FORMAT

Formats a disk for use with Windows.

FORMAT volume [/FS:filesystem] [/V:label] [/Q] [/L[:state]] [/A:size] [/C] [/I:state] [/X] [/P:passes] [/S:state] [/R:revision] [/TXF:state] [/DAX[:state]] [/LOGSIZE[:size]] [/NOREPAIRLOGS] [/NOTRIM] [/DEVDRV] [/Y]
FORMAT volume [/V:label] [/Q] [/F:size | /T:tracks /N:sectors] [/P:passes]

Where:

  • volume - Specifies the drive letter (followed by a colon :), mount point, or volume name.
  • /FS:filesystem - Specifies the file system type (FAT, FAT32, exFAT, UDF, NTFS, or ReFS).
  • /V:label - Specifies the volume label.
  • /Q - Performs a quick format (overrides /P).
  • /P:passes - Specifies the number of passes to zero out individual sectors on the volume. If passes is zero, all sectors on the volume will be zeroed out. This option is ignored when /Q is specified.
  • /C - NTFS only: Files created on the new volume are compressed.
  • /X - Forces the volume to be unmounted first if necessary. All open handles to the volume will become invalid.
  • /A:size - Overrides the default allocation unit size (in bytes, if K is placed after the size then in kilobytes. Ex: in bytes /A:16384, in kilobytes /A:16K). The default settings are recommended for general use.
    • ReFS supports 4096, 64K.
    • NTFS supports 512, 1024 (1K), 2048 (2K), 4096 (4K), 8192 (8K), 16K (16384), 32K (32768), 64K (65536), 128K (131072), 256K (262144), 512K, 1M, 2M.
    • FAT and FAT32 support 512, 1024 (1K), 2048 (2K), 4096 (4K), 8192 (8K), 16K (16384), 32K (32768), 64K (65536), and for sector sizes greater than 512 bytes: 128K (131072), 256K (262144).
    • exFAT supports 512, 1024 (1K), 2048 (2K), 4096 (4K), 8192 (8K), 16K (16384), 32K (32768), 64K (65536), 128K (131072), 256K (262144), 512K, 1M, 2M, 4M, 8M, 16M, 32M.
  • /R:revision - UDF only: Forces a specific UDF version for formatting (1.02, 1.50, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50). The default revision is 2.01.
  • /D - UDF 2.50 only: Metadata will be duplicated.
  • /L[:state] - NTFS only: Overrides the default file record size. By default, a non-tiered volume will be formatted with a small file record, while a tiered volume will be formatted with a large file record. /L and /L:ENABLE force the use of large file records, while /L:DISABLE forces the use of small file records.
  • /S:state - Specifies support for short file names. Instead of state, specify ENABLE or DISABLE. Short names are disabled by default.
  • /I:state - ReFS only: Specifies whether integrity should be enabled on the new volume. Instead of state, specify ENABLE or DISABLE. Integrity is enabled on storage spaces that support data redundancy by default.
  • /DAX[:state] - NTFS only: Enables Direct Access (DAX) memory mode for this volume. In DAX mode, the volume is accessed over the memory bus, improving input/output performance. A volume can be formatted with DAX mode only if the hardware supports it. Instead of state, specify ENABLE or DISABLE. /DAX is equivalent to /DAX:ENABLE.
  • /LOGSIZE[:size] - Specifies the size for the NTFS log file in KB. The minimum supported size is 2 MB, so specifying a size less than 2 MB will result in a 2 MB log file. /LOGSIZE:0 indicates the default value, which usually depends on the size of the volume.
  • /NOREPAIRLOGS - NTFS only: Disables NTFS repair logs. If this option is specified, the spotfix function (for example, CHKDSK /SPOTFIX, see CHKDSKCHKDSK) will not work.
  • /NOTRIM - Ignores sending cuts (i.e. deletion notifications) during formatting.
  • /DEVDRV - ReFS only: Formats the volume as a development drive. A development drive, or developer volume, is a volume that is optimized for performance in development scenarios. Gives administrators control over which mini-filters are attached to this volume.
  • /SHA256CHECKSUMS - ReFS only: Uses SHA-256 in all operations involving checksums.
  • /Y - Does not require forcing the volume to unmount if necessary and assumes a blank label when no label is specified.
  • /F:size - Specifies the size of the floppy disk to format.
  • /T:tracks - Specifies the number of tracks per side of the disc.
  • /N:sectors - Specifies the number of sectors per track.

Examples:

1. Format the disk W: specifying the file system type as FAT32, and specifying that the size is 64 KB:

format w: /fs:fat32 /a:64k

 

2. Quickly format the disk T: specifying 5 tracks per disk side and 10 sectors per track:

format t: /q /t:5 /n:10

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