How to Format C Drive from Recovery Console

3 minutes read
Written By
Updated On

There are several ways by which you can format C drive. Among them using recovery console is one of the best methods. Formatting the drive will erase your entire data from it and hence you will lose all the data present on that drive. Therefore before performing format make necessary measures to back up your important data into some safe storage location. Recovery console is accessible on Windows XP or Windows 2000 Setup CD, however there is no requirement of product keys while using recovery console to format the drive.

Steps to format C drive using recovery console

  • First insert one of the setup CD mentioned earlier, and restart your computer. At the beginning select a key combination from the list which can boot the CD; if you do not press the key then the computer will boot to the installed operating system and you may have to again restart the computer
  • Before beginning the recovery console your computer will take much time to load several files in order to prepare reinstall of Windows XP or recovery console. Once all files are successfully loaded you will be displayed with several options to select from, here press R to enter recovery console
  • Recovery console will request you to provide input load to choose any Windows operating, however most of the user will have only one operating system in their computer therefore here you will have only one option
  • Provide admin password to proceed further. After which, the recovery console will be loaded and the cursor will be placed
  • Now, enter format c: /fs:NTFS, here NTFS is the most recommended file system for Windows users
  • Later you will have to confirm that you agree for formatting by pressing Y. This process may take several minutes therefore wait for the process to get completed

These were steps to format C drive using recovery console therefore make sure you do not go wrong as there may be risk of disk corruption leading to data inaccessibility. There are situations where you may format the drive without proper data backup. This will result in loss of your important data from the drive. In such cases, you can use Remo Recover (Windows) tool which can easily restore data after format in just few minutes without causing any damage to the files.

About the Author: Tony Landry

Tony Landry is a Web Content Editor at Remo Software. He loves to write, edit, and manage content for users trying to troubleshoot and fix problems on Windows, Outlook, storage drives, and Cloud storage networks. With an aptitude that transcends writing, Tony is recognized as a Microsoft Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint expert. His comprehensive solutions…