How to initialize a new hdd. Hard drive won't initialize: what to do? Installing a new hard drive

04.09.2009 05:49

The easiest way to initialize the hard drive is using the console Windows management 7.

1. Open Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management... (Alternatively, you can right-click the Computer icon and in context menu select Control).

2. From the left menu of the Windows 7 Management Console, select.

3. Right-click to the left of hard disk to be initialized. In the context menu that appears, select .

4. In the window that opens, check the box for the new disk, select Master boot record(MBR) click OK and wait for the end of the initialization process.

Volume creation

After the initialization is complete, you need to create a volume (partition) on the hard disk so that it appears in the Computer folder and so that you can use this disk.

1. Right-click on the initialized hard disk and select .

2. In the New Simple Volume Wizard window that opens, click Further and specify the size of the volume in megabytes.

3. In the next window, assign a drive letter so that the drive appears in the Computer folder and click Further.

4. In the next window, select the formatting options for the new volume (partition):

• File system(we recommend NTFS, because it is more resistant to failures and can store files larger than 4 GB, unlike FAT32);
• Cluster size(we recommend the minimum - 512 bytes, since this will allow the system to use disk space more economically);
• Volume label- the name of the hard drive under which it will be displayed in the Computer folder;
• Quick format(we recommend unchecking the checkbox to carry out full formatting at least for the first time);
• Apply folder compression- by default, the parameter is disabled (we recommend leaving this function disabled and not using NTFS compression, since it slows down work hard disk, although it saves space).

5. In the next (last) wizard window, check set parameters... At this point, the volume has not yet been created or formatted, so if you want to change something, click Back and make changes. If everything is ok, click Ready to start creating and formatting the volume.

One of the main utilities command line in Windows - Diskpart, which first appeared in Windows XP and replaced Fdisk. This software tool provides the ability to partition, format, initialize and resize disks, and create RAID arrays. Moreover, in Windows7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 it allows you to work with virtual disks... Let's see how with using Diskpart prepare the hard drive, partition it and format it.

At the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter. Before us is our own team environment Diskpart is a kind of command line interface within the system. Typing help (or any other invalid command) and pressing Enter will display about three dozen commands. It is unlikely that anyone would investigate the 37 commands that could scare away from Diskpart; in fact, it only takes eight teams to use 99% of the product's capabilities.

If you've ever initialized a disk from the Logical graphical snap Disk Manager, you must first click the physical disk icon, then partition and format these partitions and give them a name-assign a letter. Diskpart follows the same pattern, requiring you to select a disk before partitioning it, before formatting it, and so on. To select a specific disk, type a command like this:

select disk

But what is the disk number you want to work with? Let's find out by typing the command:

List disk

which will give the result shown in Figure 1. Diskpart numbers the disks starting at zero, not one, and you can see that both disks store their partition information in the Master Boot Record (MBR) and not in the GUID Partition Table (GPT ), with both disks being basic and not dynamic (since there are no values ​​in the Dyn and Gpt columns).

Now I will complicate the task by saying that the system has two 24 GB disks: one operating system and applications, and the second is just additional disk for data storage. Obviously, you don't want to accidentally wipe out the operating system drive, so how do you know which drive is which? We use select disk together with detail disk. Let's start at disk 0 and see what's on it:

select disk 0

detail disk

The result is shown in Figure 2. Disk 0 is the data disk, so disk 1 must be the operating system disk. So let's work with the correct disk (disk0).

First, let's clean it up by typing clean. This action does not clear the disk by overwriting all of its data; cleaning erases the MBR, which is actually the "table of contents" of the disk. The old data is still on disk, but the operating system can no longer get to it, so the data will be deleted by slow rewriting as soon as we start creating a new disk structure over the old one and saving the data to this new structure.

Further, the newly created disk needs at least one partition. The easiest method is to make one large partition on the disk using the create partition primary command. However, if you want to create multiple partitions on the disk, you need to add the size = parameter followed by the size in megabytes. If I wanted to create two partitions - one 10GB and the other 14GB - I would first create the first partition by typing:

create partition primary size = 10240

Remember that the gigabyte is 1024 MB, not 1000. Then I would create a second partition by simply typing create partition primary, since the create partition command without the size = parameter tells Diskpart to use all the remaining hard disk space. I can view the output by typing list partition.

So we have partitions, but they still need drive letters and formatting. I will show you how this is done in the next article.

Mark Minasi ([email protected]) - windows editor IT Pro, MCSE and author of Mastering Windows Server 2003 (Sybex Publishing)

Sometimes a hard drive already in use on a computer begins to require its initialization. The "Unknown, Not Initialized" state can occur on both external and internal drives in all versions of Windows.

