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To format an internal or USB drive through File Explorer, use these steps:Ĭlick on This PC from the left navigation pane. Format hard drive on Windows 11 from File Explorer (Optional) Check the “Enable file and folder compression” option to save space when storing files.Īfter you complete the steps, a new partition will be created and formatted using the specified settings. (If you don’t select this option, the operation could take a long time.) (Optional) Specify how much storage to assign to the drive in the “Size” setting.Ĭheck the “Perform a quick format” option. Select the NTFS option in the “File System” setting. Select the drive letter to make it available on File Explorer in the “Drive Letter” setting. Select the “Unallocated” space and click the Create volume button.Ĭonfirm a label for the drive in the “Label” setting. To format a new drive without a partition, use these steps: Once you complete the steps, Windows 11 will format the drive and make it available through File Explorer. Quick note: Unless you are storing files that will benefit from compression, you don’t need to enable this feature. Select the NTFS option for the “File System” setting. To format an internal or external drive with an existing partition on Windows 11, use these steps:Ĭonfirm a label for the storage drive (as it will appear on File Explorer). On Windows 11, depending on whether the HDD or SSD already has a partition or not, the format steps will be slightly different. Format hard drive on Windows 11 from PowerShellįormat hard drive on Windows 11 from Settings.
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Format hard drive on Windows 11 from Command Prompt.
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