HDD Low Level Format Tool - low-level formatting. Low-level formatting of a hard drive and flash drive: what programs to use

Before you download a free program for formatting your hard drive, please note that Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 have their own tools for such matters.

Moreover, even without having an installed operating system, you can format your hard drive (any partition) through the BIOS without downloading the program.

To do this, you just need a distribution kit (installation disk). During the installation process of Windows 7 or any other, you will be given the opportunity to format hard drive partitions.

You can also easily format any partition of a hard disk, with the exception of “C”, without a program, simply by right-clicking on it. mouse and clicking on the line format.

Disk “C” cannot be formatted in this way, since the system is installed on it, and Windows cannot destroy itself.

This can be done, but only either through the BIOS or by booting from another medium.

If you still prefer to download a program to format your hard drive, then go ahead.

Download a program to format your hard drive - Active Partition Manager

There are several free programs for formatting hard drives. I still recommend that you download: “Active Partition Manager”.

Why? It is free and in Russian. If you download from this site, if you download from the author’s site, then it is in English.

You can download the Active Partition Manager application for free at the very end of the entry (in the block) from this site or the author’s. At the time of reading, a new version may appear, now that I am writing the latest

Additional tools are also integrated into it. In particular:

1. converting GPT partitions to MBR and vice versa;
2. creating a logical partition on the disk;
3. You can format in FAT32, ExFAT or NTFS;
4. if desired, it is possible to change the boot sector;
5. in case of unforeseen circumstances, you can make a rollback;
6. if you are not satisfied with the section, you can delete it;
7. much more.

The program also works great with memory cards and other external drives; in addition, you can divide one physical drive into several logical ones.

How to format a hard drive with Active Partition Manager

After downloading and installing, launch Active Partition Manager. After this you will see two windows. Close what's on top.

That's all mathematics. Since Active Partition Manager is in Russian, I won’t describe how to use other tools.

Developer URL:
http://www.pcdisk.com.

OS:
XP, Windows 7, 8, 10

Interface:
Russian

Situations when an unreadable RAW format appears on a computer or laptop instead of a regular partition are very unpleasant for the user. And many simply do not know what to do to bring the disk to normal condition, since the system initially does not recognize the RAW format of HDD disks. How to fix this problem? To do this, you can use several recommended tools, including Windows tools and specialized programs.

RAW format - what is it?

Some users mistakenly believe that the appearance of this format is solely due to the fact that the RAW file system appears instead of the usual one. We restore the disk by rolling back the system state to the previous state, and... the result is zero! Why?

Yes, only because the RAW format is not a file system, but rather the absence of one. This is why the operating system does not see the hard drive or logical partition (damage may also affect partition tables).

Sometimes the system can perceive a damaged HDD, but there is no information that should supposedly be present on it. That is, it is there, but it is impossible to read it. However, often when you try to access such a partition, Windows immediately displays a message about the need to format it before further use. Unfortunately, formatting does not always produce the desired effect, and information is destroyed. It will be very difficult to restore it later, although special programs can be used. But this is not the best method that allows you to convert the RAW format of HDDs. How to fix the situation with saving information? For such purposes, you should first turn to the system’s tools, which will be discussed separately.

Why is the format changing?

Among the reasons that cause the replacement of the desired format with an unreadable one, the main place is occupied by purposefully acting viruses, power surges, sudden power outages in the process of performing some system or user operations, etc.

It also happens that the system defines the hard drive as RAW, files and folders seem to be displayed, but it is impossible to do anything with them (copy, open, move, delete). In this case, you cannot even format the partition, change the volume label, or change its conditional or actual size.

RAW format of HDD disks: how to fix it using the simplest method?

The very first thing to do is to use the command console and run as administrator. You can call it from the “Run” menu (Win + R) using the cmd line.

The chkdsk command is used as a universal tool for restoring the format without data loss. Please note that if the system partition is damaged, you can only call the command line if you boot from removable media such as a LiveCD, a Windows installation disk, or from a bootable flash drive. As a rule, the combination Shift + F10 is used to open the console.

To run the command itself, you need to know the drive or partition letter (the so-called volume label). Let's say the damaged partition in the system is designated by the letter “D”. In this case, the command to be written will look like this: chkdsk d: /f. After entering it, you need to press the Enter key and wait for the file system recovery process to complete, after which you must restart the computer.

