Windows 10: What's the best way to backup a full drive before I format it?

Discus and support What's the best way to backup a full drive before I format it? in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; I have an old OS drive that I'd like to nuke, but I want to backup the OS to a drive in case I ever need to access it. I'd love to keep the boot... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/zWeApOnz, Nov 27, 2020.

  1. What's the best way to backup a full drive before I format it?


    I have an old OS drive that I'd like to nuke, but I want to backup the OS to a drive in case I ever need to access it.

    I'd love to keep the boot information in case I need to actually boot into the OS. If I can't do that, it's not the end of the world.

    Should I use the built in Windows 10 backup utility, or something else?

    Ultimately I'd like to burn this to a Blu-Ray or something.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/zWeApOnz
    [link] [comments]

    :)
     
    /u/zWeApOnz, Nov 27, 2020
    #1
  2. Fernandz Win User

    How To Format A Write Protected Flash Memory ?

    ¿You already tried this one?...

    Run CMD


    1. diskpart
    2. list disk

    Then in the 3º step, put the correct number of disk in the list for the usb flash (if it's listed in disk 3, then you'll have to write select disk 3).

    2. select disk #
    3. clean
    4. create partition primary
    5. select partition 1
    6. active
    7. format fs=fat32
    8. assign
    9. exit

    with that commands you will format the flash drive in fat32, if you have a large drive you can select also "format fs=ntfs" in step 7.

    good luck!
     
    Fernandz, Nov 27, 2020
    #2
  3. Paolo Mag Win User
    want to Format a La Cie External Drive Because the Software Genie 9 has too many versions of backup.

    Hello,

    To format an external USB or an external hard drive you can easily do it by accessing Computer Management. For us to assist you, we suggest that you follow the steps listed below:

    • Press the Start button.
    • Type Computer Management.
    • On the left side, click on Disk Management under Storage.
    • Locate the drive that you want to format.
    • Once located, right-click on the drive and choose Format.

    If the hard drive has not been formatted with the steps that we have provided above, we recommend that you contact the manufacturer of your hard drive. Some hard drive requires a software that you'll need to use just to format it.

    Let us know how it goes and if you need further assistance, feel free to post back.
     
    Paolo Mag, Nov 27, 2020
    #3
  4. What's the best way to backup a full drive before I format it?

    Format an external Drive.

    Hello Roger,

    Thank you for posting your concern in Microsoft Community and welcome to the Windows 10 Family.

    I would suggest you to follow the below steps to format the drive you are referring to.

    • Right Click on Start menu and select Open Computer Management.

    • In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

    • Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.

    • To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click
      OK, and then click OK again.
    Note: You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

    Hope it helps.

    Thank you.
     
    Sayan_Ghosh, Nov 27, 2020
    #4
Thema:

What's the best way to backup a full drive before I format it?

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