How do I permanently delete files from my external Hard drive
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Written By Subhjeet Vimal
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Approved By Tanushree Chatterjee
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Updated on 26 Feb, 2024 -
Min Reading 4 Min - Share
Summary: This blog sheds light on the importance of permanently erasing data in your external hard drive and introduces you to Stellar File Eraser- a failsafe, permanent and secure file erasure tool, designed to destroy the contents of your external hard drive and maintain your data privacy.
Buy Now An external hard drive harbors our documents, pictures, videos, music and other personal files. They are essential storage places for many of our personal, professional and sensitive information. In fact, many people use external hard drive as a backup storage device for their PC. Nevertheless, sometimes the data in the external hard drive needs to be permanently erased. Let us see why.
Key Reasons to wipe your hard drive clean
1. Data Privacy issues: When you decide to discard, sell or exchange your storage media, you need to first permanently erase its contents. This is true for both actively used hard drives and drives which have reached the end of their life terms. Erasing the contents of your user hard drive prevents its unauthorized usage.
2.Virus corruption: Sometimes, the data in your hard drive might become corrupted due to a virus or malware attack. To get rid of the virus, it is important to wipe the drive clean.
Methods to Erase files from external hard drive
In the passage below, we will discuss the different software methods to delete the files from an external hard drive
1. Delete external hard drive files using your PC settings
You can attach your external hard drive to a PC and then delete the files in your hard drives one by one. The File Explorer feature of your PC allows you to delete the files in your External hard drive. All you need to do is to right click on selected file and click delete button.
Alternatively, you can also decide to format all the files in your external hard drive (should you choose to). All you need to do is to select the external hard drive, right click on hard drive from your PC’s interface and click on Format (see Image 2)
2. Delete external hard drive files using CMD
You can also delete your external hard drive files using your PC’s command prompt. Follow the steps below
- Press Windows+R button to open the Run command
- Enter CMD in the Run window and press Enter
- In the CMD window, type diskpart and press Enter
- Next, type list disk
- Then select disk #(make the selection of external hard drive)
- Type clean all to remove all files from the selected disk
3. Permanently erase external hard drive with File Erasure
Deleting using your files using your PC or Mac’s system settings doesn’t wipe the files from your computer. Any data recovery software can easily trace and recover the files.
A file erasure software is the prescribed method to permanently delete files from your hard drive. A file erasure software functions by overwriting on top of the files you wish to delete. This overwriting can be done once or multiple times. As a result of the erasure, the files become unreadable and beyond the capacity of a data recovery software. This is known as erasure beyond recovery and only an efficient file erasure software could accomplish that.
Stellar File Eraser to permanently erase your external hard drive files
Stellar File Eraser is a recommended file erasure software that can easily and efficiently erase all contents of your external hard drive. This way, you can securely destroy your data and make it inaccessible to anyone. It is available for Mac systems as well.
Following are the key features of the Stellar File Eraser software
1) Erase all types of files and formats, including app traces, Internet histories, and deleted data.
2) Easy to use a DIY tool
3) Compliant with 3 International data erasure standards
4) Single click interface
How to use Stellar File Eraser to erase external hard drive files
- Install Stellar File Eraser for Windows.
- Install and launch the software
3. Click on Erase File & Folder, the third option on the left pane.
4. Click on “Add Items” button and a dialog box will open. Expand the selection under “This PC” and scroll down to access the hard drives. You will also see the external hard drive in the list
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NO About The Author
Subhjeet Vimal is a Senior Content Writer at Stellar® and a Hubspot Certified Content Marketer. He likes to keep himself curious and updated with the developments in the Tech world. He writes about Data Erasure, Data Recovery and other DIY Technologies.
8 comments
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Thanks for sharing this informative article!
Is there a difference in the deletion process between HDDs and SSDs ?
Thank you for your comment! Regarding your question about the deletion process, there are indeed some differences between HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) and SSDs (Solid State Drives).
When it comes to HDDs, deleting a file typically involves removing the reference to the file from the file system’s index. This makes the file’s space available for reuse, but the actual data remains on the drive until it gets overwritten by new data. Until that happens, it may be possible to recover the deleted file using specialized software.
On the other hand, SSDs work differently. They use a technology called NAND flash memory, which stores data in memory cells. When you delete a file from an SSD, the controller marks the corresponding cells as available for new data. However, the actual data may still persist on the drive in a process known as “garbage collection” or “wear leveling.” This process aims to optimize the SSD’s performance and lifespan by distributing writes evenly across the memory cells. As a result, the data may remain recoverable even after deletion.
I hope this helps clarify the differences in the deletion process between HDDs and SSDs. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask!
Are there any recommended practices for verifying that files have been successfully and permanently deleted from the external hard drive?
When it comes to verifying that files have been successfully and permanently deleted from an external hard drive, there are several recommended practices you can follow. While BitRaser File Eraser is a reputable tool for file deletion, it’s always good to take additional steps to ensure the data is irrecoverable. Here are some suggestions:
1. Multiple Overwrites: If you are not using any data erasure tool then consider performing multiple overwrites on storage device.
2. Random Data Overwrite: When erasing files, use a random data pattern instead of simple zeroes or ones.
3. Full Disk Erasure: If you want to ensure all data on the external hard drive is securely erased, consider performing a full disk erasure rather than just deleting specific files.
4. Use Data Recovery Tools: To double-check the effectiveness of the file erasure process, you can try using data recovery tools on the external hard drive after the deletion. If they fail to retrieve any of the erased data, it indicates a successful deletion.
Furthermore, BitRaser File Eraser is no ordinary software; it packs world-class data wiping technology to give you a failsafe assurance of data safety.
Great article! It’s important for people to understand that simply deleting files from an external hard drive does not actually remove them permanently. Your step-by-step guide for securely erasing files is very helpful. It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to sensitive information.
Thank you so much Keith, for taking time to leave such a positive comment!
I’ve been looking for a solution to permanently delete files from my external hard drive without having to physically destroy it. Your post has been incredibly helpful in guiding me through the process. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your comment, Zyair! I’m glad to hear that the article was helpful to you. It’s always great to know that the information we provide is useful to our readers.