HDD Format Tools | 6 Best Hard Drive Disk Format Tool

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In 2021, the best disk format tool is a third-party Qiling HDD format tool, HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, HDD Low Level Format Tool, or a built-in HDD formatter in Windows 10/8/7, such as File Explorer, Disk Management, or CMD, allowing users to easily format a disk, HDD, SSD, USB flash, pen drive, or SD card.

6 Best Hard Drive Disk Format Tools in 2021

1. Qiling Partition Master Format Tool

2. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

3. HDD Low Level Format Tool

4. Windows File Explorer

5. Windows Disk Management

6. Windows Command Prompt (CMD)

Each hard disk format tool in the list can be used to format any drive in various Windows operating systems, including Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista and Windows Server. Some are free to use, while others are commercial. Below, you'll find the details of each product, including their description, advantages, and disadvantages.

IMPORTANT: Back Up Data Before Formatting Disk

Formatting a disk can be done in two ways: quick format and low-level format. Quick format erases data completely, but some data recovery software can still recover the data. On the other hand, low-level format completely erases the whole disk surface, making data restoration impossible.

Before formatting a disk, always create a backup of your important data to prevent complete erasure.

Manually copy important files and documents from the target hard drive to another device by opening it and transferring the necessary data. This method involves physically accessing the hard drive and copying the desired files to a safe location.

Use Windows backup software to automatically back up the whole disk/partition or target files and folders to another device at one time.

#1. Qiling Partition Master - Best Hard Disk Format Tool Free Download for PC

• Supported file system: NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, EXT2, EXT3, and EXT4
• User interface: simple, graphical, clean, and user-friendly to beginners

Qiling Partition Master Free is a comprehensive disk and partition management tool that includes a disk formatting feature, among others, and is ranked as the top hard drive format tool due to its capabilities and features.

• Free Download

Pros:

• Free to download and format disk
• Support all Windows operating systems and servers
• To format a RAW drive that's not recognized by Windows, follow these steps: Connect the drive to your Windows PC using a USB cable. Open File Explorer, right-click on This PC, and select 'Manage'.
• To resolve the issue where Windows was unable to complete the format, you can try using a third-party disk formatting tool, such as EaseUS Partition Master or MiniTool Partition Wizard, to format the disk. These tools can provide a more comprehensive and detailed formatting process, allowing you to format the disk even when Windows is unable to complete the process.
• Allow you to create a bootable hard drive format tool
• Format 64/128/256GB USB hard drive to the FAT32 file system
• Convert FAT32 to NTFS without formatting or losing data
• Partition Magic allows you to build with other powerful features such as resizing, moving, creating, merging, deleting, wiping, or recovering lost partitions.

Cons:

• Some advanced features, like migrating the OS to an SSD, are not included in the free version.

Guide - How to Format Disk - HDD/SSD, USB, etc., with Qiling Format Tool:

Step 1. Open Qiling Partition Master, click on the disk you want to check in the "Disk management" page, and then click "Format" to check and format the disk.

Step 2. Set the Partition label, File system, and Cluster size for the partition, then click "Proceed".

#2. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - Windows XP Disk Formatter

• Supported file system: FAT, FAT32, and NTFS.
• User interface: kind of outdated but relatively easy-to-use.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is a Windows-based utility that can format any drive, including USB Flash drives, hard drives, and memory cards, in FAT, FAT32, and NTFS file systems. It is compatible with all Windows OS versions and excels in terms of formatting speed and performance, particularly on Windows XP. Additionally, the tool can create DOS startup disks that can help revive a PC in case of a crash.

Pros:

• The best use for this tool is on USB drives, where it can strip and re-format the drives, making them ready for new data.
• The GUI of the formatting tool bears a striking resemblance to the one found in Windows XP, making it feel very familiar to users.

Cons:

• The code may cause crashes on modern computers with newer operating systems due to its outdated nature.
• It needs you to run it under Administrator

Guide - How to Format Hard Drive with HP Disk Storage Format Tool

Step 1. Connect the USB drive to your Windows XP computer, click Devices and select the USB drive you want to format.

Step 2. From the File System menu, select a file system and enter a name for the reformatted disk in the Volume Label input box.

Step 3. To enable a quick format, click the Quick Format option. If this option is left unchecked, a slower, low-level format will be performed instead.

Step 4. Click Start to begin the USB formatting.

#3. HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool - Best Low-level HDD Format Tool

• The supported operating system is Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2008R2.
• User interface: kind of outdated and complex to use

The HDD Low Level Format Tool is a software that exclusively formats hard disk drives at a low level, completely erasing the disk surface and making data restoration impossible. It is free for personal/home use, but has a speed restriction of 80GB per hour.

