Something that is likely to happen on occasion is that we have to format the entire hard drive, or some of the drives of the same. In Windows 10 we have several ways to do this, something that can add complexity to the process, but in reality it gives many more options to users who want to carry out this process.
Therefore, below we are going to show you some of the ways we can currently use to format a partition or drive in Windows 10. So you can use the system that is most comfortable for you.
While we have the ability to use third-party tools, Windows 10 itself offers us several methods to be able to format a unit. It is good to know them, as this increases the number of options available to the user. And choosing the one that is most convenient for you will be easier if you know all the options there are.
File Browser
We start with what is probably the simplest option and known to most users. We simply have to go to This Team using the file explorer. We locate the unit that interests us and we have to right click on it. Next we get the contextual menu, with a series of options on the screen.
Among these options we are going to find the one to format. Therefore, all we have to do is click on it. We will get a message asking for confirmation, and then we can start formatting that drive or partition. Now, it is a matter of waiting for the process to complete, we will not have much to do, simply follow the instructions that appear on the computer screen.
It is the simplest method we have to format a drive or partition in Windows 10. Especially recommended if it is not a too long or complete format. It will save us time and is much more convenient than having to download third-party programs.
Symbol of the system
The second way we have available, also known by most Windows 10 users, is to make use of a command prompt window. In this command line, we can execute one that will allow us to format a drive or partition that we have on the computer. It is not as simple as the previous method, but it works perfectly as well.
First we must open a command prompt window. This is something we must do with administrator permissions. To do this, we can open it directly from the menu using the Win + X key combination. When we have this window open with the command line available, we must write in the same "Diskpart" and then press Enter.
The next thing we have to do is to execute the command «List Volume». This is a command that is responsible for showing the drives on our Windows 10 computer. It will show us the volume of the drives, including the one we want to format ourselves. What we have to do next is select that unit. To do this, we use the command «select volume Y». Instead of the "Y" we must write the volume number of the aforementioned unit.
Once this is done, we simply have to execute the command «format fs = fat32 Quick«. Then, we have to wait for the entire process to be completed and the selected drive will have been formatted in the way we have indicated. Not only can we use the "fat32" format, if you want, you can also use "ntfs". In this case, you must indicate one or the other in the command at the beginning of this paragraph.
With these steps we have already completed the formatting. You can see that these are the two ways we have available to format drives directly in Windows 10, without downloading third-party programs. Both work perfectly, although the second may be a bit more complex, but if you have some experience, it will not be a problem.