If you think that notepad is useless then you are wrong because you can do many unexpected things with notepad. Know here how to format C drive using Notepad.
Many of us use desktops, laptops, tablets etc. for various computing and online transaction purposes. Information is stored on to the hard disk drive of the system which is the physical memory unit. This hard disk can be compartmentalized into different drives to store data in a meaningful order.
Formatting is the process of preparing a new drive or cleaning up of an existing drive of a computer. This process can be extended to external hard drives, storage devices, memory sticks etc. If a drive that consists of data gets formatted there is higher rate of data loss and hence formatting of a drive must be done judicially after taking the backup of the data from the drive.
Types of formatting
There are two types of formatting:
- Low level formatting – This formatting is used as the basic preparation of a physical drive. After formatting, the drive would be divided into blocks to store the files that this is called as partition.
- High level formatting – The installation of the boot sector is called as high level formatting. The setup of empty file system is also called as high level formatting.
How to format a drive
The conventional method of formatting a drive is by running ‘format’ command in Command Prompt (cmd) mode. Several conditions can be suffixed to this command for carrying out a ‘conditional formatting.’ When the ‘format’ command is run the system would ask for the confirmation from the user to proceed. This is a precautionary measure as the formatting can permanently delete the data stored on the drive that is being formatted.
New formatting technique
Recently a peculiar formatting technique has been unveiled by some enthusiasts. It would be a big wonder to know that the new formatting is being done by using ‘Notepad’. Until recently, we know Notepad as a simple word processor with minimalist menus. But now it can be used for formatting a system. It might sound unbelievable but many people have said that it really works. Let us see how these enthusiasts have used the Notepad to kick start the formatting process.
Formatting Method 1:
- Open a Notepad file and type the usual cmd command i.e. ‘format C:’ and add conditions for quick formatting etc.
- Type the command for formatting other drives like D, E, F etc.
- Ensure that the command lines are typed in separate lines and one below the other.
- Now, save this Notepad file with any name but with .exe extension.
- Run the file and it should start the formatting almost instantenously.
Formatting Method 2:
- Copy/paste the below code into a Notepad file
01001011000111110010010101010101010000011111100000
- Choose a file name of your choice and save the file as an executable file with .exe extension.
- Run the exe file for starting the formatting.
Note: Do not alter the code that is given above but use it as is given.
A word of caution:
Do not test the above methods on a system or on a drive that contains valuable information as it can wipe out the entire information. Instead try them on a spare system.
Hope this article about how to format C drive using Notepad helped you.