Formatting this volume could cause your computer to stop working”.Īctually, you cannot format C drive like other drives in Windows. It contains the version of Windows that you are using. However, when you try to format C drive with either File Explorer or Disk Management, you will always receive the error message “ You cannot format this volume. Follow the onscreen instructions to finish the process.Īlternatively, you can use Disk Management to format it.Right-click the partition you want to format and select Format.Double-click This PC from desktop to open File Explorer.Usually, if you want to format a partition, you can: In this case, I recommend you wipe the hard drive to protect your privacy. You can format the drive to achieve it, but formatted hard drive can be recovered by some third-party software. Erase data: as there might be personal data in your hard drive, you need to erase these data before recycling or donating it.In this case, you can format C drive with the system setup installer during reinstalling process. Reinstall operating system: when your system crashes and you cannot boot your computer, or you want to install a new OS, you can format C drive and reinstall system.You can format C drive to remove virus and protect your computer. Remove virus and malware: it could be dangerous if your operating system is attacked by virus or malware, because your files might be damaged, lost or even leaked to third parties.Why do users still want to format C drive? There are some common reasons for formatting C drive: You need pay attention to that you will lose all the data in the partition you formatted.Ĭ drive is usually the system partition on a computer, and you will lose the operating system and cannot boot your computer if you format C drive. In this process, file system will be created to get partition ready to store new data. How to Format C Drive with MiniTool Partition Wizardįormatting refers to the process of preparing a new partition or remove existing data on a hard drive or USB storage devices.How to Format C Drive with Windows Installation Media.Back Up Your C Drive Before You Format It.MiniTool Solution provides some methods to format C drive easily. Do you fail to format C drive using File Explorer or Disk Management? Actually, you cannot format C drive while running the operating system because the OS is stored in C drive.

Windows disk formatting