How to Format a Drive in Windows 10

To format a drive in Windows 10, open File Explorer, select This PC, right-click the drive, and select Format. Choose a file system, leave Quick Format checked, and select Start.

Formatting erases everything on the drive. Copy anything you want to keep to another drive first.

Applies to: Windows 10. Keep in mind that Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. Security updates now come only through the Extended Security Updates program, which stops on October 12, 2027.

Format a USB drive, SD card, or external drive

1. Plug in the drive and open File Explorer.
2. Select This PC, then right-click the drive and select Format.
3. Choose a File system (see the list below).
4. Type a Volume label if you want to name the drive.
5. Leave Quick Format checked, then select Start and OK.

Which file system should I pick?

• NTFS: best for drives used only with Windows PCs, and for internal drives.
• exFAT: best for USB drives and SD cards shared between Windows, Mac, cameras, and TVs. Handles large files. Portable SSDs usually arrive in this format already, as covered in setting up a SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD on Windows 10.
• FAT32: works with almost any device, but can’t store files larger than 4 GB. Windows only offers it for drives of 32 GB or less.

Format a new or internal hard drive

Use Disk Management for internal drives and for new drives that don’t show up in File Explorer. When a new drive is missing from File Explorer entirely, it probably still needs initializing in Disk Management before it can be formatted.

1. Right-click Start and select Disk Management.
2. If Windows asks to initialize a new disk, choose GPT and select OK.
3. For a new disk, right-click the Unallocated space, select New Simple Volume, and follow the steps. Windows formats it as part of the setup.
4. To format an existing drive, right-click it and select Format.

You can’t format the drive that Windows is installed on (usually C:) while Windows is running. To start over on that drive, reset Windows 10 instead.

Format a drive with a command

If File Explorer won’t format a drive, Command Prompt often can. Open it as an administrator and type a command like this, using your drive letter:

format E: /FS:exFAT /V:Backup /Q

/FS sets the file system (NTFS, exFAT or FAT32), /V sets the name, and /Q makes it a quick format. Leave out /Q for a full format. Windows asks you to confirm before it erases anything.

Quick format or full format?

Quick Format is much faster and fine for most drives. A full format (clear Quick Format) also checks the drive for bad sectors and overwrites the data, so it takes much longer.

Does formatting erase everything?

A quick format only clears the drive’s file table, so recovery tools can often bring the old files back. A full format in Windows 10 writes zeros over the whole drive, which is enough for most people. On SSDs, Windows also tells the drive to discard the old data, which makes recovery much harder.

If you’re selling or giving away a drive that held private files, do a full format. For more thorough options, wipe the hard drive instead.

If a drive won’t format

• Format is grayed out: it’s the Windows drive, or a recovery or system partition. Windows protects those.
• The drive shows as RAW: Windows can’t read its file system. Formatting fixes it but erases the files, so try recovering anything important first.
• Disk Management shows Not Initialized: right-click the disk on the left, select Initialize Disk, and choose GPT.
• FAT32 isn’t offered: the drive is bigger than 32 GB. Choose exFAT instead, which also works with most devices.

Frequently asked questions

Windows can’t complete the format. What now?

Close any app using the drive and try again. If that fails, try Disk Management, or check the drive for errors by running CHKDSK.

Can I get files back after formatting?

Sometimes, with data recovery software, but it isn’t guaranteed. That’s why it pays to back up Windows 10 first.

Can I split a drive into parts?

Yes. Partitioning a hard drive in Windows 10 walks through it.

Will formatting a USB drive fix it?

It often fixes drives that show errors or the wrong size, because it rebuilds the file system. If errors come back after formatting, the drive may be failing and should be replaced.

If Windows reports that the drive is write-protected, you’ll need to remove write protection from the USB drive before it will format. Setting up a brand-new drive instead? Start with setting up a new SSD in Windows 10.

More detail on the Disk Management tool is in Microsoft’s article Disk Management in Windows.