How do I do a FULL format in Windows 7 command prompt

stulid · 27 Nov 2011 at 20:31

Vidya said:
I didn't ask for opinions on why I should or shouldn't do it, I just wanted to know how

Mob rules, your opinion is invalid

Vidya · 27 Nov 2011 at 20:40

when I put Format :C it asks me for my
volume label
what is that? I thought it was the C

VaderDSL · 27 Nov 2011 at 21:06

I think volume label is what you want to call it?

I usually have my HDD named, OS, Media, Games etc.

But I don't think it's mandatory to name them.

Vidya · 27 Nov 2011 at 21:10

does every hdd HAVE to have a disk 0 and disk 1

james.miller · 27 Nov 2011 at 21:16

Mr Gimp said:
Full format won't check for errors any more than a quick format surely?

I would have thought

format "drive letter"

would have done the trick from a command prompt however.

I wouldn't bother personally, as a decent amount of use after a quick format will have deleted everything on the drive previously before too long.

i dont think it does. I think there was a switch to test already bad marked sectors/clusters but it doesnt do any checking and correcting of unmarked sectors/clusters. for that you need chkdsk.

Vidya · 27 Nov 2011 at 21:23

when i list my disk I've got

disk 1 - 931gb free etc
then a
disk 0 - 7760 something mb stored 0mb free

what is disk 0, is it a partition of windows or is it just the HDD?

VaderDSL · 27 Nov 2011 at 21:40

won't disk 0 be the optical drive? might be wrong though.

Vidya · 27 Nov 2011 at 22:05

nah I unplugged it and it still showed up

darael · 27 Nov 2011 at 22:54

1) Startup from a Windows 7 disc.
2) After selecting your language, choose "Repair your computer" at the following screen.
3) Choose "Use recovery tools..." then click Next.
4) Select command prompt.
5) Type in "FORMAT C:" then press enter. Volume label is just a name for your disk that you will see in my computer in place of "Local Disk".

Moeks · 28 Nov 2011 at 00:22

disk 0 is about the right size for a Linux swap partition ...have you ever had Linux on that disk ? ...as for Windows though ...I dunno, W7 will typically place a 100MB partition at the start of the disk but not one of over 7GB ...unless the computer was an off the self one in which case it could be a restore partition.

Deception · 28 Nov 2011 at 09:59

Moeks said:
disk 0 is about the right size for a Linux swap partition ...have you ever had Linux on that disk ? ...as for Windows though ...I dunno, W7 will typically place a 100MB partition at the start of the disk but not one of over 7GB ...unless the computer was an off the self one in which case it could be a restore partition.

He made a new thread for the whole Disk 0 here. Turns out it was his usb drive.

Moeks · 28 Nov 2011 at 17:51

Dohh! ...that's quite funny actually, hadn't ocured to me that he might have left a usb drive plugged in

Buchanan0204 · 29 Nov 2011 at 01:59

This has to be the most idiotic thread in the history of GH. Honestly... why don't you just listen to people.

What is it with people making a thread. Receiving 30+ answers all saying virtually the same thing... then disagreeing. This is worse than the boy who wanted to play with car speakers in his bedroom.

Buchanan0204 · 29 Nov 2011 at 02:03

To answer your question.

If your so paranoid about the full format thing. Download "Gparted" Burn the .iso to a disc. Boot from the disc (you can also use universal usb installer and boot off the usb like you have been doing) You will then see your hard drive there and you can format it anyway you like. It's a lot more stable and versatile than Windows built in commands.

If you then want to check for errors or check the health status of the disc. Run your manufacturers diagnostics utility on it. If it passes, stop freaking out and juse use the thing. Seatools for dos is really good (even if you dont have a seagate).

Now. If you continue to cry about the format C: volume label and want to check for errors using DOS. Well... I vote for you to be banned!

Deception · 29 Nov 2011 at 07:06

Buchanan0204 said:
To answer your question.

If your so paranoid about the full format thing. Download "Gparted" Burn the .iso to a disc. Boot from the disc (you can also use universal usb installer and boot off the usb like you have been doing) You will then see your hard drive there and you can format it anyway you like. It's a lot more stable and versatile than Windows built in commands.

If you then want to check for errors or check the health status of the disc. Run your manufacturers diagnostics utility on it. If it passes, stop freaking out and juse use the thing. Seatools for dos is really good (even if you dont have a seagate).

Now. If you continue to cry about the format C: volume label and want to check for errors using DOS. Well... I vote for you to be banned!

Looks like he forgot about this thread and decided to make a whole new one on what is the command for 'format C'. Can anyone say spam?

Admiral Huddy · 30 Nov 2011 at 14:14

Deception said:
Looks like he forgot about this thread and decided to make a whole new one on what is the command for 'format C'. Can anyone say spam?

In that case I'll close the thread.