How long does it take to format a 5TB drive? [ANSWERED]
Question: How long does it take to fully format a 5TB external hard drive via USB 3.0?
Answer: It takes about 9.5 hours to fully format!
Details: This was an external “Seagate Expansion Unit” 5TB drive connected via USB 3.0 to a docked Dell E5450. I started the format (NTFS format, via Windows 10) at 9:30AM and it finished at 7PM.
5TB formatted!
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Thanks for answering this. I searched for an answer; almost all posts just told people to do a quick format. Lots of judgement but no answers.
Dear Mitch,
Thank you for your nice comment! I am very glad the formatting info was helpful to you. 🙂
I agree with you, sometimes a full format is needed when a quick format is not appropriate (i.e. when you want to test an entire hard drive, or you want a somewhat more secure format).
Have a GREAT week!
Best regards,
-J.D.
One thing that wasn’t working for me was a 5TB drive in a 4 bay dock hooked up by USB 3. I had to disable the 3 other drives otherwise the format would almost fail right away. The other 3 drives had intensive operations happening, I.e. Burst mining.
Does a full format also do a Chkdsk too?
Paul, a full format does more than a quick format, but I would not treat it as the same thing as a full `chkdsk` report. It will at least force the drive to be written and checked much more thoroughly, which is why it takes so long.
I have a SEAGATE 5TB drive. What utility software is available to format this drive to its 5TB size.
Les, if Windows is seeing the full disk, normal Windows tools should be enough. I would use Disk Management or the standard format option and make sure the drive is initialized the way you want, rather than hunting for special Seagate-only software first.
Erasing a 5TB Seagate drive in advance formatting the drive (on MAC). Progress bar indicates 14 hours!
Thanks! Helpful as my hard drive went haywire (cannot access drive not accessible error). I was able to restore it by changing windows permissions.. I thought doing a long format would uncover any issues with my external hard drive.
Your’s took 9.5 hours to do 5tb on usb 3 external.
I’m still doing a long format on my WD red drive that’s 4tb… at 5.5hrs.. I’m at about 70% done.
Just wanted to chime in my lacie (segate) 5tb usb-c took 13-15 hours so YMMV