The disk status "Unknown, Not Initialized, Unllocated" appears when an unused hard drive is first connected to the computer.

At the same time, the new disk is initialized, partitioned and formatted using Windows tools.

As a rule, the "Not initialized" state of the used disk can be caused by:

• viral attack;
• damage to sectors;
• loss of a partition on a disk;
• damage file system PC;
• damage to the master boot record, etc.

When this happens, the hard disk shows an unallocated area in Disk Management, and the information on the disk becomes unavailable.

It is also possible that the disk has no disk space displayed.

Initializing a disk, like formatting it, erases the data on the hard disk.

In case of an unknown, not initialized disk problem, if the cause of the situation is unknown, the most acceptable option is to initialize the disk and use software to recover deleted files from it.

The disk is unknown, not initialized, not allocated. Initialization process

To start initializing the hard disk, you need to open the "Management Windows disks».

Step 1. Press "Win + R".

Step 2. Type "diskmgmt.msc" and click "OK".

Find an uninitialized disk in Disk Management. If its capacity is indicated, it means that the operating system recognized the disk, but for some reason the disk has lost a partition or damaged MBR.

Important! Initializing a disk may result in the loss of all stored data on it. If the data on the disk is important, this solution is not optimal.

Step 3. If there are no important files saved on the disk, right-click on it and select the "Initialize Disk" function.

Step 4. Select MBR if the disk size is less than 2 TB, and GPT if more. Click OK.

Step 5. Right-click the disk and select "Create Simple Volume ...".

Right-click on the disk and select "Create Simple Volume ..."

Step 7. Leave the data "as is" and click "Next".

Step 8. Select the letter that represents the drive in the OS and click "Next".

Step 9. Select NTFS system, tick the "Quick Format" checkbox and click "Next".

Step 10. Click Finish.

The disc will appear in My Computer Explorer.

Repair MBR

MBR is the Master Boot Record located at the beginning of the hard disk. The MBR can be corrupted due to malware, accidental power failure, etc.

If the MBR is damaged, the operating system cannot access the data on the disk, giving the information “disk unknown, not initialized”. In such a situation, it is necessary to rebuild the MBR.

To fix a corrupted MBR, you can use the free EaseUS Partition Master software.

Step 1. Go to the URL: https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/ and click "Free Trial".

Step 2. Start the installation of the program with a double click of the mouse.

Step 3. Select a language and click "OK".

Step 4. Click “Accept”.

Step 5. Click “Next” in the next window, checking the items as in the picture.

Step 6... Uncheck additional software, click "Next".

Step 7. Check the box "Custom installation", uncheck the option "Install SHAREit", click "Next".

Step 8. Check the box "I do not accept", click on "Next".

Step 9. To receive newsletters from developers, you can enter the address Email if you don’t want, just click “Next”.

Step 10. Click "Finish", leaving a check mark on the item automatic start utilities after installation.

Step 11. After starting the program, right-click the hard drive and left-click "Rebuild MBR".

Step 12. Click “Execute 1 Operation” to perform the pending boot record recovery operation.

Check and fix bad sectors and disk errors

Step 1. In Partition Master, right-click on the partition you want to check and select Check File System.

Step 2. Leave the "Try to fix errors ..." option selected and click "Start".

Leave the option "Try to fix errors ..." selected, click "Start"

The software will start checking the file system of the disk partition.

Step 3. When finished, click Finish.

Find out more detailed information, from our new article.

Disk partition recovery

Patching the MBR does not always solve the hard disk initialization problem. If the disk still has unallocated space under Disk Management, you must restore its partition.

Important! Hard disks, both MBR and GPT, that have an initialization problem appear in the Partition Master as an MBR disk. A GPT disk displayed as MBR must be converted to GPT before partition recovery, otherwise it may fail.

Step 1. Click in the program on " Partition Recovery"(" Partition recovery ") at the top of the main window.

Step 2. Select the drive and click "Scan" to search for the lost partitions.

The program will scan in two modes: "Quick Scan" and "Deep Scan" to find all the lost sections and data.

Note! " Quick Scan ”finds the last deleted partition, and Deep Scan finds previously deleted partitions.

Step 3. Wait for the scan to complete.

Step 4. Select the lost partition labeled “Deleted” with previous labels, capacity, etc., and click “Proceed”.

Step 5. Click “Recover Now”.

Step 6. Click “Execute 1 Operation” and click “Apply” to reanimate the partition.

Recovering information on a hard drive

If there are important files on the disc, you can try to extract them after initializing the disc using EaseUS software.

Step 1. Go to the URL: https://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm and click Free Download.

Step 2. Run the downloaded file with a left click.

Step 3. Select a language and click "OK".

Step 5. Click "Accept".

Step 7. In the next window, click "Install".

Step 8. Click Finish.

