Formatting a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11

Sometimes, you must format a hard drive or SSD on your Windows 11 PC, whether to give it to someone else or to start afresh. This process reduces the chances of disk errors and defragments the disk. To format a storage disk in Windows 11, follow these four simple methods: quick format, erasing all data, creating primary partitions, and more. Let’s proceed to learn how to format HDD or SSD in Windows 11 without delay.

Formatting a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 (2022)

Here, we present four methods to format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11. From File Explorer to Settings, Disk Management, and Command Prompt, we cover all common approaches. Refer to the table below to navigate to your desired section.

1. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 via File Explorer (Easiest Method)

The fastest way to format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 is through File Explorer. It works for both external and internal drives. Follow these steps:

1. Press “Windows + E” to open File Explorer. Right-click on the drive and select “Format” from the menu.

2. In the pop-up window, ensure “File system” is set to “NTFS” for Windows compatibility. Alternatively, select “FAT32” or “exFAT” for compatibility with macOS.

3. Keep the allocation size unchanged and enable “Quick Format” under “Format Options”. Click “Start” to format the storage disk swiftly. Within seconds, your HDD or SSD will be formatted for Windows 11.

Note: Quick Format is faster but does not erase data entirely. Instead, it removes memory references, making data inaccessible. Overwriting occurs when new files are added to the storage disk. If you want to wipe data entirely from all sectors, uncheck Quick Format. This step is useful when giving away the storage device as it makes recovering deleted data harder using third-party software.

2. Formatting a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 via Settings

Aside from File Explorer, you can format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 using the Settings app. Here’s how:

1. Press “Windows + I” to open the Settings app in Windows 11. Then, navigate to System -> Storage.

2. Expand the “Advanced storage settings” and select “Disks & volumes“.

3. Click on the primary partition under the HDD or SSD you want to format, then choose “Properties”.

4. Click on “Format“.

5. In the pop-up box, set a name under “Label” and choose “NTFS” as the file system. Finally, click “Format“, and you’re done formatting your hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 using Settings.

3. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 Using Disk Management

Although Disk Management may appear daunting, it’s the optimal method to format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11. It’s my preferred approach for formatting hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, thumb drives, and more. Let’s get started.

1. Press “Windows + X” or right-click the Start menu to access the Quick Links menu. Then, click “Disk Management“.

2. In the Disk Management window, locate the connected hard drive or SSD storage, typically labeled as “Disk 1” or higher, at the bottom. On the right side, you’ll see the primary partition. Right-click it and select “Format“.

3. Name the HDD or SSD in the “Volume label” field and click “OK“. Uncheck “Perform a quick format” to erase all data instead of memory references.

4. Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 Using Command Prompt (CMD)

You can format a hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 via Command Prompt terminal. Execute the diskpart command to format the disk, drive, or partition.

1. Press the Windows key and type “cmd” in the Start Menu search box. Then, click on “Run as administrator” in the right pane to open Command Prompt. To always run CMD with Admin privilege, refer to our linked article.

2. In the Command Prompt window, type the below command and hit Enter to open DiskPart.

diskpart

3. Next, run the below command to list all HDDs and SSDs connected to your Windows 11 computer. Note down the disk number (shown under the second column) of the HDD you want to format. Ensure to choose the correct disk number as picking the wrong one will result in inadvertent data wipe.

list disk

4. Next, select the disk by running the command below. Here, replace X with the disk number.

select disk X

5. Finally, format the hard drive or SSD in Windows 11 using the command below.

clean

6. Now, initialize the disk by running the following commands one by one. In the fifth command, where you assign the drive letter, replace X with your preferred letter. After completing these steps, you can use the formatted hard disk or SSD through File Explorer.

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

This is how you can erase, format, create a partition, and initialize the disk on Windows 11. Windows 11 offers multiple built-in tools to format a hard drive or SSD storage disk. You can perform a quick format or erase the entire disk sector-by-sector for complete peace of mind. That’s all for this guide. If you’re interested in uninstalling apps in Windows 11, from system programs to hidden apps, refer to our article. For those seeking to convert the disk from MBR to GPT without data loss in Windows 11/10, check out our detailed tutorial for a step-by-step process. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below.