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format command

Delete all the files on the disk and reformat it for MS-DOS

In most cases, this should only be used on floppy drives or other removable media. This command can potentially erase everything on a computer's hard disk.

/autotest is an undocumented feature. Adding it formats the drive without a confirmation prompt.

format [options] drive
    

Known as a joke among UNIX users of that time since every user on the machine could easily cause damage with just one command. Therefore, it was known in the UNIX community as "The big DOS timesaver".

Equivalent to the Unix command mkfs.

Command Prompt Commands » format