Drive formatting


Berton

Berton

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Seen on MSN News [Microsoft Start] this morning about formatting of drives:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
I'm able to format 60 GB drive using format /fs:fat32 H: command for long time, i even have video explaining how to defeat 32 GB limit using Command Prompt but if /q switch is used with Format command the limitation reveal itself.

In this guide, i will show you how to format USB drives larger than 32GB with FAT32 on Windows operating systems.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
Right, exactly. You can do this on the command line and in PowerShell today.

If anyone's interested, Dave Plummer, who made the format dialog in the Windows GUI, explains why it is the way it is.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC12WSHi7
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P, 2100 MHz
    Motherboard
    NUC12WSBi7
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    built-in Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 21.2 (Cinnamon)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC8i5BEH
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8259U CPU @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Iris Plus 655
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
@pseymour Dave's YouTube channel is fun to follow. Dave wrote a lot windows code back in the day. He wrote Task Manager and even today it's largely still the same code he wrote decades ago.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 16 9640
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
    Memory
    32GB LPDDR5x 7467 MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.3 inch 4K+ OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    Cooling
    Vapor Chamber Cooling
    Mouse
    None
    Internet Speed
    960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Microsoft Sysinternals Suite
    Microsoft BitLocker
    Microsoft Copilot
    Macrium Reflect X subscription
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    1Password Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle for PC
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
TechnoMage2021 said:
So, why are we formatting a hard drive?
Click to expand...
Because every drive, whether HDD or SSD, has to be initialized to be usable, have a primary partition created then formatted. The install routine of an Operating System usually handles all that on a new/clean drive and also creates more than one partition on the drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
I love Dave's YouTube channel. Its always nice to hear the why's from the people who actually did it, versus the speculation from those who think everything is a conspiracy.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink SEI8
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8279u
    Motherboard
    AZW SEI
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 2666Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus 655
    Sound Card
    Intel SST
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus ProArt PA278QV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    512GB NVMe
    PSU
    NA
    Case
    NA
    Cooling
    NA
    Keyboard
    NA
    Mouse
    NA
    Internet Speed
    500/50
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Mini PC used for testing Windows 11.
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900x
    Motherboard
    Asus Rog Strix X570-E Gaming
    Memory
    64GB DDR4-3600
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce 3080 FT3 Ultra
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ. ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV 27” WQHD
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2TB WD SN850 PCI-E Gen 4 NVMe
    2TB Sandisk Ultra 2.5" SATA SSD
    PSU
    Seasonic Focus 850
    Case
    Fractal Meshify S2 in White
    Cooling
    Dark Rock Pro CPU cooler, 3 x 140mm case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Keyboard
    Corsiar K65 RGB Lux
    Internet Speed
    500/50
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender.
Berton said:
Because every drive, whether HDD or SSD, has to be initialized to be usable, have a primary partition created then formatted. The install routine of an Operating System usually handles all that on a new/clean drive and also creates more than one partition on the drive.
Click to expand...

Some do come preformatted but lots of people, including me, often change the type.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-10750H
    Motherboard
    MSI MS-17F5
    Memory
    16GB Samsung DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel + Nvidia RTX3060 Laptop
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 24" Curved (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Sabrent Rocket Gen3 1Tb Smasung EVO 870 1TB
    Antivirus
    Avast
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