C# Signature:

[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
static extern uint SHFormatDrive(IntPtr hwnd, uint drive, uint fmtID,
   uint options);

User-Defined Types:

public enum SHFormatFlags : uint {

    SHFMT_ID_DEFAULT = 0xFFFF,
    SHFMT_OPT_FULL = 0x1,
    SHFMT_OPT_SYSONLY = 0x2,
    SHFMT_ERROR = 0xFFFFFFFF,
    SHFMT_CANCEL = 0xFFFFFFFE,
    SHFMT_NOFORMAT = 0xFFFFFFD,

}

Notes:

The fmtID field should always be passed SHFMT_ID_DEFAULT.

The drive field should denote the numerical listing of the drive letter to be formatted. (Ex: A is 0, Z is 25)

The options field should be 0 for a full disk format, pass SHFMT_OPT_FULL for a Quick Format, or set SHFMT_OPT_SYSONLY to create an MS-DOS System Boot Disk.

The function will return the ID of the last successful format, or one of the following error codes:

- SHFMT_ERROR: A general error occured while formatting. This is not an indication that the drive cannot be formatted though.

- SHFMT_CANCEL: The drive format was cancelled by user/OS.

- SHFMT_NOFORMAT: A serious error occured while formatting. The drive is unable to be formatted by the OS.

Tips & Tricks:

Please add some!

Sample Code:

C# Sample Call:

uint result = SHFormatDrive( this.Handle,

              2, // formatting C:
              (uint)SHFormatFlags.SHFMT_ID_DEFAULT,
              0 ); // full format of C:

if ( result == SHFormatFlags.SHFMT_ERROR )

    MessageBox.Show( "Unable to format the drive" );

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