您想知道在Windows 计算机(Windows computer)上格式化各种驱动器的正确方法吗？您可能需要格式化SD 卡(SD card)、USB 记忆(USB memory)棒、USB外部硬盘或计算机硬盘或 SSD 驱动器(disk or SSD drive)的分区。您对哪一个感兴趣并不重要；本指南可为您提供帮助。以下是如何在 Windows 中格式化各种驱动器：
首先(First)，备份您的数据并选择文件系统。(file system)
无论您是要格式化USB 记忆(USB memory)棒、SD 卡(SD card)还是硬盘上的分区，都没有关系。在格式化之前，您应该检查是否有任何有用的数据，您可能希望保留这些数据。如果这样做，请确保将该数据复制到其他位置，以便在格式化驱动器后继续使用它。您无法从格式化的驱动器中恢复数据，除非您使用特殊的恢复软件(recovery software)，例如此比较中的应用程序：哪些是最好的免费文件恢复(file recovery)工具？比较 5 个最受欢迎的程序。
此外，选择正确的文件系统(right file system)是一个重要的选择。为了帮助您，我们进行了以下分析：FAT32、exFAT 还是 NTFS(exFAT or NTFS)？如何格式化 SD 卡、记忆棒和硬盘。
注意：(NOTE:)对于本教程的以下两个部分，我们假设您已插入SD 卡(SD card)或外部硬盘驱动器，或者您打算格式化Windows 计算机或平板电脑(Windows computer or tablet)内部的硬盘或 SSD(disk or SSD)。
1. 如何从文件资源管理器(File Explorer)（Windows 10和 8.1）或 Windows资源管理器(Explorer)（Windows 7）格式化SD 卡(SD Card)、USB 记忆(USB memory)棒或硬盘驱动器
如果您使用的是Windows 10或Windows 8.1，请启动文件资源管理器(File Explorer)并转到这台电脑(This PC)。在右侧的“设备和驱动器”(Devices and drives")部分，右键单击或按住代表您要格式化的SD 卡(SD card)、USB 记忆棒或硬盘驱动器的驱动器。(USB memory)在右键菜单中，按Format。
如果您使用的是 Windows 7，请打开Windows 资源管理器(Windows Explorer)并转到计算机(Computer)。在“具有可移动存储的设备”("Devices with Removable Storage")部分中，右键单击要格式化的驱动器，然后在右键菜单中单击“格式化(Format)” 。
在所有版本的 Windows 中，接下来的步骤都是相同的：打开“格式化(Format)”窗口。在这里您可以看到SD 卡(SD card)的容量、正在使用的文件系统、(file system)分配单元大小(allocation unit size)和卷标(volume label)。你可以设置任何你想要的参数。
如果要恢复默认文件系统和分配单元大小(default file system and allocation unit size)，请单击或点击“恢复设备默认值”("Restore device defaults")按钮。
您可能会问的另一个问题是：我想要快速格式还是完整格式？如果您选择快速格式化，该过程将花费更少的时间，但使用专门的软件可以更轻松地恢复您的数据。如果您遇到数据损坏问题，最好选择退出快速格式并等待(format and wait)更长时间以等待完整格式。完成设置后，单击或点击(click or tap) 开始(Start)。
Windows警告说它将清除此磁盘上的所有数据。要继续，请单击或点击确定并等待格式化过程(formatting process)完成。
结束后，Windows会显示一条消息，告诉您：“格式化完成”。("Format Complete.")单击或点击确定，您就完成了。
您现在可以开始使用新格式化的驱动器了。此外，如果您格式化了SD 卡或 USB 记忆棒(SD card or USB memory stick)，您现在可以将其从计算机上拔下。
2.如何从磁盘管理工具(Disk Management tool)格式化，所有Windows版本
在Windows中格式化任何(Windows)SD 存储(SD memory)卡、USB 记忆棒或(USB memory stick or partition)硬盘上的分区的另一种方法是使用磁盘管理(Disk Management)。打开磁盘管理工具(Disk Management tool)并找到您要格式化的驱动器或分区。(drive or partition)您可以通过查看卷标轻松找到它。找到它后，右键单击（或点击并按住(tap and hold)它）并在上下文菜单中按格式。(Format)
格式窗口看起来与(Format)文件资源管理器(File Explorer)或Windows 资源管理(Windows Explorer)器中的略有不同，但提供了相同的选项。键入标签，选择所需的文件系统和分配单元大小(file system and allocation unit size)，决定是否要“执行快速格式化”("Perform a quick format")，然后单击或点击OK。
磁盘管理(Disk Management)可能会警告您磁盘上的数据将丢失。如果要继续，请再次单击或点击确定。(OK)
等待(Wait)卡或驱动器(card or drive)格式化，并注意，与文件资源管理器(File Explorer)和Windows 资源管理器(Windows Explorer)不同，磁盘管理(Disk Management)工具不会在格式化完成时通知您。完成后，卡或驱动器就(card or drive becomes)可以使用了，仅此而已。
