How to Format an NTFS Partition in DOS

By Kyle Anderson

The MS-DOS prompt (the command prompt application) is a command-line program where you can execute a variety of different programs on your computer. One of these programs allows you to format a partition in the NTFS file system so your computer can use the partition to store information.

Open an MS-DOS command prompt by clicking "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories" and then "Command Prompt."

Type "format drive_letter: /fs:ntfs" into the command prompt, without quotes and substituting in the drive letter of the drive you want to format for "drive_letter."

Press "Enter," type "yes" and then press "Enter" to complete the format process.

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