Use PowerShell to Initialize Raw Disks and to Segmentation and Format Volumes

Dr Scripto

May 29th, 2022

Summary : Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks nearly using Windows PowerShell to initialize raw disks and to partition and format volumes. Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. In yesterday's post, Use PowerShell to Add VHDs and Configure New Virtual Machines, I was able to create and add new VHDs to previously existing virtual machines. However, when the virtual machine comes online, there is a bit of work to exercise to make the bulldoze accessible from within the operating organisation. For case, the drive needs to be initialized. This occurs, typically when I open the Disk Direction utility and a bulletin states that a new bulldoze is detected and must be initialized. This is typically a former operation, and it does not take very long to reach. Adjacent, the drive must be partitioned and formatted earlier it is usable. Formatting a new drive can take a bit of time depending on the size of the drive and the type of format being performed. Luckily, with Windows PowerShell 3.0 in Windows viii or Windows Server 2012, I tin can perform all of these operations via Windows PowerShell functions from the Storage module. The process is the same as I would practise via the Disk Management tool. The steps are:

  1. Get the disk that has a raw partition style.
  2. Initialize the disk.
  3. Segmentation the disk.
  4. Format the volume.

The following script accomplishes these four tasks:

InitializePartitionFormatNewDisks.ps1

Get-Disk |

Where partitionstyle -eq 'raw' |

Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle MBR -PassThru |

New-Sectionalisation -AssignDriveLetter -UseMaximumSize |

Format-Book -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "disk2" -Confirm:$falseThe commencement thing I exercise is become all disks that take a raw sectionalization mode. To do this I use the Get-Disk function, and I use the Where-Object cmdlet to limit the results to those with a 'Raw' segmentation style. This portion of the script is shown hither.

Get-Disk |

Where partitionstyle -eq 'raw' | Now I employ the Initialize-Deejay function to initialize the raw disk. I specify that I want to use an MBR way of partition, and I use the PassThru switch to pass the returned deejay object downwardly the pipeline to the next control. This portion of the script is shown here.

Initialize-Disk -PartitionStyle MBR -PassThru | Because the deejay is now initialized, I can create a new partition for the drive. To practice this, I employ the New-Partition function, and I allow the operating arrangement to assign a new drive letter of the alphabet to the drive. I also tell the operating organization to create the largest partition size that the deejay will support. I then pipe the newly created partitioning to the next control. This control is shown hither.

New-Partitioning -AssignDriveLetter -UseMaximumSize | The last thing to do is to format the volume. To practice this, I use the Format-Volume role, and I specify that I desire to format the volume by using NTFS. Because this is my second deejay for each of my virtual machines, I specify the disk characterization every bit "deejay two", and I suppress the confirmation prompt. This command is shown here.

Format-Volume -FileSystem NTFS -NewFileSystemLabel "disk2" -Ostend:$faux When I run the script, the script initializes the raw disk, partitions the disk, and formats the newly created volume while adding my specified volume characterization. I am using the script on a agglomeration of virtual machines that I created, merely the script also works on physical computers. This script is ane that I copied to the system volume when I mounted the volumes and copied files to them prior to bringing the virtual machines online. That is all there is to using Windows PowerShell to initialize raw disks and to segmentation and format a new volume. Bring together me tomorrow when I will talk well-nigh Event 6 in the 2022 Scripting Games. I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or mail your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace. Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy