"Format External Hard Drive on Windows 11 | Top 6 Methods"

Updated by

Tracy King 

Written by

Linda 

Updated on April 22, 2024

On this page, we'll demonstrate how to format an external hard drive in Windows 11/10, erase a hard drive, and walk you through the process to prepare your drive for data storage, installing Windows, or other uses.

Formatting is crucial before utilizing a new internal or external hard drive on Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. Regardless of whether you're using Windows 11/10 or the older Windows 7, follow this comprehensive guide provided by tools to learn how to format an external hard drive yourself.

You May Also Like: How to Format/Reformat A Hard Drive

How to Format New External Hard Drive on Windows 11

• Applies to: Formatting a brand new external hard drive on Windows 11/10.
• Required Tools: ①. New HDD/SSD or external HDD; ②. Connection cable - SATA Cable, power cable, or USB 3.0 connection cable; ③. Formatting tool - Partition Master or Disk Management.

If you have a new external hard drive, you'll need to initialize it and create a new partition before you can format it. This is because a new drive doesn't have a partition, so it won't show up in File Explorer.

Insert or connect your new external hard drive to the computer and follow the methods provided below to learn how to initialize and format it in Windows 11/10:

Method 1: Format a New External Hard Drive Using AOMEI Partition Assistant

These lines translated into English are:
• ✔️Best for: Windows beginners
• ??Advantages: Easy to use

For most Windows novices, Windows Disk Management is not user-friendly, as the whole operating process is tricky for them. To help you quickly make the new external hard drive usable, we suggest you try tools Partition Master.

It's efficient and easy. You can start formatting your own new hard drive now:

< strong > First, initialize the new hard drive. < /strong >

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and go to Partition Manager.

Step 2. Right-click the target disk - HDD or SSD and select "Initialize to MBR" or "Initialize to GPT". Click "Execute Task" and "Apply" to save the changes.

0:00-0:18 Initialize to MBR; 0:19-0:44 Initialize to GPT;

Next, create a partition on the new hard drive.

Step 1. Launch tools Partition Master. On the main window, right-click on the unallocated space on your hard drive or external storage device and choose "Create".

Step 2. Adjust the size of the new partition, choose the file system (select the one you need), add a label, and then click “OK” to proceed.

Step 3. Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button and create a new partition by clicking "Apply".

Watch the following video tutorial to learn how to create a partition on an NTFS, FAT, or EXT file system.

Notice that during the creation of the partition, the Partition Master tool will automatically format the new partition, making it ready for immediate use.

Method 2: Format New External Hard Drive on Windows 11/10 Using Disk Management

These are the translations in English:
• ✔️Best for: Experienced Windows users
• ??Advantages: Free

To properly format a new hard drive, you need to exercise caution when using Disk Management. To format a new hard drive with Disk Management, follow these steps:

Step 1. Press "Windows + R" keys, type diskmgmt.msc and click "OK" to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the hard drive or SSD labeled "Unknown" and "Not Initialized," and choose "Initialize Disk."

If the disk is shown as Offline, first right-click it and select "Online".

Initialize hard drive for formatting

Step 3. In the Initialize Disk dialog, select the disk to initialize, and then click "OK" to accept the default partition style (GPT or MBR), or you can choose a different one as needed.

Here are the translations for the given languages: 1.
• Master Boot Record (MBR) es para discos duros de menos de 2 TB de tamaño.
2.
• GUID Partition Table (GPT) es para discos duros de más de 2 TB de tamaño.

Step 4. Locate the initialized disk, right-click the unallocated space, and select the "New Simple Volume" option.

Step 5. Set up and format the partition you created on the new hard drive.

Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the volume size, drive letter, NTFS as the file system, and select the "Perform a quick format" option.

Format a new hard drive in Windows 10

Step 6. Click the "Next" > "Finish" button.

Depending on the size of the drive, this could take a while. When it's done, your new hard drive will be initialized, partitioned, and formatted correctly.

How to Format a Used External Hard Drive on Windows 11

• Applies to: Formatting a used internal or external hard drive in Windows 11/10/8/7/XP, etc.
• Required Tools: ①. HDD/SSD or external HDD; ②. Connection cable - SATA Cable, power cable, or USB 3.0 connection cable; ③. Formatting tool - tools like Partition Master, Disk Management, File Explorer, or DiskPart.

