Resolve External Hard Drive Not Formatted/Unable to Format Error

External hard drives are among the most popular data storage devices. However, while enjoying their convenience, we might also encounter various issues, such as the hard drive not being recognized, files not showing up on external hard drives, and the issue we'll focus on here – wrong external hard drive format. Format errors come in two scenarios: when the external hard drive needs formatting or when it cannot be formatted. Choose the appropriate solution based on your specific situation to tackle the problem.

Part 1: External Hard Drive Unformatted

"Recently, I encountered a problem with my Seagate 160 GB external hard drive. Whenever I tried to access it, Windows would display a message saying that my hard drive is not formatted and ask me to format it. This is really annoying! Is there any way to fix this issue without losing my data?"

The reason is

Usually, when Windows prompts you that the external hard drive is unformatted, you will find it displayed as RAW in File Explorer or Disk Management. This is because:

• Your storage device's file system might be corrupted due to power failure, sudden ejection, or a virus attack.
• The computer operating system fails to recognize the file.

A file system error is preventing you from accessing the external hard drive, so Windows will prompt you to format the device because formatting will assign a new file system to the external hard drive. With a file system, the hard drive can be used for data storage again. In general, you would need to format a hard drive before using it.

Solution

Some say that running CHKDSK can resolve the “external hard drive not formatted” error. Actually, when you run CHKDSK on a storage medium with file system errors, it will fail to fix the disk, and CHKDSK will report RAW. Therefore, the direct solution is to format the external hard drive directly. If you don't want to lose files on the device, recover data first and then format the hard drive.

Scenario 1: Recover Data from RAW External Hard Drive

When you receive the "You need to format the disk in drive before you can use it" message, you can use a hard drive recovery software like Data Recovery Wizard to retrieve inaccessible files. It can recover data lost due to deletion, formatting, RAW drive, and other scenarios.

Download the software instantly and follow the elaborate steps to retrieve data in advance from an external hard drive.

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Note: To ensure a higher chance of data recovery, install the data recovery tool on a different disk from the formatted one.

Step 1: Launch the Disk Drill data recovery wizard. Select the hard drive partition you accidentally formatted and click “Scan.”

Step 2: The disk formatting recovery software will start scanning all the lost data and files. After the scan is finished, you can click “Filter” to filter files of specific types and quickly find the needed files. Or you can click on “Search for file or folder” to select the data you want to recover.

Step 3: Preview the scanned files. Select the ones you want to recover and click on “Recover.” Choose a new location to save these files and then click “OK.”

Step 2: Format the external hard drive

After saving your external hard drive data to a secure location, you can proceed with formatting. The easiest way to do this is by formatting the external hard drive through File Explorer. Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step 1. Open File Explorer in Windows 10, and then go to Devices and drives.

Step 2. Right-click on your external drive and select "Format."

Step 3: Choose the file system and click "Start".

4. Click “OK” in the warning dialog box to begin formatting the hard drive.

If the external hard drive won't format, skip to the next step.

Part 2: External Hard Drive Won't Format - Formatting Unsuccessful

"I have an LG external hard drive that stopped working one day when I pulled it out without safely ejecting it. Now, my computer recognizes it on F Drive, and Disk Management shows it as healthy (Primary Partition). However, I can't format it. Under File System, the drive is described as RAW. I don't need to recover any data, but it's only six months old and I don't want to throw it away and buy a new one. Any help would be appreciated." — From the How-To Geek forums

When you try to format an internal or external hard drive, you might receive one of the three error messages indicating that the formatting failed:

• "The format operation did not complete successfully."
• "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error."
• "The drive is not accessible. The parameter is incorrect."

The reason is that…

Unlike an external hard drive showing up as needing to be formatted, an external hard drive that can't be formatted can be caused by several issues, including:

• Your storage media is infected with a virus.
• Your hardware drivers are outdated.
• System files (such as DLL, SYS, or EXE files) are missing or corrupted.
• Your hard disk is damaged.