Step 7. Select the drive and click "Scan" to start scanning the deleted data.

Step 8. After scanning, you can view your lost files by selecting categories and folders on the left. Highlighting required files in the central window, click on the bottom right "Restore".

Step 9. Select a folder to save the recovered files and click "OK".

After a while, the data will be restored.

A folder with recovered files will open.

If an uninitialized disk does not have a specified size

If Disk Management does not have information about the hard disk, it does not show capacity, or you cannot perform operations in the Disk Management section with an I / O error, this may be due to a problem with the disk itself or the external hard disk container.

If this external hard disk, replace its container.

If this internal drive, follow these steps.

Step 1. Turn off the computer, disconnect all wires from it, remembering the order in which they were disconnected. Remove the battery if it is a portable device.

Step 2. Remove the cover system unit PC by unscrewing the screws that secure it.

Step 3. Disconnect the data and power cables from the problematic hard drive.

Step 4. Remove the CMOS battery located on the PC motherboard for ten minutes by zeroing BIOS settings... Insert the battery back.

Step 5. Connect the data and power cables to the drive.

Step 6. Reassemble the computer in the reverse order of shutdown and turn it on.

Step 7. Go to "Disk Management" in Windows and see if the hard drive shows its size by right-clicking on the "This computer" icon and clicking on the "Management" line. Then select the subsection "Disk Management" and look at the status of the disk. If there is no disk, skip to the next solution.

Check hard drive and replace if defective

Connect with an undefined size to another computer and try to initialize it.

If the problem persists, you need to send the disc to service center to check for bad sectors. If the drive has physical errors, the hard drive needs to be replaced.

Video - Initializing a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) in Windows

To figure out why the hard drive is not initializing on your computer, you need to pay attention to the sounds it makes and analyze the information that appears on the screen. Remember also the events that preceded the failure. Have you been able to initialize the disk before?

HDD(hard drive, HDD), SSD, that is, built-in data storage, is the most unreliable part of a computer or laptop. At mechanical failures it may not turn on at all or make non-typical sounds, such as knocking, clicking, cracking, clinking, howling.

They can be translated into human language as follows: "I can not read the information." In combination with persistent failures, during initialization, this means that it is impossible to exploit the hard drive. You should contact the service center, whose specialists will find out whether it is possible to fix this hard drive or at least copy the information available on it.

Viral contamination

Another very common reason a hard drive won't initialize is due to viral infection... Sometimes viruses declare this themselves, often putting forward demands for any payments. Do not give in to blackmail. The easiest way in this case is to boot from another device and cure the infected one with an antivirus. To avoid such situations, you should use a high-quality antivirus (both Kaspersky and DrWeb are suitable), which includes a program such as Secure Disk, which loads before starting the operating system and checks both the hard drive and RAM for viruses.

System data failures

If the hard disk on which the operating system is located does not initialize, then immediately after executing the primary input / output system (BIOS) program, an error message in the CRC data may appear, indicating that the information cannot be read correctly. Other messages are also possible. Messages like Boot Disk Failed or Primary Master Disk Fail mean that the zero track of the device is damaged, without which it is impossible to start reading.

Disk Boot Failure indicates that there is a data error in the system's master boot record (MBR or GPT). The phrase Invalid Drive Specification indicates that the device parameters do not match the information about it stored in the BIOS. This can also be caused by crashes in the MBR, or an I / O error due to mechanical damage reading heads or contacts in the interface.

First, in these cases, you should check BIOS settings... Here you need to pay attention to which device is assigned for the initial boot and whether the parameters of the hard drive are recognized correctly. In some cases, changing the boot device can help.

System data corruption can be repaired Windows tools or using utilities such as ACRONIS DISK DIRECTORY, however, you can immediately start active actions on the defective device only if there is no data on it. The existing information can be damaged when corrected, therefore, first of all, you should think about how to recover personal data. To do this, as with viruses, you will need to boot from another device and use utilities such as R.saver, R-Studio, or Get Data Back. The data should be restored to another device so as not to damage the files that have not yet been processed. Damage to a significant number of sectors of the hard drive indicates that it will soon fail and it is necessary to prepare for its replacement.

The hard drive not initialized may be due to software changes made before the failure occurred. For example, changing drivers or installing updates for the operating system, other system products. In this case, it is advisable to restore the system from the last restore point created before the patch was applied. To initialize system recovery to be possible, you need access to the device on which the corresponding data is located.

When installing the operating system on a formatted hard drive with a large capacity (more than 2.2 TB), problems may arise due to the fact that not all versions of Windows are able to work with the GPT formatted master boot record. You can change the recording format to MBR, but not all of the disk space will be used. If it is not possible to upgrade to a more modern OS, then it is better to use a device with a smaller capacity for the system.

