Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Format — \windows\system32\format.com

Synopsis

Prepare floppy diskettes , hard disks, and some removable media for use.

To Open

Command Prompt → format.com

Usage

format volume [/q] [/c] [/x] [/v:label] [/fs:file-system] [/a:size]

Description

Before data can be stored on a floppy disk, hard disk, or many removable media disks (like Zip disks), the disk must be formatted. This process creates various low-level data structures on the disk, such as the filesystem (FAT, FAT32, NTFS, etc.). It also tests the disk surface for errors and stores bad sectors in a table that will keep them from being used. If there’s any data on the disk, it will be erased.

The options for Format are:

volume

The drive letter, followed by a colon, containing the media to be formatted. For example, to format the floppy in drive A:, type:

format a:

If the specified drive is a hard disk, you’ll be prompted to verify that you actually want to erase the disk.

/q

Performs a “quick” format, a process that only wipes out the file table, resulting in an empty disk. This option does not check for bad sectors, nor does it rewrite the filesystem. Also, it does not write over data on the disk, meaning that files could potentially be recovered or “undeleted.” The advantage of the /q option is that you can erase a disk in a few seconds.

/c

Files created on the new volume are compressed by default (NTFS volumes only).

/x

Forces the volume to dismount first, if necessary. All opened handles to the volume would no longer be valid. ...