Solution

There are six feasible solutions to fix the “external hard drive won't format” issue, depending on the possible causes:

• 1. Remove Viruses
• 2. Update Hardware Drivers
• 3. Run the System File Checker Utility
• 4. Run CHKDSK
• 5. Format an External Hard Drive with DiskPart
• 6. Delete the Partition and Create a New Volume

Method 1: Get Rid of the Virus

You can run an antivirus program that you have installed on your computer or Windows Defender.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security.

Step 2: Click on Virus & threat protection.

Step 3 Click on “Scan Now” under “Virus History” to scan your computer for viruses.

Run Windows Defender to remove the virus

Method 2: Update your hardware drivers

Outdated hardware drivers can easily lead to hard drive formatting errors. You can resolve this by updating your drivers. This can be done under Disk Management.

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your computer, right-click “This PC” (in Windows 10), and select “Properties.”

Step 2: Click on "Device Manager," then expand "Disk Drives." Locate the problematic USB drive, right-click on it, and select "Update Driver."

Step 3: Click "Search for the driver software automatically online".

Step 4. Wait for the driver to update, then restart your computer. Try formatting your external hard drive again afterward.

Method 3: Run the System File Checker utility

Windows' built-in System File Checker tool can repair missing or corrupted system files, including DLL, SYS, or EXE files that might be causing the external hard drive formatting issue. Here's how to run it:

Step 1: Click on "Start" and type in cmd.

Step 2. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 3: Enter the following commands in order. (The DISM command creates a Windows image that protects your data.)

These are command-line tools used for system repair and maintenance in the Windows operating system: 1. `DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth`: This command uses the System Image Management Service to scan and repair issues within the system image online. It helps restore the integrity of system files, cleans up corrupted or invalid components, and ensures the system is healthy. 2. `sfc /scannow`: This is a command for the System File Checker (SFC) that scans all protected system files, checking their integrity and ensuring they haven't been tampered with. If any corrupted or missing files are found, the SFC will attempt to repair them.

Method 4: Run CHKDSK

If you can't format the external hard drive and the device is not RAW, you can run CHKDSK to fix any possible errors on the disk.

Step 1: Press the Windows key, then type cmd.

Step 2. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 3. Type in chkdsk G: /f and press “Enter.” (Replace “G” with the letter assigned to your external storage device.)

Step 4: Windows will now begin checking and repairing disk errors and corrupted files. Wait for the process to finish.

Method 5: Format External Hard Drive via DiskPart or Third-party Software

As mentioned above, there are more than one ways to format a hard drive. If it fails via File Explorer, you can try again with DiskPart or a third-party disk formatting utility. To use DiskPart:

Step 1: Press “Win + R,” type in diskpart, and hit Enter. Click “Yes” when prompted to run diskpart.exe.

Step 2. Enter the following commands in order:

List Volumes
Select Volume X (where "X" represents the drive letter of the RAW drive)
Format fs=ntfs quick (or format fs=fat32 quick)
Exit

Method 6: Delete the partition and create a new volume

If the above methods don't work, you can try deleting the partition and creating a new volume.

Step 1. Right-click on "This PC" and select "Manage."

Step 2: Right click on the problematic disk or partition and select "Delete Volume". Confirm deletion by selecting "Yes" at the "Delete Simple Volume" prompt.

Step 3: The deleted partition will then show up as “Unallocated” space. Right-click on the “Unallocated” space and select “New Simple Volume…”

Step 4: Click Next in the New Simple Volume Wizard to continue.

Step 5: Specify the size of the volume, assign a drive letter, and format the partition as instructed by the wizard.

Create new volume

Bottom line

Many users have reported encountering the external hard drive not formatted error after forcefully ejecting their devices. Hence, it's crucial to use the "Safely Remove" option to detach any external storage devices. The causes for an external hard drive not formatting can vary. However, regardless of whether you're dealing with an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or SD card, practicing good usage habits is essential. We hope the solutions presented in this article were helpful to you.