Professional Windows Server 1002003 Security A Technical Reference [Electronic resources]

Formats a partition or volume.

Syntax

format Volume /fs:{FAT | FAT32 | NTFS} [/v:Label] [/a:UnitSize] [/q] [/c] [/x]

Options

Volume

Drive letter, volume name, or mount point to format.

/fs:{FAT | FAT32 | NTFS}

Type of filesystem to create.

/v:Label

Label for volume.

/a:UnitSize

Size of allocation unit (if omitted, the command chooses the optimal allocation unit based on the size of the volume).

/q

Quick format (deletes file table and root directory but doesn't scan for bad sectors.

/c

Files created on an NTFS volume are compressed by default.

/x

Dismounts volume before formatting. All open file handles are closed.

Examples

Format F: drive using NTFS, assign it the label MYVOL, and compress the volume:

format f: /fs:NTFS /v:MYVOL /c
The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file system is NTFS.
WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE F: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)? y
Verifying 502M
Creating file system structures.
Format complete.
514079 KB total disk space.
509129 KB are available.

Format a mount point named

newvol using FAT32:

format newvol /fs:FAT32
The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file system is FAT32.
WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE C:\newvol WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)? y
Verifying 502M
Initializing the File Allocation Table (FAT)...
Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)? Budget
Format complete.
525,373,440 bytes total disk space.
525,369,344 bytes available on disk.
4,096 bytes in each allocation unit.
128,264 allocation units available on disk.
32 bits in each FAT entry.
Volume Serial Number is A83C-2E40

Notes

When format is used with the Recovery Console, only the /fs and /q switches can be used.

See Also

chkdsk, chkntfs, convert, defrag, diskpart,

Disks , label, mountvol