If you have an external hard drive already organized with partitions, you can format the existing partition to remove its content and start fresh with a clean drive. We cover the three most popular ways to format a partition, as shown below.

Keep your hard drive or external HDD connected to your PC and select one of the methods below that works best for you to begin formatting the disk:

Method 1: Using Partition Master Tool

Here are the translations for the provided text: 1.
• ✔️Best for: All levels of Windows users, especially designed for Windows beginners
2.
• ??Advantages: Easy & 4-Step Formatting

tools Partition Master is a popular disk partition management tool that can handle various hard disk management tasks, such as formatting disk partitions, extending system partitions, resolving low disk space issues, converting MBR to GPT without data loss, and vice versa.

Its Format feature can also come in handy when you fail to finish the Windows 11/10 disk formatting job or can't format an external hard drive with other Windows formatting tools.

< strong >Step-by-Step Guide to Format Old/Used External HDD in Windows 11/10

Step 1. Launch tools Partition Master, right-click the partition on your external hard drive/USB/SD card which you want to format and choose the "Format" option.

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, and then click "OK".

In the Warning window, click “Yes” to continue.

Step 4. Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the top-left corner to review the changes, then click "Apply" to start formatting your external hard drive/USB/SD card.

"You might get another hard drive to format."

Method 2: Using File Explorer

These are the translations into English:
• ✔️Best for: Windows beginners
• ??Advantages: Free

Another simple method is to use Windows File Explorer to format a functional internal or external hard drive on your Windows computer. Let's use formatting an external hard drive as an example to illustrate the process. Here are the steps:

Here are the translations of the given instructions into English:
1. Connect your external hard drive to a Windows PC and open Windows File Explorer.
2. Press "Windows key + E" to open the Windows Explorer. Alternatively, you can click to open "Computer" in Windows 7 or "This PC" in Windows 11/10.
3. Right-click the external hard drive and select "Format".
4. Select a desired file system format - NTFS for your device.
5. Check "Quick Format" and click "Start".
6. Click "OK" to confirm and complete the formatting process.

Here's the translation for the text in the image: "Format SD card using File Explorer" The image shows a screenshot of the process to format an SD card through Windows File Explorer.

If you have several partitions created on your external hard drive, repeat the whole process until you clean all the partitions.

Method 3: Using Windows Disk Management

These lines translated into English are:
• ✔️Best for: Experienced Windows users
• ??Advantages: Free

Windows 11/10 provides users with a built-in disk management utility to create, format, extend, shrink, and delete partitions. Here are the steps to format an external hard drive partition using Disk Management:

Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select "Disk Management".

Step 2. Right-click on the target drive or partition and click on "Format".

Step 3. Choose the file system and set the cluster size.

Step 4. Click "OK" to format the drive.

Repeat the steps to format the remaining partitions on your hard drive.

Method 4. Using Diskpart

These lines translated into English are:
• ✔️Best for: Experienced users & administrators
• ??Advantages: Free

Unlike Disk Management and File Explorer, DiskPart Command Prompt is more than just a tool for formatting disks. It enables you to perform various advanced operations on your computer. Exercise caution at every step, as incorrect actions can lead to severe consequences.

Here are the steps to format a hard drive partition using the DiskPart Command Prompt: 1. **Open Command Prompt as Administrator**: Right-click on the Start button, select "Command Prompt (Admin)" or search for "cmd" in the search bar, then right-click and choose "Run as administrator." 2. **Type "diskpart" and press Enter**: This will launch the DiskPart utility. 3. **List Disks**: Type "list disk" and press Enter. This command will display all the available disks on your computer. 4. **Select the Target Disk**: Type "select disk X" where 'X' is the number of the disk you want to format. Make sure you select the correct disk as formatting will erase all data. 5. **List Partitions**: Type "list partition" and press Enter. This will show all partitions on the selected disk. 6. **Select the Partition**: Type "select partition Y" where 'Y' is the number of the partition you want to format. 7. **Format the Partition**: Type "format fs=NTFS quick" (or "fs=FAT32" if needed) and press Enter. This formats the selected partition with the NTFS file system quickly. If you want a full format, remove the word "quick". 8. **Verify the Format Process**: The command prompt will display a warning message asking if you want to continue. Type "Y" and press Enter to confirm. 9. **Exit DiskPart**: Once the formatting is complete, type "exit" and press Enter to quit DiskPart. 10. **Close Command Prompt**: Finally, type "exit" again and press Enter to close the Command Prompt window. Remember that formatting a drive will permanently delete all data on it, so ensure you have backups before proceeding.