RAW format of HDD disks: instructions for using partition management tools

Windows has another powerful tool in the form of the Disk and Partition Management utility. It, along with the above command, is capable of restoring the RAW format of HDDs. How to fix the partition format using it? It's also easy. It’s just worth considering that this technique is designed exclusively for those cases when there is no data in the section.

First, through computer administration or using the diskmgmt.msc command in the Run console (Win + R), you need to call the built-in Disk Management system utility. Next, on the selected partition that has a damaged format, you should right-click and select the formatting line from the context menu.

If the system displays an error or formatting error message, in order to restore a RAW disk, initialization will first be required, followed by the creation of a simple volume. After completing these steps, formatting will be performed, and the disk or partition can be used again for your needs.

Using the TestDisk application

Interesting opportunities for recovering the HDD format are provided by the free TestDisk utility, which is designed as a portable version and does not require installation on the hard drive.

After launching the program in simulating DOS mode, you need to select the Create line, and then specify the disk that was converted to RAW format (you need to select the disk, not the partition). Next, the section style is set (this is usually done automatically).

At the next stage, select the analysis line (Analyze), press Enter, then Enter again with the Quick Search item selected.

In the analysis results, partitions for recovery will be marked in green with the letter P, those to be deleted will remain gray with the letter D. If you need to change the attribute from P to D, arrows are used.

To continue, press the Enter key again, select the Write button from below, then use Enter again, and press Y (Yes) to confirm the action. When the conversion is complete, all that remains is to restart your computer.

MiniTool Data Recovery utility

This program is also capable of restoring the RAW format of HDD disks. You can fix it as follows.

After launching the utility, a tool called Lost Partition Recovery is selected, the RAW partition is specified, and Full Scan is activated.

At the end of the scan, all files and folders that are in the partition with the changed format will be shown. They can be copied to another location, and then formatted in the application itself, or use the methods described above for this.

According to most experts, the program is good in everything (it works quickly, reliably and stably), but it has one huge drawback - it belongs to the category of shareware applications. Limitations in the trial version include the fact that using this utility it will not be possible to recover partitions larger than 1 GB (but you can also find distributions with activators on the Internet, although their use is illegal from the point of view of international law).

Recovering partitions in DMDE

DMDE is another program for converting disks and partitions of any type from the RAW system to the normal format.

In the application, you select a physical disk with a RAW format (do not uncheck the partition display line!), which can be visually identified by underlining, color mark, size or file system, after which you need to select it and click the open volume button just below. Next, you should check the contents by clicking the show sections button. If this is exactly what is required, the restore button is then used, then the operation is confirmed, and at the end of the process the “Apply” button is pressed. To avoid errors, although this is not required, it is advisable to reboot the system.

A few final words

These are the main methods for restoring a damaged HDD format. Only the most popular tools and programs were listed here. You can find many other interesting utilities on the Internet, but all of them, as evidenced by reviews from experts and users, work on similar principles.

When changing the format on the system partition, the same methods are used, but in this case the boot is done from removable media, and the main tool is exclusively the command console or portable versions of the above-described applications (for example, TestDisk).

In this article we will talk about software that works with hard drives and other storage devices (flash drives, external hard drives, memory cards and similar devices). And including about formatting. And formatting is nothing more than marking up hard drives and external drives. Simply put, this is a complete erasure of a disk or partition, as well as preparing it for further use.

There are three main types of formatting:

• Low level. I also call it the real formatting method. Structures are physically created on disks: tracks (tracks), sectors, control information. There is an opinion that this method is only available during the creation of the drive, that is, it is done at the factory with special equipment. However, from analyzing disk formatting programs, I concluded that this method can also be implemented at the software level. This can be done with programs such as HDD Low Level Format Tool.
• Partitioning. Most often this happens during the installation of the operating system. The division occurs into logical disks. This is a very important method, especially for preparing your computer for work. Since the main failures and malfunctions occur where the operating system is located, it makes the most sense to place important information on other logical drives, but before that they need to be created. The same Windows 8 has a built-in utility for dividing a disk into logical partitions. These include: Acronis Partition Expert and EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition.
• High level. It is launched in the operating system itself using a built-in utility or a special program. That is, formatting occurs directly while Windows is running. This method is great for logical disk partitions and external drives. Such programs as Acronis Partition Expert and EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition can do this.

