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Summary
To get around a “Windows was unable to complete the format” error, open Disk Management on your PC, right-click your drive, choose “Format,” configure format options, and select “OK.”
Keep getting a “Windows was unable to complete the format” error while trying to format a drive on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC? You still have multiple ways to wipe off your drive’s content and format it inyour preferred file system. Here’s how to do that.
Method 1: Format Your Drive Using Command Prompt
When you can’tformat your drivewith Windows' File Explorer, use Command Prompt to format your drive in your preferred format. This achieves the same result as File Explorer.
To start, plug your drive into your PC andopen File Explorer. Note theletter of your drive, as you’ll use it in CMD to format the drive.
Then, open the “Start” menu, find “Command Prompt”, and select “Run as Administrator.”
In the “User Account Control” prompt, select “Yes.”
To now formatyour drive in FAT32 file system, type the following command replacingAwith your drive letter, then press Enter.
To format your drive in NTFS file system, use the following command. Again, replaceAwith the letter of the drive you want to format:
To format your drive in exFAT format, use this command replacingAwith your drive’s letter:
Wait for Command Prompt to finish formatting your drive. When it’s done, your drive is ready.
Related:How to Format USB Drives Larger Than 32GB With FAT32 on Windows
Method 2: Use Disk Management to Format Your Drive
Another way to format your drive when you get a “Windows was unable to complete the format” error is to use Disk Management. This is a graphical utility you can use toformat drives in various file systems on your Windows PC.
To use it for your drive, open the “Start” menu, find “Disk Management”, and select the utility. On the Disk Management window, right-click the drive to format and choose “Format.”
On the “Format” window, configure various options for your drive, like your drive’s new file system. Then, click “OK.”
Disk Management will begin formatting your drive. When that’s done, you may use your drive however you want.
Related:How to Format a Hard Drive or SSD on Windows 11
Method 3: Remove Write-Protection From Your Drive
If you still can’t format your drive, your drive may have write protection enabled. This security feature prevents your drive’s data from being erased.
In this case,turn off your drive’s write-protection featureto format the drive. On most drives, you’ll find a physical toggle that you can flip to enable or disable the protection. Use this toggle on your drive, disable write-protection, and then use the above methods to format your drive.
Related:How to Remove Write Protection on Windows 10
Method 4: Fix File System Errors on Your Drive
One reason you can’t format your drive is that your drive has bad sectors. These file-system issues can prevent you from erasing and adding new data to your drive. In this case, use a built-in Windows option tofind and fix your drive’s bad sectors.
To do that, open File Explorer, right-click your drive, and choose “Properties.” Select the “Tools” tab and click “Check.”
Choose “Scan and Repair Drive” to find and fix file-system issues with your drive.
When your drive’s issues are fixed, try to format it.
Method 5: Scan Your Computer for Viruses
Sometimes, the issue isn’t with your drive but with your computer.Your PC may be infected with a virus or malware, and that item may have blocked your access to your PC’s format feature.
In this case,run a full virus and malware scan on your computerand find and remove all the threats from it. You can do this using any of your antivirus programs, but if you don’t have one, use Windows' built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
First, open the Windows Security app on your PC. In the app, select Virus & Threat Protection > Scan Options.
Enable the “Full Scan” option and select “Scan Now.”
Wait for the antivirus to find and remove all threats from your machine. When that’s done,reboot your PCand try to format your drive.
What to Do If You’re Still Seeing the Format Error
If you’re still getting a “Windows was unable to complete the format” error, format your drive on another device and see if that works. If your drive itself is faulty, it won’t format on other devices, which suggests you need to replace your drive.
Related:How to Erase and Format a USB Drive on Your Mac
You can use an external device like a Windows,Mac, orLinuxcomputer, or even anAndroid phoneto format your drive.
If your drive fails to format on your other devices, consider replacing it with anew SSD driveorUSB drive. This is because your drive has unresolvable issues, and you can’t get rid of your data on it.
