Fixed: Unable to Format Disk Partition with Windows Cannot Find the File Specified in Windows

Error: Can't format disk partition and Windows cannot find the file specified

"Hey, do you know how to format a disk or partition when Windows tell you that it was unable to complete the format or the system cannot find the file specified? I’m having such a problem that my computer won’t allow me to format a hard drive partition or an external USB flash drive.
And the system keeps telling me that it cannot find the file specified. So does anyone know how to fix this issue and complete the formatting process?"

If you are having a similar problem as shown below that the computer doesn’t allow you to format a disk, partition or an external storage device with ‘system cannot find the file specified’ error, don’t worry. 

Reliable methods are available to help, and you can follow to remove this error from your PC so to format your devices back to work again. 

Quick Fix: Format disk partition with free partition manager software

When you are unable to complete the format process on your computer, you can refer to professional partition manager software - EaseUS Partition Master for help.

The free version - EaseUS Partition Master Free allows you to directly format devices that you may not be able to format with Windows Explorer or Disk Management tool. Download and install this free partition manager software on your Windows PC and apply it to fix ‘unable to format’ issue on your disk partition and storage devices 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.

All you need is to wait for the process to complete and then you’ll get a newly formatted hard drive partition or USB for saving data again. 

Manual Fix: Check and remove disk error, uninstall/reinstall drivers and format disk partition

If you prefer a manual way to fix ‘can’t format disk partition’ error when the system cannot find the file specified than downloading and applying a third-party software for help. You can just follow tips in the below to remove this issue from your PC and format your disk partition now:

Step 1. Check and remove errors on disk partition

1. Right-click Windows icon and select Run, and type: cmd, hit Enter to bring up "cmd.exe".
2. Do remember to sign in as with your administrator account and then type: chkdsk D: /f /r and hit enter.
3. Wait for the process to complete and enter Command Prompt again, type: sfc /scannow and hit Enter.

Wait for the process to complete and then the existing errors or problems on your disk partition will be removed.

Step 2. Uninstall and reinstall device drivers of disk partition 

1. Go to Device Manager, expand the category and locate the device that you are unable to format.
2. Right-click on the device and select "Uninstall", check the box next to "Delete the driver software for this device" and click "OK".
3. After this, reboot your PC and the uninstalled drive driver will be automatically installed again.

Step 3. Format disk partition from ‘system cannot find the file specified’ error

After Step 1 and Step 2, it’s time to format your disk partition or external storage devices without meeting ‘system cannot find the file specified’ error anymore:

1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the disk partition or external storage device like USB etc that you’d like to format.
2. Right-click on the drive or device and select "Format".
3. Reset the file system to "NTFS" and click "Start". 
4. Click "OK" when the format process complete.