Low Level Format
Low-Level Formatting – – a three-word phrase that you must have heard from those geeks, but might not be able to understand what it means. Well, if your curiosity is piqued now, we’ll be discussing what, when, why, and how of Low-Level Formatting? Keep reading!
What Is Low-Level Formatting?
Several users might not know this, but formatting a hard drive has many levels. Most of us are only familiar with one type of hard disk formatting, which we use khổng lồ erase all the data from the storage. However, there are a few lesser-known format options, including Low-Level Format which we will be talking about in this article!
Low-Level Formatting (aka physical formatting) is a hard disk operation that is used khổng lồ prepare a hard drive by creating the actual sectors, tracks, cylinders, & control structures required for reading & writing data on the drive. One of the common applications of low-level formatting includes erasing all the data from the hard drive, making recovery almost impossible. The whole process is executed in two levels: Formatting the HDD > Packing up the storage spaces with Zero Value (aka a Zero-filling hard drive).
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When To vị Low-Level Formatting?
Well, the procedure is commonly conducted on MFM Drives of the past, because over time the thermal expansion problems associated with using stepper motor actuators occasionally move the tracks on the platers & when they are not in the position as expected, a potential mix of errors start appearing. But this problem can be easily fixed by performing low-level format, as it completely rewrites the tracks in a fresh position that the stepper motor moves the heads to.
The current standard SATA is already preformatted from the factory. Therefore, you might not need to lớn perform a low-level format on the latest devices.
DID YOU KNOW?
You should never attempt to perform low-level formatting on a DE/ATA or SCSI hard disk because there’s a high probability that you may kết thúc up damaging something. This is because the driver controller is programmed in a way to avoid any kind of LLF Attempts!
Why To bởi HDD Low-Level Formatting?
The procedure sounds like something you might want to vày before giving away your hard disk khổng lồ someone else. Or, in case you are about to lớn discard an old system that contained sensitive data, you should consider performing low-level formatting, so that not even professional data recovery software can restore your private files/folders and other data. Besides, if there are any suspected issues with data integrity, you should vì chưng Low-level formatting. The HDD Format process even helps if you want to remove malware that cannot be eradicated without destroying the boot sector.
STEP 4 = You need to lớn click the Yes button lớn move ahead!
STEP 5 = At this point, navigate lớn the Low-Level Format tab and select the Format This Device option to lớn start the HDD formatting process!
As soon as the process gets completed, you’ve successfully low-level formatted your HDD. But that is certainly not enough! Wondering why? Keep reading!
IMPORTANT STEP – Run EaseUS Partition Master
By now we’ve understood the fact that the process of low-level formatting is related to zero-filling it so that no data can be recovered & everything is re-initialized. But the process hasn’t finished yet! Now you have lớn put the Low-level formatted drive lớn normal use. The HDD must undergo the following steps:
Low-level format (which is already conducted in steps above)Making PartitionsAnd High-level format!All these steps are necessary before your system can store the data again!
Must-Read: 7 Best Disk Partition Manager Software For Windows 10, 8, 7
DID YOU KNOW?
What is the difference between Low-Level Formatting & High-Level Formatting?
Well, the first process is conducted to lớn wipe the hard drive completely và irreversibly và prepare it for storing files by making dedicated sectors and tracks on the drive. Whereas, the latter process is performed only on a hard disk that has sectors và tracks successfully formatted. This type of formatting is important because this is where the actual data like OS is written onto the drive sectors to further create file/system structures.
So, How EaseUS Partition Master Helps?
Use the professional utility to lớn partition & format partitions on the low-level formatted HDD. Khổng lồ proceed with the method, make sure you create partitions. You can create either a FAT or NTFS partition, according to lớn the physical disk capability.
STEP 1 = Download & install EaseUS Partition Master.
STEP 3 = A small box will appear on your screen, where you need to lớn fill the following fields. Refer to the screenshot below. Click OK once done!
STEP 4 = A warning message will appear on your screen, asking about your confirmation to lớn permanently erase the target partition. Hit the OK button to proceed!
STEP 5 = Now you just need khổng lồ click the Execute Operation option > Click Apply button to initiate the formatting process of the hard drive partition.
It’s a professional partition management utility that comes with numerous options for moving, resizing, formatting partitions according to lớn the Hard disk efficiency!
2. DISKPART
If you don’t want to lớn install a third-party HDD low level format tool on your system, you can use the built-in command line khổng lồ execute low-level formatting. Simply follow the instructions below:
How lớn Use This free Hard Disk Low-Level Format Tool?
STEP 1 = Launch Command Prompt & run in Administration mode.
STEP 2 = Type diskpart in the window và hit Enter!