When working with disk formatting programs, you must observe the following precautions:

• Don’t press what you don’t know and don’t understand.This applies especially to low-level formatting, since this is a very delicate process and if something is done incorrectly, you can easily damage the hard drive without the possibility of restoring it. When dividing into partitions, you must again always leave enough space for the OS so that it can work normally. And again, approach this process very carefully. With a high-level operation, you must wait until the operation is completely completed and do not interrupt it, otherwise there may be problems later with the formatted disk partition or external drive.
• make backup copies of important data. Since these processes are all very delicate, there is always a possibility of failure. Therefore, you need to make backup copies of important data; they can be done both manually and automatically using.

Now many modern PC users have no idea how often any program for formatting a hard drive previously helped out.
After all, hard drives had to be formatted regularly.
This is all due to the imperfection of software products - both those that were used for basic user purposes and those that were used to perform maintenance operations on installed systems.

Background

Another aspect of the need for the once frequent use of programs to format hard drives is problems with the hardware. Small media volume, frequent hardware errors and the like.

But oddly enough, over time, the need to format disks still remained, even with the advent of modern solid-state drives. At the same time, the formatting operation has ceased to be an everyday norm, and if it is necessary to format a hard drive, many users are at a loss as to how and in what way it can be done.

Fortunately, over time, both the quality of software products designed for formatting hard drives and their number have increased noticeably. And now the user is not limited to built-in system utilities, but has access not just to third-party software products, but to entire sets of software tools that allow you to perform not only formatting, but also several other useful operations, in particular, improving the condition of the hard drive and the lifespan its operation.

Some of these tools are classified as shareware, some come with a free license, and the rest are only available upon purchase. Each of them has its own advantages and we propose to consider several of the most commonly used and popular tools with sufficient functionality.

A program for formatting a hard drive called Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition stands out from other similar software products in its ability to perform operations on virtual storage media. In addition, for those who still cannot give up using Windows XP, it will provide the ability to support high-capacity disks of the order of 2 TB or more. But it also works on modern Windows 7 and 8 operating systems.

An additional advantage of this complex is its support for multi-boot management functions. This option will be useful for those who use several operating systems in test mode or simply require their parallel use.

The program interface is quite simple and understandable, and in some cases it is simply irreplaceable. An example of this is the function of merging partitions without losing data, which is especially important when formatting partitions. In this case, the user is given the opportunity to even convert partitions.

As for file systems, the number of them supported is quite large. They can be converted from one to another using this program, in particular, NTFS to HFS.

Among other functionality, there is copying and restoring disks, merging them, moving them and resizing them. And all this in the presence of a Russified shell.

Some may find the defragmentation function superfluous, but absolutely everyone will like protection against system failures and detection of bad sectors.

Rice. 1 - Paragon Partition Manager window fragment

This program for formatting a hard drive has the advantage of having several versions with different functionality. Some of them are free, but the Home Edition and Master Free versions deserve special attention from ordinary users.

The program has excellent functionality, accessible through the Russian-language software shell. It can run under the Windows operating system family, in particular, versions 7, 8 and 10, both 32-bit and 64-bit, and some versions allow you to work through Linux.

The software product provides work with a wide range of heterogeneous drives, the most important of which are:

• HDDs;


• SSD solid state drives;


• USB flash drives;


• memory cards in various designs.

The program has access to work with RAID arrays and provides user interaction with MBR and GPT. Some operations can be performed using built-in wizards, which greatly facilitates the user’s work.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that each version of the product has its own restrictions, in particular, on the maximum storage size. For example, in the Home Edition it is 8 TB, and in Master Free it is only 4 TB. The user is also advised to pay attention to the installation process, since unnecessary utilities can be installed along the way.

Rice. 2 - EASEUS Partition Master window fragment

A program for formatting a hard drive called Aomei Partition Assistant is a product that is distributed free of charge, but has decent functionality. It provides a number of functions that are not available in other free products and therefore belongs to a completely different class.

This software package, like the previous product, has a Russian-language shell and supports modern operating systems of the Windows and Linux families and, accordingly, file systems running under their control: FAT 12/16/32, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, exFAT/ReFS.

In parallel with work on physical media, the program also performs operations on virtual disks.

