\u201cI have been using a Toshiba Canvio Advance 3TB external HDD for the last 6 months to store my games and documents. Unluckily, the last night when I plugged my hard drive into my PC, I frequently received an error: \u201cYou need to format the disk before using it.\u201d Now I am looking for a possible solution to fix format disk error in the external drive. I really do not want to lose my data because of drive formatting. But this message is scratching my mind because it pops-up every minute on my computer screen. Thus, I urgently need a method that can fix format disk error without formatting. Please help!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"format](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/need-to-format-disk.png\")
<\/p>\n
It is a very common issue where a user connects an external drive to the system and Windows says to format the disk before using it. And, we all know that formatting a drive means saying goodbye to all your previous data forever. However, no user wants to lose all their precious data, or memorable images within a single minute because of a format disk error on the external hard drive. Therefore, in this article, we are going to discuss the actual reason behind the format disk error and troubleshooting methods that can fix the format disk error on an external hard drive.<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- You Need to Format the Disk in Drive – Reason<\/a><\/li>\n
- Fix Need to Format Disk Before You Can Use It Error Without Formatting<\/a><\/li>\n
- You Need to Format the disk in drive Before You Can Use It- System Recognizes<\/a><\/li>\n
- Use CMD to Fix You Need to Format the Disk Before You Can Use It<\/a><\/li>\n
- Fix Need to Format Disk Using CMD in Windows – Updates on Hard Drive<\/a><\/li>\n
- Fix External Hard Drive Showing Format Disk Error Windows 10- format your hard drive<\/a><\/li>\n
- How to Format External Hard Disk? Using Expert Solution<\/a><\/li>\n
- Final Words<\/a><\/li>\n
- Frequently Asked Question<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
What is the Reason for the “Disk in Drive Must be Formatted” Error Message?<\/h2>\n
Although the above are the most common reasons why cars break down, there are other cases that can cause problems.<\/p>\n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- \n
- The disk is damaged or out of date.<\/li>\n
- Malware is blocking access to the disk.<\/li>\n
- A storage drive experienced an unexpected power failure.<\/li>\n
- Windows does not recognize the storage device’s file system.<\/li>\n
- Bad sectors on your USB, SD card, or external hard drive can cause this issue.<\/li>\n
- Third-party applications conflict with system applications and services.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAlso Read: Get Back Permanently Deleted Files & Folder in Windows<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
Techniques to Fix You Need to Format Disk Before You Can Use It Error<\/h3>\n
Here, we are going to discuss the top 2 workarounds that can fix this external drive format error. So, let\u2019s get started without wasting precious time!<\/p>\n
Method 1: Fix You Need to Format Disk Error Without Formatting<\/h3>\n
The first preferred workaround is to scan the external drive with a licensed anti-virus program. It will be used to check for any malware programs in the drive that might be causing this error. However, this solution can remove the important data file that has been highly damaged by the virus. So, use this method at your own risk to fix an external hard drive showing a format disk error. If the problem is not resolved, then move on to the second solution.<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> If your storage device is formatted and you want a trusted solution, then find the best software to recover data from a formatted hard disk.<\/p>\n
1: Check If the System Recognizes the Disk<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Right-click Start and select Disk Management.<\/li>\n
- Make sure that the drive that appears in Disk Management has a recognizable file system and that its capacity matches the drive’s specifications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If the drive is visible and has sufficient capacity, you can still recover the data using one of the solutions mentioned below. However, if the drive doesn’t show up at all or the storage size shows up incorrectly, contact a data recovery service for help.<\/p>\n
2: Fix Need to Format Disk Before You Can Use It using CMD<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/open-terminal-1.png\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Type CHKDSK *: \/r. Replace the * with your drive letter. Press Enter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/chkdsk-your-command.png\")
<\/p>\n3: Check for the Latest Driver Updates on Your Hard Drive<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Press the Right-select the Start button and choose Device Manager.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/device-manager-1.png\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Expand Drive, right-click the drive, and select Update Driver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/update-the-driver.png\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Click “Search for drivers automatically.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/search-updated-drivers.png\")
<\/p>\n4: If this Doesn’t Help, Format your Hard Drive<\/h3>\n
The following instructions will show you how to format your hard drive using disk management:<\/span><\/p>\n
- \n
- Right-click Start, then select Disk Management. Right-click the problematic partition and click Format.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/disk-management.png\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Specify the format name and file system. Make sure Perform a Quick Format is selected and click OK.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"you](\"https:\/\/www.softwarepro.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/format-the-partition.png\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Specify the format name and file system. Make sure Perform a Quick Format is selected and click OK.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Click OK again.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Also read: How to Recover Deleted PST Files from Hard Drive?<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\nRecover Data Before Formatting the Disk Using Data Recovery<\/h3>\n
If the error is that you need to format the disk before using it and you lost some files, none of the above solutions work for you. And the more forcefully you have to format your external disk,. Now, the next thing that comes to mind is that, by formatting, all the data files get erased from the drive. So, in order to avoid data loss, try this Hard Drive Recovery Software<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
- Click OK again.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Specify the format name and file system. Make sure Perform a Quick Format is selected and click OK.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Specify the format name and file system. Make sure Perform a Quick Format is selected and click OK.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Right-click Start, then select Disk Management. Right-click the problematic partition and click Format.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Click “Search for drivers automatically.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Expand Drive, right-click the drive, and select Update Driver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Press the Right-select the Start button and choose Device Manager.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Type CHKDSK *: \/r. Replace the * with your drive letter. Press Enter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Fix Need to Format Disk Before You Can Use It Error Without Formatting<\/a><\/li>\n
- You Need to Format the Disk in Drive – Reason<\/a><\/li>\n