与内部硬盘或SSD相比，格式化 SD 卡、记忆棒或便携式硬盘等外部存储设备有何不同(SSDs)
在格式化外部存储设备(memory device)之前，您必须先将其插入计算机。为了能够正确地做到这一点，您必须知道您是否可以使用计算机上的USB 端口(USB port)，或者您需要使用各种适配器。
如果您有USB 记忆棒或 USB(USB memory stick or USB)外部硬盘驱动器，则过程很简单：将其插入计算机上的USB 端口(USB port)。请注意，USB 3.0驱动器与USB 2.0端口兼容，因此任何USB 端口(USB port)都可以用于此活动。
但是，如果要格式化SD 卡(SD card)，事情可能会稍微复杂一些。这是因为，首先，您必须了解您拥有的SD 卡(SD Card)类型：microSD、miniSD 或标准SD 卡(SD card)。您可以在下图中看到它们的大小有何不同，microSD 最小，SD 卡(SD card)最大。
图片来源：(Image source: )维基百科(Wikipedia)
您应该将SD 卡(SD card)插入计算机上的 SD读卡器(card reader)。根据您使用的计算机，您的 SD读卡器可能与您的(card reader)SD 卡(SD card)大小不同。例如，有些笔记本电脑有 miniSD读卡器(card reader)，而您可能使用的是 micro SD 卡(SD card)。
如果是这种情况，您应该使用适配器将SD 卡(SD card)插入计算机的SD 卡(SD card)插槽。您可以在下面看到您可以在市场上找到的不同适配器的图片。
图片来源：(Image source:) 维基百科(Wikipedia)
如果您的计算机没有SD 卡(SD card)端口，或者您不想担心周围有太多 SD 适配器，您可以购买通用SD 卡(SD card)读卡器，该读卡器适用于所有 SD 格式，并且可以插入找到的USB 端口(USB port)在所有计算机上。一个很好的推荐是创见 USB 读卡器(Transcend USB Card Reader)。它体积小、价格实惠且质量上乘(quality device)，适用于所有版本的Windows。此外，它有很多来自满意客户的积极评价。
现在您已经解决了将SD 卡(SD card)插入计算机并被Windows检测到的问题，是时候格式化它了。为此，请按照本教程第一部分或第二部分中的步骤进行操作。任何一个都可以。
结论
现在您知道如何在您的 Windows 计算机上格式化最流行的驱动器类型：SD 卡、USB 记忆(USB memory)棒、USB外部硬盘驱动器以及计算机硬盘或 SSD 驱动器(disk or SSD drive)的分区。如果您对所涉及的过程有任何疑问或问题，请随时在下面的评论中分享。
2 ways to format an SD Card, a USB memory stick or a hard drive partition, in Windows
Do you want to know the correct way of formatting all kinds of drives on your Windows computer? You may need tо format an SD card, a UЅB memory stick, a USB external hard disk or a partition from your computer's hard disk or SЅD drive. It does not matter which one you are interested in; this guide is here to help. Here іs how to format all kinds of drives in Windows:
First, back up your data and choose the file system
It does not matter whether you want to format a USB memory stick, an SD card or a partition on your hard disk. Before you format it, you should check whether you have any useful data on it, which you may want to keep. If you do, make sure that you copy that data to somewhere else, so that you can continue to use it after you format the drive. You cannot recover data from a formatted drive, unless you use special recovery software, like the apps from in this comparison: Which are the best free file recovery tools? Comparing 5 of the most popular programs.
Also, choosing the right file system is an important choice. To help you out, we made this analysis: FAT32, exFAT or NTFS? How to format SD cards, memory sticks and hard drives.
