Microsoft developer Dave Plummer has revealed here on Twitter, how he programmed the format menu (“Format Disk”) for Windows NT at the end of 1994. In a hurry and only intended as a stopgap. Plummer made the rough draft on paper and then converted the whole thing into program code. This menu, which Plummer intended as a temporary solution, was soon to be replaced by a professional and visually appealing solution. At least that was the plan – but Windows users are still waiting for this final solution to this day.
Saving tip: Buy Windows 11 Pro legally for 70 euros instead of 259 euros RRP
The menu allows you to format disks in the file format and size you want. This has worked smoothly to this day, but the menu actually looks very simple and doesn’t quite fit with the current Windows 11 look. Because this emergency solution has remained unchanged to this day, as Plummer emphasizes. The Windows developers even incorporated some visual inconsistencies – some menu items have colons, others don’t – in newer Windows versions. In the latest Windows versions, these inconsistencies have actually been eliminated, according to some users noticed.
How to find the format tool in Windows 11
Right-click the Windows start icon (you must have admin rights). From the menu that opens, select “Disk Management”. Then right-click the partition you want to format and then select “Format”. In the menu that then opens, you can select the file system in which your disk should be formatted.
