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How to Format a Hard Drive or SSD in Windows 11 - Acer Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>Formatting a hard drive or SSD will allow you wipe all data on the drive which is useful when you want to fix disk errors or give your computer to someone else. </p><p>This article will show you how to format a hard drive or SSD using 3 different methods.</p><p><strong>Note: </strong>Formatting your drive will erase all data on the drive and could result in data loss. You should back up any important information before formatting a drive.</p><h2 data-id="use-file-explorer-to-format-a-hard-drive-or-ssd"><strong>Use File Explorer to Format a Hard Drive or SSD</strong></h2><ol><li>Right click on the <strong>Start ⊞</strong> and select <strong>File Explorer</strong>.</li><li> Select <strong>This PC</strong>.</li><li>In the <strong>Devices and Drives </strong>list, right-click the drive you want to format and select <strong>Format</strong></li><li>Select <strong>NTFS </strong>as the file<strong> </strong>system and leave the other<strong> default settings</strong> in place unless you have specific preferences.</li><li>Select <strong>Quick Format</strong> as the format option<strong>, </strong>unless you wish to completely remove all the data from your hard drive for enhanced security</li><li> Click <strong>Start</strong> to begin the process</li><li>A warning message will pop up reminding you that all data on the disk will be deleted. If all your necessary files are backed up, click <strong>OK.</strong></li><li>When the process is complete, you will see another popup message. Click <strong>OK. </strong></li><li>The formatted drive can now be found in file explorer.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><h2 data-id="use-the-settings-menu-to-format-a-hard-drive-or-ssd"><strong>Use the Settings Menu to Format a Hard Drive or SSD</strong></h2><ol><li>Click the <strong>Start ⊞</strong> and select <strong>Settings ⚙</strong>, or use <strong>Windows + I</strong> to quickly open <strong>Settings</strong>.</li><li>Select <strong>System.</strong></li><li>Click on <strong>Storage.</strong></li><li>Under <strong>Advanced storage settings </strong>select <strong>Disks and volumes.</strong></li><li>Find the <strong>HDD</strong> or <strong>SDD</strong> you wish to format, and select the <strong>primary partition </strong>you wish to format</li><li>Click <strong>Properties </strong>and select <strong>Format.</strong></li><li>Choose a name under <strong>Label</strong> and select<strong> NTFS </strong>as the file system.</li><li>Click <strong>Format </strong>to format the drive.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><h2 data-id="use-command-prompt-to-format-a-hard-drive-or-ssd"><strong>Use Command Prompt to Format a Hard Drive or SSD</strong></h2><ol><li>Press the <strong>Windows ⊞ </strong>key on your keyboard.<strong> </strong></li><li>Type <strong><em>cmd</em> </strong>in the search menu and press <strong>Enter.</strong></li><li>Select <strong>Run as administrator </strong>to open the <strong>Command prompt </strong>window.</li><li>Type <strong><em>diskpart </em></strong>and press <strong>Enter</strong></li><li>Type <strong>list disk </strong>and press <strong>Enter </strong>to list all <strong>SSD</strong> and <strong>HDD </strong>drives connected to your computer</li><li>Type <strong>select disk </strong>followed by the disk number you wish to format. For example, if your disk number is 1, type <strong>select disk 1. </strong>Make sure you select the correct disk number!</li><li>Type <strong>clean </strong>and press <strong>Enter </strong>to format the hard drive or SSD.</li></ol><p><br></p> </article> </main>