Step 1. In Windows 11/10, search for "cmd", right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator".

Step 2. In the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press "Enter".

Step 3. Type the following command lines one by one and press Enter after each:

1. list disk
2. select disk + disk number (for example, select disk 2, replace 2 with the disk number of your external hard drive)
3. list volume
4. select volume + volume number
5. format fs=ntfs

Repeat the process until you've formatted all existing volumes on your external hard drive.

Step 4. Type exit and press Enter to close the command window.

All the methods above can help you format a used hard drive or external hard drive in Windows 11/10. If you're looking for an all-in-one solution to easily manage your disk, we highly recommend trying out the tool Partition Master.

Method 4: Using Windows Settings

Follow the on-screen instructions to format the hard drive through Windows Settings:

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes.

Step 2. Right-click on the external hard drive you want to format and select Properties.

Step 3. Click the Format tab, name the drive, select a file system, check the Perform a quick format box, and click Format.

If you're unfamiliar with the differences between quick format and full format, you can refer to this information:

Why Do You Need to Format Hard Drive on Windows 11?

People might need to format an external hard drive in Windows 11/10 for various reasons. Here's a list of reasons, or let's call it benefits, that explain why individuals intend to format their external hard drives, USBs, or SD cards, etc., storage devices:

• Format new hard drive before usage
• Format to change a hard drive's file system for specific purposes
• Format a hard drive for a clean installation of the Windows operating system
• Reformat or wipe a hard drive to erase data, such as restoring the disk's full capacity

However, only a few know how to do it right. This is why we've provided you with all the comprehensive tutorials above to format a new or used external hard drive in Windows 11/10.

To do so, you can utilize any method that you prefer the most, such as Windows Disk Management, Windows File Explorer, Windows DiskPart, or even a third-party partition manager, etc.

Conclusion

On this page, we have provided extensive solutions to assist you in addressing formatting issues with your hard drive. Using the methods outlined, you can effortlessly format a brand new hard drive, format an internal or external hard drive, and even completely erase a hard drive in Windows 11/10.

For Windows beginners, we recommend backing up important data first and then using a practical formatting tool like Partition Master for assistance.

"Format External Hard Drive in Windows 11/10: Frequently Asked Questions"

We've gathered some frequently asked questions and provided answers below. If you have similar queries about formatting an external hard drive in Windows 11/10, refer to the following FAQs.

< strong > 1. Can I force format an external hard drive? < /strong >

When encountering the error message "Windows Was Unable to Complete the Format," you are unable to format a hard drive using Disk Management or File Explorer. This issue might occur due to a device being locked, an unsupported file system, or an unknown error on the device.

Considering these issues, Partition Master tool can give you a hand. It can directly solve your problem with its Format feature.

2. How do I format a hard drive when the Format option is grayed out in Disk Management?

When performing hard drive maintenance using free disk management utilities, you might encounter an issue where the "Disk Management format" option is disabled or greyed out. This prevents you from formatting a partition, as the "Format" button is unavailable in Windows 11, 10, 8, or 7.

To address the "Format Volume greyed out" issue, we have provided the following solutions:

Here are the translations for the languages you provided: 1. Restart PC - Restart the computer 2. Format Hard Drive using Disk Management alternative, like tools Partition Master - Format the hard drive using an alternative to Disk Management, such as Partition Master tool 3. Run CMD to format hard drive - Run Command Prompt to format the hard drive

For a detailed guide, you may refer to "Format Option Greyed Out" for assistance.

3. How do I format an external hard drive to FAT32?

As some gamers say, there are occasions when they need to format an external hard drive to FAT32 for specific use. Unfortunately, the regular formatting method proves ineffective.

When there is no FAT32 option in Windows 11/10 File Explorer or Disk Management, you can use either the Windows Command Prompt or a third-party partition manager tool, such as Partition Master, to format the device to FAT32 in Windows 11/10/8/7.

Seek help from professional FAT32 formatting tools and format external hard drive to FAT32 now.