Repair and Fix 'Format Volume Is Greyed Out' Error in Windows 10/8/7

'Format volume' option is greyed out in Disk Management

"Hi there, do you know how to format a hard disk when the 'Format Volume' option is greyed out in Disk Management? Right-click formatting also doesn't work.

Do you know any else option that can help me to format the wanted partition or hard drive? And is it possible to repair and fix Disk Management 'format volume' greyed out? How?"

Are you having a similar problem that Disk Management tool won't format your target hard drive since the Format Volume option is somehow greyed out? Don't worry anymore. Here in the below, you'll find reliable methods and solutions to format a hard drive or external storage devices with simple clicks and fix 'Format Volume' invalid in Disk Management. Just follow to see how to get your problem solved now.

Part 1. Format hard drive with Disk Management alternative tool

When you fail to format a hard drive or external storage devices by using Disk Management, don't give up. You still have chances for formatting hard drive. Here below, we'll show you two methods to format hard drive when 'format volume' option is unavailable in Disk Management:

Method 1. Format hard drive in 3 steps with Disk Management alternative freeware

Free Disk Management alternative software - EaseUS Partition Master Free supports you to format a hard drive, create a new partition, and resize an external hard drive, check and repair file systems on USB or SD card etc devices within 3 simple steps. You can apply this software to format hard drive partitions in Windows 10/8/7 PCs with below steps now:

 

Step 1: Run EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the hard drive partition you intend to format and choose "Format".

Step 2: In the new window, set the Partition label, File system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3), and Cluster size for the partition to be formatted, then click "OK".

Step 3: Then you will see a warning window, click "OK" in it to continue.

Step 4: Click the "Execute Operation" button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click "Apply" to start formatting the partition on your hard drive.

Method 2. Format hard drive partition by CMD

1. 1. Click "Start" and type: cmd > Right-click on cmd.exe and select "Run as Administrator".
2. 2. Type: diskpartand hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
3. 3. Type: list volume and hit Enter.
4. 4. Type: select volume n and hit Enter. (n is the drive letter of the hard drive that you want to format.)
5. 5. Type: format fs=ntfs and hit Enter.
6. 6. After this, type: exit and hit Enter to finish the format process.

Part 2. Fix and repair 'format volume' greyed out in Disk Management

After formatting disk or hard drive partition with an alternative method, you can then follow solutions here to repair and make Disk Management can manage hard drive again.

Method 1. Boot to Safe Mode and run SFC command to repair cannot format disk error

1. 1. Go to "Settings" > " Update & security" > " Recovery" > " Advanced Startup" > " Restart now" .
2. 2. Your PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen, press "F4" to initiate the reboot into Safe Mode. You may also press "F5" to boot into "Safe Mode with networking".
3. 3. Press "Win + R" to open the Run dialog, type: cmd and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
4. 4. Type: diskpart and hit Enter.
5. 5. Type: sfc /scannow and hit Enter to check for corrupted files and repair errors in your hard disk.
6. 6. Type: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and hit Enter.
7. 7. Type: exit and hit Enter when the process finishes.

After this, reboot PC and you may try to use Disk Management to see whether it can format volume or not.

Method 2. Perform System Restore to fix 'format volume' option greyed out issue

You can also try System Restore to restore Windows to a particular restore point so to make Disk Management tool work again:

1. 1. Open "Control Panel" > "System and Security" > "System".
2. 2. Click "System Protection" > Click "System Restore" under System Properties > "Next".
3. 3. Select the restore point and click "Next" > Confirm the restore point that you want to use and click "Finish".
4. 4. Click "Yes" when the System Restore process starts and then follow the onscreen instruction to finish the whole process.

Finally, you can reboot PC to make Disk Management work again. And now you can format volume, extend volume or even create new simple volume with Disk Management again.