H” with the letter to assign to the storage. If you get the “Set-Partition: The requested access path is already in use” error message, run the command one more time or specify a different drive letter.
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