If you want to know how to format external hard drive on Windows 11, read this post. Formatting the external drive will erase all content stored on the portable hard drive. Very useful if the removable drive will have a new owner. So make sure to back up your important files.
Knowing how to fully clean an external hard drive in Windows 11 is very important. Because sometimes malfunctioning during use, external HD no longer appears in Windows 11 folders or because you will no longer be the owner.
In this post, we will guide you through the necessary steps to completely clean external hard drive in Windows 11.
How to wipe an external hard drive in Windows 11
To delete all data on the external hard drive in Windows 11, follow the steps below:
- Open Settings.
- Select System.
- Click Storage.
4. Click Advanced Storage Settings.
5. Click Disks and Volumes.
- Click the down arrow to expand.
- Click the Properties button.
- Find the Format section.
- Click the Format button.
- Enter a new name if desired.
- Choose the file format.
- Click the Format button.
Tip: at this point, you can change the external hard drive’s file system in Windows 11 (NTFS, exFAT or FAT32), if necessary.
After following the steps above, Windows 11 will format all information stored on the external hard drive.
Note: It is worth noting that some data recovery software will be able to recover files from formatted external hard drive.
Summary
Learn how to make Windows 11 format external hard drive.
So, follow the steps above and say in the comments if you managed to completely erase the information stored on your external hard drive, using Windows 11.