Unable to format D: drive, no add'l info in error

[totallyhelpless]

I'm going to preface this with admitting that I have no idea what I'm doing and only know that I want this drive clean!

I have two hard drives, one of which (the D: drive) I'm trying to format by right-clicking it and selecting Format. The C drive is where I'm running Windows 7 from, but when I go to Computer Management -> Disk Management, it shows this:


I read somewhere that having the Page File active on the D: drive would prevent it from being formatted, but you can see there that it is not active on my D: drive. When I right-click -> Format the D: drive from My Computer screen, Capacity is set to 186 GB (the only option), File system is set to NTFS (Default) (the only option) and Allocation unit size is automatically set to 4096 bytes. For Format Options, only Quick Format is available and already has a checkmark next to it. When I click Start, it says "WARNING: Formatting with erase ALL data on this disk. To format the disk, click OK. To quit, click CANCEL." So, I click OK, and immediately a small window pops up that says "Windows was unable to complete the format."

This D: drive used to be my OS drive before I built this new computer and put my OS on the 500GB. I can't remember what caused it, but I was unable to format this D: drive and clean up all the files on it before, so right now it's sitting here with a whole Windows folder full of stuff I can't delete, and I don't know if that would be affecting this or not. All I know is that my current OS is on my C: drive (and I'm almost 100% positive about this, I swear!) and that I can't format this D: drive with that handy Format option in the right-click menu. I should also add that I do not have a Windows CD, or a disc drive for that matter. Also, in the Boot tab of the System Configuration window, it says "Windows 7 (C:\Windows) : Current OS; Default OS", so I have no idea why that screenshot shows the D drive as System, Active.

Anyone out there that can help?

 

[pscowboy]

Your boot files (active flag) are on the D. That's why W7 won't let you format it.

When you clean install W7, you should have no other hd running.

If you don't have a W7 disc, how did you install on the 500g?

In DiskMgmt try adding the active flag to the C: drive. Right-click the C drive and mark partition as active. Reboot.

If that worked, you should now be able to format D.

 

[VistaKing]

You could try Diskpart

Open command prompt by clicking on rb: typing CMD in the Search box . Right click on CMD and choose Run as administrator . Your command prompt should open to C:\Windows\System32>_ type in the commands below

Diskpart
List disk

   Note

You should see Disk 0 which is your D drive and Disk 1 is your C drive

Select disk 0
Clean

   Note

Clean command will wipe your D drive

 

[pscowboy]

Don't forget to set active flag on C drive first. Otherwise you won't boot.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

You could try Diskpart

Open command prompt by clicking on rb: typing CMD in the Search box . Right click on CMD and choose Run as administrator . Your command prompt should open to C:\Windows\System32>_ type in the commands below

Diskpart
List disk

   Note

You should see Disk 0 which is your D drive and Disk 1 is your C drive

Select disk 0
Clean

   Note

Clean command will wipe your D drive

Absolutely VK http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/52129-disk-clean-clean-all-diskpart-command.html

 

[nilank]

First check where your Windows folder really is. Is it on C: or D: ? You're not able to format D: because it is marked as "System, active". Though your bootmanager seems to reside on C:. Pretty weird. You even have labeled your D: as "Windows 7". Check and please do report back.

Regards

 

[ICIT2LOL]

First check where your Windows folder really is. Is it on C: or D: ? You're not able to format D: because it is marked as "System, active". Though your bootmanager seems to reside on C:. Pretty weird. You even have labeled your D: as "Windows 7". Check and please do report back.

Regards

Might not be nilank as you can see C: has boot on it and is a Windows default letter.

Just thought install and run this http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

right click on the partition and then Explore it will tell you whats in there.

 

[nilank]

First check where your Windows folder really is. Is it on C: or D: ? You're not able to format D: because it is marked as "System, active". Though your bootmanager seems to reside on C:. Pretty weird. You even have labeled your D: as "Windows 7". Check and please do report back.

Regards

Might not be nilank as you can see C: has boot on it and is a Windows default letter.

Just thought install and run this Best Free Partition Manager Freeware and free partition magic for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows XP 32 bit & 64 bit. MiniTool Free Partition Manager Software Home Edition.

right click on the partition and then Explore it will tell you whats in there.

Though his/her Boot is on C:, but D: is marked as "System". This point should be noted.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep well it will soon show up when the OP opens up that PW and explores. That D: might just be an image for all we know.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Actually it can be explored from the computer management but this is what I see in mine and you cn see boot in the small 100MB partition in C: - X: is the same but does not have a boot ref on either partition.



I have to adnit the shots the OP sent us is rather confusing.

 

[nilank]

Windows 7 creates a separate 100MB "Reserved" partition in some* cases during installation. The boot manager is put into that partition (this doesn't have any drive letter) and the OS is put on the next partition ( C: ), I suppose.

*I have no idea of what can those cases be. :huh:

OP's shots are damn confusing that's why I asked him for confirmation.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Windows 7 creates a separate 100MB "Reserved" partition in some* cases during installation. The boot manager is put into that partition (this doesn't have any drive letter) and the OS is put on the next partition ( C: ), I suppose.

*I have no idea of what can those cases be. :huh:

OP's shots are damn confusing that's why I asked him for confirmation.

I agree nilank the drives the OP showed are not typical at all to be absolutely honest.
I wasn't saying that small partition had to be lettered more that the C: as you say is allocated to the OS by default as in my own C: drive shot which is my SSD boot drive the X: is my imaging drive I partitioned it that way out of habit rather than intent as I do all install drives as per the tutorial by whs that makes for correct alignment of SSD's.

I think we are both getting a little bemused by what has or is going on wouldn't you agree??

I suppose too he / she is now in night time so why we haven't heard back.

 

[nilank]

I think we are both getting a little bemused by what has or is going on wouldn't you agree??

I suppose too he / she is now in night time so why we haven't heard back.

Yeah, seems to be. Let him/her get up and report back (it's around 7am there, lol, we must be proud we're always ahead in time from the US guys, haha lol )

 

[ICIT2LOL]

I think we are both getting a little bemused by what has or is going on wouldn't you agree??

I suppose too he / she is now in night time so why we haven't heard back.

Yeah, seems to be. Let him/her get up and report back (it's around 7am there, lol, we must be proud we're always ahead in time from the US guys, haha lol )

Yep sometimes a curse though when travelling back from my native UK the time gets really out of whack LOL!!

 

[nilank]

I think we are both getting a little bemused by what has or is going on wouldn't you agree??

I suppose too he / she is now in night time so why we haven't heard back.

Yeah, seems to be. Let him/her get up and report back (it's around 7am there, lol, we must be proud we're always ahead in time from the US guys, haha lol )

Yep sometimes a curse though when travelling back from my native UK the time gets really out of whack LOL!!

Ha ha lol, you're a time traveler!!

Seems like OP was just another one-time poster.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

So if so nilank I am not real impressed as it has taken up so much time up to now. I suppose thee could e a problem with the machine going south but you would have thought we would have heard back by now.

Oh well the OP does then we can deal with it then.

 

[denneny]

I have same issue. In my case the drive contains a Windows folder with a System Volume. It will not let me format drive. I too am looking for a way to clean the drive.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

I have same issue. In my case the drive contains a Windows folder with a System Volume. It will not let me format drive. I too am looking for a way to clean the drive.

Hello and welcome denneny mate not being funny but start another (new) thread as you will get more replies as this one is linked though to me and a few others and there have been problems in this thread.

If you put it in Hardware & Devices it will get you help straight away as there will always be watching new posts and I can see from here that it is not too difficult a problem.