As soon as you vày that, you will be asked whether you want to xuất hiện the utility, click yes and proceed.
STEP 3 = On the diskpart window, you need to type the command line: list disk & press Enter button khổng lồ execute it.
STEP 4 = From the listed disks, you need to lớn identify the disk you wish khổng lồ format.
STEP 5 = To select the disk, simply type: select disk (add the disk number).
For example, we want to lớn format Disk 1. So, the command line goes: select disk 1
STEP 6 = Now the main step: to lớn completely clear all partitions & data by doing zero-filling (Low-level formatting) simply type: clean all
STEP 7 = Keep patience as the entire process can take a significant amount of time, depending on the data stored on your system.
STEP 8 = As soon as the hard disk low-level formatting is completed, you need to lớn execute the following command lines:
create partition primary
(As soon as the new partition is created, you need to format it)
format fd=ntfs quick
(As soon as the new partition is formatted, you need lớn allocate a drive letter)
assign
After assigning the drive letter, you can use EaseUS Partition Master for further assistance!
3. AOMEI Partition Assistant
If you are not familiar with Diskpart utility on Windows, fret not, because you can utilize another best low-level format tool to easily zero-fill the hard drive on Windows 10, 8, 7. Meet – AOMEI Partition Assistant – – It is a reliable disk partitioning and formatting software & allows you to have complete control over hard disks and partitions. Using the tool, you can easily create, merge, delete, copy, format partitions & do much more. Khổng lồ initiate the process of low-level formatting all you have to bởi vì is:
How to lớn Use This HDD Low cấp độ Format Tool?
STEP 1 = Download và install AOMEI Partition Assistant.
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STEP 3 = From the new pop-up that appears on the screen, select option Fill sectors with Zero and hit the OK button.
STEP 4 = Now click the Apply button as referred khổng lồ in the screenshot to initiate the pending operation – – Low-level formatting process on Windows 10, 8, 7.
That’s it as soon as the process gets completed, all the existing data will be wiped successfully.
Must-Read: Oops! l Accidentally Deleted A Hard Drive Partition On Windows 10! Now What?
4. Hãng sản xuất intel Memory & Storage Tool
This method is only for SATA devices compatible with Windows 7 & NVMe devices compatible with all operating systems. If you fulfill the prerequisites, you can follow this workaround to start low-level formatting HDD.
This method will only work, if you adhere khổng lồ the following requirements:
How khổng lồ Use This HDD Low-Level Formatting Software?
STEP 1 = Download & install intel Memory & Storage Tool on your system’s primary drive.
STEP 4 = Hit the Erase button to initiate the low-level formatting process!
STEP 5 = A warning message will appear on your screen, asking your confirmation to permanently delete everything stored on hãng sản xuất intel SSD. Click the Yes button khổng lồ proceed!
STEP 6 = Keep patience as the entire process can take a significant amount of time, depending on the storage size.
Once low-level formatting is done, you can take the help of professional partition management utilities like EaseUS Partition Master or AOMEI Partition Assistant to further make & format partitions successfully!
Must-Read: Fix Partition Loss Issue With Best Partition Recovery Tools For Windows
5. Lowvel
There’s another lesser-known hard disk low-level format tool – – Lowvel that helps users to lớn securely erase data irreversibly (low-level formatting) from various data storage devices. The không tính tiền application overwrites the data stored on the system with zeroes (known as zero-filling) khổng lồ help you get rid of numerous issues.
How lớn Use This Low-Level Format Windows 10 Program?
STEP 1 = Download & install Lowvel software on your Windows system.
STEP 3 = Lowvel allows you to specify a sector range that you wish khổng lồ delete.
STEP 4 = Hit the Erase button to start the data cleaning process. As soon as you click the option, the irreversible process of zero-filling all the sectors on the selected device is started.
You have the option khổng lồ Cancel the process in between & simply return khổng lồ the main menu or Stop the process khổng lồ resume later!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1. Which is the best low-level format tool?
Undoubtedly HDD Low cấp độ Format (LLF) is the best tool in the market. The nifty program will securely vày zero-filling hard drive – – The process of re-initialization of the disk to factory settings by writing a zero byte to lớn every location on the drive.
Q2. Which is the best free hard disk formatting tool?
EaseUS Partition Master comes with a free version for formatting hard disks. Alternatively, you can choose the Paragon Partition Manager (free) version khổng lồ complete the task.
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Q3. Is there a free HDD low-level format utility?
You can rely on Diskpart, the built-in Windows utility to format hard disks at no cost.
Q4. Is it bad to vì low-level formatting on a hard disk?
No, as long as you know what you are doing while low-level formatting, no harm will be caused to your system. Besides, it is a useful way khổng lồ get rid of plenty of hard disk issues!
