Select external hard drive you want to wipe, and then click the menu item "Tools" > "Erase Sectors", as shown in the figure below.
Download and run DiskGenius Free Edition. You can specify the characters to overwrite the disk and the scope to be wiped. The erased data on the external hard drive will not be recovered by any software. Use DiskGenius Free Edition to completely clean the sector data for your external hard drive. Method 1: Erase an external hard drive using DiskGenius Free Edition Here's a look at the correct way to erase data from your external hard drive. The basic principle is to override the data. Therefore, if your information is so important and confidential that you want to permanently delete files, you need to wipe the external hard drive and overwrite data sector by sector.
If you use file recovery software, you can get back deleted files easily.
We're focusing this guide on Windows 10, but these instructions should also work on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.How do you permanently erase data so that it cannot be recovered? As we all know, after a file is deleted, the file header information of the file is only deleted from file system, while the real file content still exists in the external hard disk. If the drive is exhibiting problems using the Disk Management tool, as a result of data corruption or another issue, you can use the DiskPart command-line tool to resolve the problem.
If you use the full format option, remember that it can take many hours to complete depending on the size.Īfter you complete the steps, the new hard drive will be initialized, partitioned, and properly formatted. Quick tip: To perform a full format that includes a disk check, clear the quick format option.
How to create and format partition using Disk Management Once you complete the steps, the tool will format the selected partition on the drive, and then you can begin storing files. Clear the Enable file and folder compression option.It's an option that could take many hours depending on the size, but it's a good practice to make sure the drive is in working conditions. On the other hand, when clearing the option, a full format will be performed, which not only wipes the drive clean, but it'll also check for bad sectors. Quick tip: The quick format option wipes the drive fast, but it doesn't check for problems. Use the "Allocation unit size" drop-down menu, and select the Default option.Use the "File system" drop-down menu, and select the NTFS option (recommended for Windows 10).In the "Value label" field, confirm a new name for the storage.Right-click the new hard drive and select the Format option. Search for Create and format hard disk partitions and click the top result to open the Disk Management console.To format a partition using Disk Management, use these steps: When you're dealing with a drive that already has a partition, you can format the existing partition to delete its files and start with a clean storage.
How to format existing partition using Disk Management How to create and format partition using Disk Management.How to format existing partition using Disk Management.
In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to properly format a traditional hard drive or Solid-State Drive (SSD), whether it already has a partition or was never initialized. Windows 10 includes many methods to format a hard drive, but using Disk Management is perhaps one of the best options for most users.