Windows 10: Format SSD drive or any drive

Hello,


When I perform a quick format of my SSD drive then I experienced problems/conflicts when I have reinstalled Windows 10 on my SSD drive afterwards compared to a slow(deep) format of my SSD drive! When I do a slow format of my SSD drive then I experience no problems/conflicts after reinstalling my Windows 10!


So when an installation of Windows 10 goes for example 10 layers deep with all other programs we install then why does a fast format goes only 5 layers deep? Then you should create the program which is created for a fast format and goes only 5 layers deep to keep formatting the next 5 layers when you perform a 2nd or 3rd fast format so that it gets formatted the same way as a slow(deep) format when you perform a quick format for 100 times!


I have a SSD drive of 1 Terabyte and takes 2 hours to perform a slow format but I have to do it for not experiencing any problems afterwards with rest of installation information that is left on the hard drive!


That shouldn't be a problem to program the fast format to keep formatting for example the NEXT 5 layers so that it format only 5 layers each time but the next ones so then it passes the layers that has already been format!


Best Regards,

Thomas

:)

 

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.

 

Cloning to SSD then swapping drive letters


@SamHobbs
What you want done is very simple and can be done in short period of time. Here's my suggestion:
There's 2 modes that Windows can be installed: UEFI and the old legacy MBR. Open Disk Management, look at the disk where your C drive is, if there's a

1. EFI System Partition, your Windows was installed using UEFI.
2. System Reserved partition, your Windows was installed using MBR

Next, Connect your SSD to an available Sata port (no need to format or do anything). Download: Macrium Reflect Free . Install and run. Follow the steps below:

1. From Macrium, click on image this disk under your C drive and save it to either an Internal or External Drive. This will create a single backup image of the whole disk containing your C drive.
2. Again, from Macrium, click on Restore tab and select the image created from step 1, Select your SSD as the destination drive, click Next->Finish
3. Exit Macrium. If your Windows was installed using MBR, Open disk management and make sure the SSD is marked "Active" else go to next step.
4. Shutdown your PC. Disconnect the HD containing Windows C drive then connect your SSD to it.
5. Reboot. Your PC should boot and the Windows should have C as the drive letter.

NOTE: The procedure above is to backup your Windows to an image file then copy it back to the SSD. This ensures proper cluster size aligment for the SSD. In addition, Macrium also perform Trimming for the SSD. This is more preferable than cloning.

 

Formatting 960 GB SSD Drive in Windows 10

To begin, I have 2 SSD drives that I have plugged in with an external adaptor. One I have music on and it is recognized by Win10. The other is a brand new drive that I just installed into the external adaptor. The adaptor holds 2 drives. Every time I
try to access the new drive (listed at 'F' on my computer) I get a window that states I must format the drive. I click through to format. After some time while Windows is supposedly formatting the drive, I get a window that the format failed. I have tried
this several times using Disk Management, right clicking on the drive and selecting Format Drive and the above directions. All have failed.

How do I format this drive so that I can use it?

Every time I go to Help or Support, I keep getting directions for Windows 7 or 8. Those directions are useless.

Thanks,