How to Diskpart Erase/Clean a Drive Through the Command Prompt | Support Seagate US (2024)
This article explains the Microsoft Diskpart Erase utility. The command that erases the drive during this process is "Clean". In this article "Clean" and erase are used interchangeably. Cleaning or erasing a storage device removes all data and partitions from the drive.
Critical Instructions:
Disclaimer: Seagate Technology, LLC is not responsible for lost user data. Be sure to back up any important data on this drive before proceeding.
This article explains the Microsoft Diskpart Erase utility. The command that erases the drive during this process is "Clean". In this article "Clean" and erase are used interchangeably. Cleaning or erasing a storage device removes all data and partitions from the drive.
Please read all steps, instructions, and warnings before attempting the Diskpart Erase/Clean.
Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please make certain that you are erasing the correct disk.
Remove all additional drives from the computer excluding the drive you are booting from and the drive you want to Erase/Clean.
Items to note:
This article will walk through the steps of using the Microsoft Diskpart Erase utility to Clean the disk of a previous partition and format, including any data on the drive. This command takes only a few minutes to complete.
This article covers Diskpart Erasing a 3TB or larger drive that has a Master Boot Record (MBR) Partition table, which is thereby limiting its capacity to 2TB. However, this article also applies to any scenario where a Diskpart Erase of an entire disk is necessary.
For more information regarding drives over 2TB and GPT/MBR partition tables please see the following articles.
To determine the disk number assigned to the 3TB+ MBR partitioned drive follow the steps below.
From the Start menu right click on Computer which will provide a drop down menu. (If you are on Windows 8 or 8.1 move your mouse to the bottom left hand corner of the desktop screen and right click. Then select Disk Management).
Choose Manage.
Select Disk Management (listed under Storage).
Look for the drive that is identified as the 3TB drive (2794GB). The properties window shows that the partition table on the drive is MBR .Important: note the Disk number (such as Disk 1).
Open a Command Prompt window. To open the Command Prompt on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 machine click on Start and type cmd in the search bar. Then right click on cmd.exe and run as administrator. It will prompt you with the message, "Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer," clickyes. A black Command Prompt window will open.
On Windows 8 move your mouse to the bottom left hand corner of the desktop screen and right click. Select Command Prompt (Admin) from the pop-up menu.
From the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter.
The diskpart prompt will open.
From the diskpart prompt, type list disk and press Enter.
A list of disks will appear in a text format. You will return to the diskpart prompt. Step one verified that Disk 1 is the 3TB drive. Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.
From the diskpart prompt you will need to select a disk disk number (for instance, if the 3TB+ drive is Disk 1, you would type select disk 1) and press Enter. Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.
A message appears saying that the disk is selected. You will return to the diskpart prompt. Warning: Diskpart Erase/Clean will permanently erase/destroy all data on the selected drive. Please be certain that you are erasing the correct disk.
From the diskpart prompt, type clean and press Enter. The drive's partition, data, and signature is now removed. You will return to the diskpart prompt.Warning: Once you type clean and hit enter the drive will be erased. No warning will be provided.
The Command Prompt window will display the message "DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk". Close out of the Command Prompt window by clicking the red X in the upper right hand corner.
Now the 3TB+ drive can be re-initialized, partitioned, and formatted.
From the diskpart prompt, type clean and press Enter. The drive's partition, data, and signature is now removed. You will return to the diskpart prompt. Warning: Once you type clean and hit enter the drive will be erased.
To wipe your drive in Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & security > Recovery, and then click the Get Started button.When prompted, choose the option for Remove everything. You should then choose the Local reinstall option to reinstall Windows from your computer.
On your keyboard, press the Windows and R keys at the same time to open the Run window. Type cleanmgr, then press ENTER. The Disk Cleanup window should appear. Select the drive you want to clean, then click OK.
Click on “Start” > type “cmd” > “Run as administrator”.
Type a CHKDSK command in the command prompt and press “Enter”. Include parameters like “/f”, “/r”, and “/x” to scan and repair any errors. Note: If you opt to only scan your PC for drive errors, type “chkdsk” and press “Enter”.
Type “cmd” and press Enter to open the Command Prompt. Type “cls” and press Enter. This command will instantly clear the screen, giving you a clear workspace. It's a quick and effective method.
From the diskpart prompt, type clean and press Enter. The drive's partition, data, and signature is now removed. You will return to the diskpart prompt. Warning: Once you type clean and hit enter the drive will be erased.
Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type the following command, and then press Enter: c:\windows\SYSTEM32\cleanmgr.exe /dDrive Note In this command, the placeholder Drive represents the drive letter of the hard disk to be cleaned.
Choose “Keep my files” (removes apps and settings but keeps your personal files) or “Remove everything” (removes apps, settings, and your personal files).
You can also type systemreset –factoryreset in the Command Prompt window and press the Enter. Then you can make a choice of how to do factory reset. Note: If Windows 10 cannot load normally, then you need to boot into WinRE and choose Command Prompt to continue.
If your laptop is dead and will not turn on, you will need to remove the hard drive and reinstall it into either another PC or a hard disk eraser; a desk tower would also work. If you have another computer, you can place the hard drive in an external hard drive enclosure, then connect it to another PC using a USB.
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