Additional hard drives

What to do if initialization failed hard drives containing alternative operating systems or other information? First, check if any letters are assigned to them. To do this, right-click on the "Computer" line, select "Storage Devices" in the "Management" item and then "Disk Management". If the device you are looking for is visible, and the letter is not assigned to it, the problem is solved very simply. It is enough to select this line, press the right mouse button and change the letter to any free one.

There may be other reasons why the disks are not initialized. If they have already been used before, then they may have worked as part of a dynamic volume, or were encrypted. In these cases, you are unlikely to need someone else's information, just reformat the devices again. To prepare for this, you can use a utility like ACRONIS.

External device initialization error

If the external hard drive or SSD does not initialize, make sure it is turned on first. See also if the interface is working properly. Try to replace the interface, connect to another SATA (or USB) connector motherboard... As with the HDD, you should check if a letter is assigned to the device.

An SSD is not designed like a hard drive, it has no rotating parts, and the information is stored in special chips. Writing and reading data does not require moving the heads, which speeds up the process and increases the mechanical stability of the device. However, SSDs have a limited number of write cycles, and controllers that manage data fragmentation can fail due to power surges.

It should be borne in mind that SSD technology is developing rapidly, so it is better to check the specifics of your device on the Internet. If using a SATA interface, check if the BIOS is set to AHCI mode for the controller driving your SSD. Please update the drivers for this controller. Initializing an SSD with SATA interface may fail due to connection to a higher numbered port. These ports can be supported by additional controllers or run at lower speeds. You can recognize them by their color - ports that are different from SATA-1 should not be used.

Included with some drives comes software that allows you to transfer the operating system to them. If the problem persists after such a transfer, re-install the system from scratch. If you have Windows XP installed, you may need to upgrade to a later version of the operating system. Perhaps a transition is needed to latest version BIOS. See the video below for more details.

One of the main command line utilities in Windows is Diskpart, which first appeared in Windows XP and replaced Fdisk. This software tool provides the ability to partition, format, initialize and resize disks, and create RAID arrays. Moreover, in Windows7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, it allows you to work with virtual disks. Let's take a look at how to use Diskpart to prepare, partition, and format a hard drive.

At the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter. Before us is our own command environment, Diskpart, a kind of command line interface within the system. Typing help (or any other invalid command) and pressing Enter will display about three dozen commands. It is unlikely that anyone would investigate the 37 commands that could scare away from Diskpart; in fact, it only takes eight teams to use 99% of the product's capabilities.

If you have ever initialized a disk from the Logical Disk Manager graphical snap-in, you must first click the physical disk icon, then partition and format these partitions and give them a letter-assignment. Diskpart follows the same pattern, requiring you to select a disk before partitioning it, before formatting it, and so on. To select a specific disk, type a command like this:

select disk

But what is the disk number you want to work with? Let's find out by typing the command:

List disk

which will give the result shown in Figure 1. Diskpart numbers the disks starting at zero, not one, and you can see that both disks store their partition information in the Master Boot Record (MBR) and not in the GUID Partition Table (GPT ), with both disks being basic and not dynamic (since there are no values ​​in the Dyn and Gpt columns).

Now I will complicate the task by saying that the system has two 24 GB disks: one for the operating system and applications, and the other is just an additional disk for storing data. Obviously, you don't want to accidentally wipe out the operating system drive, so how do you know which drive is which? We use select disk together with detail disk. Let's start at disk 0 and see what's on it:

select disk 0

detail disk

The result is shown in Figure 2. Disk 0 is the data disk, so disk 1 must be the operating system disk. So let's work with the correct disk (disk0).

First, let's clean it up by typing clean. This action does not clear the disk by overwriting all of its data; cleaning erases the MBR, which is actually the "table of contents" of the disk. The old data is still on disk, but the operating system can no longer get to it, so the data will be deleted by slow rewriting as soon as we start creating a new disk structure over the old one and saving the data to this new structure.

Further, the newly created disk needs at least one partition. The easiest method is to make one large partition on the disk using the create partition primary command. However, if you want to create multiple partitions on the disk, you need to add the size = parameter followed by the size in megabytes. If I wanted to create two partitions - one 10GB and the other 14GB - I would first create the first partition by typing:

create partition primary size = 10240

Remember that the gigabyte is 1024 MB, not 1000. Then I would create a second partition by simply typing create partition primary, since the create partition command without the size = parameter tells Diskpart to use all the remaining hard disk space. I can view the output by typing list partition.

So we have partitions, but they still need drive letters and formatting. I will show you how this is done in the next article.

Mark Minasi ([email protected]) - Editor for Windows IT Pro, MCSE and author of Mastering Windows Server 2003 (Sybex Publishing)