How to Format a Removable Disk When It's Not Accessible

You can format a hard drive that is unaccessible by using the Windows setup program.

When you connect an external hard drive or USB flash drive to your PC computer, the drive should appear in the "Computer" window. However, if the data on the drive is corrupted, you may receive an error saying that the disk is not accessible. In order to get the removable disk working again, you will need to boot up your computer using the Windows installation disk and then format the corrupted drive.

Instructions

1. Connect the removable disk to your computer.

2. Insert the Windows installation disk into your optical drive and reboot the system.

3. Press any key on the keyboard when you see the prompt asking if you want to boot to the CD.

4. Press "Next" and then click on the "I accept the license terms" button.

5. Click "Custom" when the program asks you what type of installation you want to perform.

6. Click on the "Drive options (advanced)" button. The next window will display a list of all the hard drives connected to your computer. The removable disk will appear, even if its data is inaccessible.

7. Highlight the removable disk that you want to format and then choose the "NTFS" option. Click "OK" to clear the data and format the hard drive.

References

• Windows: Installing and Reinstalling Windows 7