The C Drive is probably where you installed the Windows operating system. That is why, Windows might refuse to format the drive. However, there is a way by which we can do the same with the help of the Command Prompt. In this post, we will learn how to delete or format C drive using the Command Prompt.
Format C drive using Command Prompt
All this is assuming you can still boot into Windows 11/10 in a regular way. If you cannot, the only way is to use a bootable USB drive. You can then use the advanced recovery.
- Reset Windows
- Format drive using Advanced Recovery
- Bootable USB Drive
You will have to use the Format command to format any partition. If you wish to delete a portion, then you can use the Diskpart Utility.
1] Reset Windows
Windows offers a built-in solution that allows you to Reset or Refresh the PC. While the latter is when you need to get rid of all extra stuff on the computer, the form allows you to clean wipe the PC, but keep Windows installed. That makes it easy to hand over the computer.
This is not exactly the command prompt method but it solves the purpose where you wanted to delete the C Drive.
Read: How to format a USB drive in NTFS File System in Windows.
2] Format drive using Advanced Recovery
You can boot into Advanced Recovery from Windows without the need for a bootable drive.
On Windows 11, open Settings, go to System > Recovery > Advanced startup and click on Restart now.
Windows 10 users, need to open Settings > Update and Security > Recovery > Advanced Startup. Click on Restart Now button and it will take you directly into Advanced Recovery.
Here you can choose to open a command prompt, and then use the FORMAT command to delete everything from the C Drive.
You can also use the Diskpart tool to delete partitions and create a new one from scratch.
Read: How to Format a Hard Drive or Disk?
3] Bootable USB Drive
If you are unable to boot into your computer for any reason, and you need to format everything, then the only option is a Bootable USB Drive.
It will take you to the advanced recovery where you follow the same option as above. You can also use it to reinstall Windows 11/10 which will in turn format everything on the computer.
Formatting or Deleting the C Drive i.e. Reseting Windows 11/10 is easy now.
You can follow any of these methods, but make sure to always take a backup of all the files on your computer. Once the formatting is complete, you will not be able to recover data.
Read: How to format a drive in exFAT so it works on both Windows and Mac.
How to reformat a C drive using cmd?
To reformat the C drive using cmd, use the command: format c: /fs:NTFS which will basically format the drive with the NTFS file system. To format drive C with a different file system, use a different format command and enter the volume label (C).
Also Read: Windows cannot format this drive, Quit any disk utilities or other programs that are using this drive.
