How do I completely format an external hard drive?

Plug in the drive and open Windows Explorer. Right-click the drive and choose Format from the drop-down menu. Select the file system you want, give your drive a name under “Volume label,” and make sure the Quick Format box is checked. Click Start, and the computer will reformat your drive.

What is the best formatting for external hard drive?

FAT32 is really the most compatible format of all (and the default format USB keys are formatted with).

How do I fix a hard drive that won’t format?

How do I fix external HDD format problems?

  1. Scan the external HDD for malware.
  2. Use third-party tools.
  3. Run SFC scan.
  4. Run CHKDSK.
  5. Install the latest updates.
  6. Use Diskpart.
  7. Run Disk management tool.

How do I reset my external hard drive not recognized?

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to PC > right-click on “This PC” > “Manage” > “Disk Management”. Step 2: Find and right-click on the external hard drive > select “Format”. Step 3: Reset the external hard drive letter and system file (NTFS) and save all changes.

How do I format my hard drive to zero?

Solution 1: zero fill hard drive via Command Prompt

  1. Tap the Search button on the taskbar and type “cmd” in the search box.
  2. Type format g: /fs:NTFS /p:0 and press Enter to format the G drive with the NTFS file system and write zeros to every sector of the drive once.
  3. Type y and press Enter to confirm erase data.

Is NTFS better than FAT?

FAT is the more simple file system of the two, but NTFS offers different enhancements and offers increased security. Choosing the right operating system depends on your needs. Fault Tolerance: NTFS automatically repairs files/folders in the case of power failures or errors.

Which one is better NTFS or exFAT?

NTFS is faster as an internal drive file system. It consistently outperforms exFAT efficiency and uses fewer system resources. However, exFAT acts faster when used as the file system for external drives as the read/write speeds are handled differently over USB connections and between operating systems.