How to Format C From Recovery Console

Format C from recovery console in Windows XP & 2000

By
Tim Fisher
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Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on June 21, 2022

What to Know

  • Open Recovery Console > enter format c: /fs:NTFS > enter Y to confirm > wait for process to complete.
  • Formatting C drive removes current operating system. Starting up computer will require OS installation.

This article explains how to format your C drive from Recovery Console in Windows XP and Windows 2000. Recovery Console does not install Windows and you will not need a product key to use Recovery Console.

How to Format C From Recovery Console

You must have Windows XP or Windows 2000 on your C drive. Borrowing a friend's disc is fine since you won't actually be installing Windows. It could take up to several minutes to format C using Recovery Console. Follow these steps to format C drive using Recovery Console:

If you can't get your hands on a Windows XP or 2000 Setup CD, or you don't have one of those operating systems on your C drive, then you won't be able to format C from Recovery Console. See How to Format C for more options.

  1. Enter Recovery Console.

    If you don't already know how to start Recovery Console, just click the link above. The process is a little confusing but if you can follow step by step instructions, you'll be fine.

  2. At the prompt, type the following and then press Enter: 

    format c: /fs:NTFS

    The format command used in this way will format C with the NTFS file system, the recommended file system for use in most versions of Windows.

    The drive that Windows is stored on, which is usually C, may in fact not be identified as the C drive from Recovery Console. In most cases it will but if you have multiple partitions, it's possible that your primary drive might be identified by a different letter than you're used to seeing. Be sure you're formatting the correct drive!

  3. Type Y and then press Enter when prompted with the following warning: 

    CAUTION: All data on non-removable disk drive C: will be lost! Proceed with Format (Y/N)?

    Take this seriously! You can not change your mind after pressing Enter! Be very certain that you want to format C, which will delete everything on your C drive and prevent your computer from starting until you install a new operating system.

  4. Wait while the format of your C drive completes.

    Formatting a drive of any size will take some time; formatting a large drive may take a very long time.

  5. After the format counter reaches 100%, your computer will pause for several seconds. All you need to do is wait.

    format command in the Windows XP Recovery Console

  6. Once the prompt returns, you can remove the Windows Setup CD and turn off your computer. There is no need to exit the Recovery Console or do anything else.

You remove your entire operating system when you format C. This means that when you restart your computer and attempt to boot from your hard drive, it won't work because there's no longer anything there to load. What you'll get instead is an "NTLDR is missing" error message, meaning there was no operating system found.

More on Formatting C From Recovery Console

When you format C from the Recovery Console, you don't truly erase any information, all you do is hide it from the next operating system installed.

See our article on How to Wipe a Hard Drive if you actually want to destroy the data on the drive, preventing it from ever being recovered.

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