NOTE: For the following two sections of this tutorial, we are assuming that you have already plugged in the SD card or the external hard drive, or that you intend to format a hard disk or SSD that is inside your Windows computer or tablet.
1. How to format an SD Card, a USB memory stick or a hard drive, from File Explorer (in Windows 10 and 8.1) or Windows Explorer (in Windows 7)
If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, start File Explorer and go to This PC. On the right, in the "Devices and drives" section, right-click or press and hold the drive that represents the SD card, USB memory stick or hard drive that you want to format. In the right-click menu, press Format.
If you are using Windows 7, open Windows Explorer and go to Computer. In the "Devices with Removable Storage" section, right-click the drive that you want to format and, in the right-click menu, click Format.
The next steps are the same in all versions of Windows: the Format window is opened. Here you see the capacity of the SD card, the file system being used, the allocation unit size and the volume label. You can set any parameters you wish.
If you want to restore the default file system and allocation unit size, click or tap the "Restore device defaults" button.
Another question you might ask is: Do I want a quick format or a full format? If you choose to quick format, the process takes a lot less time, but your data will be easier to recover with specialized software. If you had issues with data corruption, it is better to opt out of the quick format and wait longer for the full format. When you are done setting things up, click or tap Start.
Windows warns that it will erase all data on this disk. To go ahead, click or tap OK and wait for the formatting process to finish.
When it is over, Windows shows a message telling you: "Format Complete." Click or tap OK, and you are done.
You can now start using the newly formatted drive. Also, if you formatted an SD card or USB memory stick, you can now unplug it from your computer.
2. How to format from the Disk Management tool, in all Windows versions
An alternative method to format any SD memory card, USB memory stick or partition on a hard drive, in Windows, is to use Disk Management for it. Open the Disk Management tool and find the drive or partition that you intend to format. You can easily find it by looking at the volume labels. Once you locate it, right-click (or tap and hold on it) and press Format in the contextual menu.
The Format window looks slightly different than the one in File Explorer or Windows Explorer but offers the same options. Type a label, select the file system and allocation unit size you want, decide whether you want to "Perform a quick format" or not and click or tap OK.
Disk Management might warn you that the data on the disk is going to be lost. If you want to continue, click or tap on OK once again.
Wait for the card or drive to be formatted and be aware that, unlike File Explorer and Windows Explorer, the Disk Management tool does not notify you when the formatting is done. When it is done, the card or drive becomes available for use, and that's it.
What is different about formatting external storage devices like SD cards, memory sticks or portable hard drives, compared to internal hard disks or SSDs
Before you can format an external memory device, you must first plug it into your computer. To be able to do that correctly, you must know whether you can use a USB port on your computer or you need to use an adapter of sorts.
If you have a USB memory stick or USB external hard drive, the procedure is simple: plug it into a USB port on your computer. Note that USB 3.0 drives are compatible with USB 2.0 ports, so that any USB port will do for this activity.
However, if you want to format an SD card, things can be a little more complicated. That is because, first of all, you have to understand what type of SD Card you have: a microSD, a miniSD or a standard SD card. You can see how they differ in size in the picture below, with microSD being the smallest and the SD card is the largest.
Image source: Wikipedia
You should plug your SD card into the SD card reader on your computer. Depending on the computer that you are using, you may have an SD card reader of a different size than your SD card. For example, some laptops have a miniSD card reader while you might be using a microSD card.
If that is the case, you should use an adapter to plug in the SD card into the SD card slots of your computer. Below you can see a picture of the different adapters that you can find on the market.
Image source: Wikipedia
If your computer does not have an SD card port or you do not want to bother having too many SD adapters around, you can purchase a universal SD card reader that works with all SD formats and which can be plugged into a USB port that is found on all computers. A good recommendation is the Transcend USB Card Reader. It is small, affordable and a good quality device that works with all versions of Windows. Also, it has lots of positive reviews from satisfied customers.
Now that you have solved the problem of plugging your SD card into your computer and having it detected by Windows, it is time to format it. To do that, follow the steps from the first or the second section of this tutorial. Either one is fine.
Conclusion
Now you know how to format the most popular types of drives on your Windows computer: SD cards, USB memory sticks, USB external hard drives as well as partitions from your computer's hard disk or SSD drive. If you have any questions or issues about the process involved, do not hesitate to share them in a comment below.