Pros:

• The only disk format tool for a low level format

Cons:

• The personal license for the software costs $3.30, with no speed limit, while the commercial license costs $27.00 per seat (per PC).

Guide - How to Format Disk with HDD Low Level Format Tool:

Step 1. Download and run HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool on your computer.

Step 2. Plug your HDD or USB drive into the computer and launch the low-level format tool.

Step 3. Select the desired drive and click Continue. Confirm the option by clicking Yes.

Step 4. Select Low-Level Format in the tab to start the low-level formatting process.

#4. Windows File Explorer - Easiest Disk Format Tool in Windows 10/8/7

• Supported operating system: NTFS, exFAT and FAT32
• User interface: Simple design and operation throughout the formatting procedure

To format a disk on Windows, open File Explorer by pressing the Windows + E keys. This will display all local and externally connected drives. Select the drive you want to format and click on the "Format" option. This will initiate a quick format process with a few simple steps.

Pros:

• Free
• Works on all Windows computers
• Applies to Windows beginners
• 3-step formatting

Cons:

• Doesn't work when the hard drive is not showing up
• FAT32 is not available for a storage drive over 32GB

Guide - How to Format HDD/SSD or Storage Device in File Explorer

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, locate and right-click on the target hard drive which you need to format, select "Format".

Step 2. Rename the hard drive, reset its file system to NTFS or other formats.

Step 3. Click "Start" to begin the formatting.

#5. Windows Disk Management - Free Built-in Disk Formatter for Advanced Use

• Supported operating system: NTFS, exFAT and FAT32
• The interface is designed with a couple of useful disk management features in a clean organization, making it easy to navigate and manage disk space.

Windows Disk Management is a free built-in tool that helps format storage devices with issues, such as file system corruption, not formatted errors, or not accessible errors, without needing to download anything.

Pros:

• Free
• Available to all Windows operating system
• Be able to format a RAW drive

Cons:

• Doesn't support to format a Linux drive
• FAT32 is not available for a storage drive over 32GB

Guide - How to Format Hard Drive Partition in Disk Management

Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Manage".

Step 2. Go to "Disk Management".

Step 3. Right-click the target hard drive partition and choose "Format".

Step 4. Set the volume label, file system and click "OK" to start formatting the drive.

#6. CMD (Command Prompt) - Powerful Disk Formatting Tool for Professionals

• The supported file system includes NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, EXT2, EXT3, and EXT4.
• User interface: Very unfamiliar to beginners

Windows Command Prompt is a powerful tool for average computer users, offering a range of command lines to troubleshoot and solve common computer and hard drive problems. With its ability to examine, check, and repair issues, it's often the go-to solution for many computer woes. For instance, formatting a disk drive can be achieved using the diskpart command lines, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to resolve computer issues.

Pros:

• Free
• Formatting a drive to every file system available on Windows, macOS, or Linux allows for versatility and compatibility across different operating systems. This process enables the drive to be used with various file systems, including NTFS, HFS+, APFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, and others, making it a convenient option for those who need to share files between different platforms.

Cons:

• Applies to experienced users only
• Any false operation will cause serious computer problems

Guide - How to Format Disk with DiskPart Command

Step 1. Open Command Prompt by right-clicking on Windows icon, select "Search" and type: command prompt.

Right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator".

Step 2. Type diskpart in Command Prompt and hit Enter.

Step 3. Hit Enter each time when you type below command lines in DiskPart to quick format hard drive:

• list disk
• select disk 2 (Replace 2 with your disk number)
• list volume
• You want to format a specific partition on your system. To do so, you can use the `select` command followed by the volume number you want to format.
• The command to format a hard drive partition to NTFS with quick formatting is: `format fs=ntfs quick` .

Step 4. Type exit and hit Enter to close the program when DiskPart reports it has successfully formatted the volume.

Conclusion: What To Do with Hard Drive After Formatting

After formatting your hard drive, you can make the most of it by following these steps: install a fresh copy of your operating system, create a new user account, and set up your desired settings and preferences. You can also reinstall your favorite software and programs, and consider backing up your important files to an external drive or cloud storage for safekeeping. Additionally, consider partitioning your hard drive to separate your operating system, programs, and data, which can help with organization and troubleshooting.

# 1. Re-partition hard drive to make full use of space on your hard drive.

To partition your hard drive, you can use a free partition management tool like Qiling Partition Master Free, which can also help you merge partitions or extend your hard drive partition as needed.

# 2. Save files to the formatted hard drive.

# 3. Recover lost files due to formatting.

If you lost valuable files after formatting your device, you can use professional data recovery software to recover them.

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