As for the special functionality, it is implemented in the form of access to disks invisible to other software. The program allows you to check them, test them and a number of other useful operations. All this against the backdrop of minimum system requirements, ranging from the processor version to the amount of available disk memory.

This software product is able to work even under such conditions when the device has 128 disks installed and the volume size is 16 TB. It is also one of the few products that can work with SSHD, flash drives and flash cards. Is it worth mentioning that it supports UEFI Boot, and all operations performed are performed without damaging user information, according to the creators?

Rice. 3 - Aomei Partition Assistant Window

This program for formatting a hard drive is more modest, but much more popular, not only in the domestic space, but throughout the world. It is free and provides interaction under operating systems of the Windows family, including the latest versions of various bits, while also processing EXT disk partitions, as well as Linux Swap.

The software interface has a Russified shell and provides work with partitions with a capacity of more than 2 TB. It is quite simple and will be understandable even for a novice user. The functionality of the interface is quite wide and even includes the new-fangled migration from HDD to SSD.

The software product also performs a number of basic operations with disks and their partitions, including their cloning, creation and modification. An additional operation can be considered the conversion of FAT/FAT32 file systems to NTFS while maintaining the integrity of user data, which is complemented by the functionality of backing up stored information and a data recovery utility after failures. If desired, the user can test their disks by testing their performance.

Like some of the programs described above, this one can convert disks from MBR to GPT, and this is important when a frequently used system partition is worn out. In parallel with this, it is possible to assign active sections and interact with them.

Rice. 4 - MiniTool Partition Wizard window

This hard drive formatting program falls into a different category than the software tools discussed above. Therefore, it deserves special attention. This is not a large software package with wide functionality, but a small program that only has the ability to low-level formatting in its set of functions.

This option provides, with the given settings, the ability to restore the functionality of storage media. Moreover, this functionality applies to both hard drives and flash drives. The only problem for the user in this case is the complete destruction of the data on the media without the possibility of further recovery.

Unfortunately, there are no other operations that this product can perform with media.

Rice. 5 - HDD Low Level Format Tool window

This program for formatting a hard drive is also quite interesting. Its peculiarity is that it can be launched from any media. So, you can install it on a boot disk or flash drive and even without a full-fledged operating system be able to work with disk partitions.

This functionality is especially important in emergency situations, when it is more important for the user to restore the system’s functionality, and not just create an additional partition for more convenient storage of data or installation of a game. The program's functionality is suitable for working with disks running both Windows and Linux. However, this product has one significant drawback, which is noticeable when compared with the above programs - its cost.

In fact, this application belongs to the category of shareware products. After the specified trial period has expired, the user is offered two options - purchase a license or delete the software product. Therefore, it can be safely used and compared with other programs on a free basis, but for a limited period.

Otherwise, this is a full-fledged tool for working with disks and their partitions with wide functionality. It includes all the basic operations for working with partitions, including formatting, and also allows the PC owner to view the information stored on these partitions in a general way.

Rice. 6 - Acronis Disk Director window

Standard Windows OS Tools

When describing programs for formatting disks, one cannot fail to mention standard operating system tools that are available to users without downloading third-party software products. This can be done using the example of operating systems of the Windows family. A special feature of these systems is that they have several tools for working with hard drives and their partitions.

The first tool is quite simple and this utility is available to the user from the Explorer program. In order to use it, you can call up the context menu for the logical partition of the hard drive, and select “Format” from it. After this, a form will become available in which you can specify the desired parameters of the formatting operation.

This functionality will be available for all logical disk partitions, with the exception of the active system disk. In this case, you need to use a slightly different tool, accessible exclusively from the command line. Working with it requires special skills that are only available to experienced users.

Important! To have access to them, you need to have a boot disk, as well as settings in the BIOS that force the PC to boot from removable media, and not from the hard drive, in order to provide the functionality the system needs. This is provided by a small utility called diskpart. But its main problem is that the user does not receive high-quality visualization of the actions being performed, and any error in their execution can cost the functionality of the system.

This state of affairs forces users to resort to using third-party software products.

Rice. 7 - Formatting utility window

Formatting your hard drive before installing Windows
In the video I will show you how to format a hard drive. This may come in handy when you reinstall the Windows operating system.

First of all, you need to understand what formatting is. This is a process by which your drive is cleared of the information on it. It is most often used in cases where it is necessary to quickly empty the disk of its contents and write other data to it. Or before installing the operating system. How can such an operation be performed? There is a program for this: Before using it, take care of the safety of the necessary files and documents, copy them, for example, to an external drive.

Formatting using the Control Panel

The very first way to perform drive cleaning is to use the computer's own capabilities. To use them, you need to use the control panel of your device. In this section, select “Disk Management” and see all the available options: assign labels and names, create partitions, perform the formatting we need, etc.

We find the drive or partition we need, hover the mouse over it, right-click and select “format”. This option is convenient because we initially see all the drives connected to the computer, even those that are inactive and we won’t see them in the Explorer window. Before starting the procedure, the window that appears allows you to make some settings. You can change the volume label, that is, the name of the selected drive, and select the file system type. You need to pay attention to the fact that these parameters have already been pre-configured and set, so you don’t need to touch them, except in cases where there is an exact purpose for the changes.

Next, the program for formatting the hard drive offers you to choose full formatting or quick formatting, which differ significantly from each other. If the first option deletes data as efficiently as possible, without the possibility of recovery, then with the second the disk will be recognized as empty, but if desired, information from it can be recovered. It is recommended to use it if you are confident that the media is fully functional.

Using the Explorer window

The method described above is not the only solution to the problem assigned to us. It is possible to format the disk even more quickly. To do this, it is quite enough to open “My Computer”, get to all active ones. Then select the one we need, right-click to open the menu and click on the “formatting” item.

Before us is another program for formatting a hard drive. Using the window that opens with additional settings, you can adjust various parameters of the operation. Please remember that the actual disk capacity is less than the data provided to us by the manufacturer. For example, a 2TB drive will actually have 1.81TB of available space.

How to format a system disk?

If there is an operating system on the disk, then it, of course, cannot erase itself, so other methods have to be used. Why do this? This procedure is performed if a new one is installed on the system disk with the current OS. To do this, insert the installation disk with the operating system into the computer/laptop. It will launch and prompt you to start the installation. All you have to do is follow the instructions for performing this operation.

First, of its two types, we select installation from scratch, ignoring the option of updating the system. On the hard drive you are using, you can create and delete logical partitions and perform accelerated formatting. Then we continue to install the OS or, after removing the disk, we continue working on the computer.

We looked at Windows OS version 7. In the Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems, all actions are similar. But if you are servicing the system disk, then it is preferable to use third-party ones called Live CD.

Free hard drive formatting program

To format any storage devices, including hard drives connected to the device, you can use the HDD Low Level Format Tool program. System utilities are, of course, a good thing, but high-quality cleaning is better done using third-party software. The above utility is small, convenient, and supports working with different interfaces, for example, SATA, IDE, USB, Fir, SCSI. We can service devices from the following manufacturers: Seagate, Maxtor, Fujitsu, Samsung, Quantum, Toshiba, IBM. Also works with flash cards.

What else is good about this program? hard drive is its main merit. It destroys absolutely all data that is recorded on the media, without skipping boot sectors with separated logical partitions. Please remember that deleted information cannot be recovered.

How does HDD Low Level Format Tool work?

Download the distribution, launch and install. This is done so simply that we will not dwell on it in detail. Then we read and choose: use the free version or pay an additional three dollars and thirty cents and get an updated and faster program. We choose the first option. The only disadvantage of this utility is that every time you start it, you will have to see and delete the window asking you to pay extra money.

The interface is very simple. You will immediately see which storage devices are connected to the computer and are ready for use. Various data about these devices and various reference information are available.

Let's do some testing. We will not experiment with a hard drive; for this we will use a regular flash drive with a capacity of 4 GB. Select it from the list and click the “Continue >>>” button. We will see the characteristics of the flash drive and the start/stop formatting buttons. Before starting the process, the program will clarify whether you really want to start it. In the window you can monitor the progress of the operation.

The free version has a low speed (4.3 Mb/sec), so everything will last about 10 minutes. HDD Low Level Format Tool will not only format your drive, but will also be able to “repair” it if the computer does not see the flash drive.

How else can you format a hard drive?

One of the most powerful and functional utilities for this is Acronis. This program for formatting your hard drive is updated regularly and keeps up with the times. It is paid, but also has a free trial version. So if you like the utility, you can purchase the full version. The system requirements are not too large, so it can be installed on almost every computer.

There are many options offered, the choice is yours.