Guide: How to Permanently Delete Files From External Hard Drive

Completely delete external hard disk files to protect your data security! Worry about external hard drive data leakage? Repeated file deletion? This article will introduce several methods to permanently delete external hard disk files safely and reliably.

Simple deletion of files (right-click "Delete") does not guarantee that data cannot be recovered, and data recovery software is easy to retrieve. In order to ensure data security and privacy, we need a more thorough method of deletion.

The following three methods are available: Use a command prompt, format the hard drive, and erase the hard drive.

Method 1: Use the command prompt to delete the file

Use the "clean all" command to delete files is almost impossible to recover.

Step 1: Press the Win R key to open the running window.

Step 2: Enter diskpart and press Enter to select Yes in the UAC window.

Step 3: Enter the following commands in turn, and press Enter after each command:

• list disk
• select disk x (x represents the external hard disk containing the file to be deleted)
• clean all

Method 2: Format the hard disk and delete files

Formatting the hard drive deletes all files. But if you use "Quick Format" in Explorer, the data may still be restored. To permanently delete data, you must uncheck "Quick Format".

Step 1: Press Win E key to open Explorer.

Step 2: Enter the "This Computer" section, right-click the target external hard drive, and select "Format".

Step 3: In the new window, specify the file system and volume label, uncheck "Quick Format", and then click "Start".

Method 3: Erase the hard disk and delete the file permanently

The safest way is to use the hard disk erase tool to completely clear all data. The erased data is almost impossible to recover.

The MiniTool Partition Wizard, a free hard disk data erasing software, can be used. It can completely remove all data on internal hard drives, external hard drives, USB drives, SD cards and other devices for free.

Step 1: Download, install and start the MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Step 2: Select the disk you want to erase on the main interface, and then click "Erase Disk" in the menu bar on the left.

Step 3: Select the desired erase method and click "OK". Different erasing methods require different times, and the possibility of data recovery also decreases with the increase of time.

Step 4: Finally, click the "Apply" button in the lower left corner to apply all changes.

How to recover permanently deleted files?

Files after using the "clean all" command, full formatting (non-fast formatting), and erasing the hard drive are usually not recoverable.

However, if you accidentally deleted important files using the "clean" command, or formatted files with quick formatting, you can still try recovery using free data recovery software. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a recommended free file recovery tool.

Step 1: Download, install and start MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

Step 2: Select the target hard disk where data loss occurs and click "Scan".

Step 3: After the scan is completed, you can use the "Filter" (filter files by file size, file category, file type, and file modification date) or the "Search" (search files by partial or complete file name) function to find the required files.

You can also preview the file to check if it is needed.

Step 4: Select all the required files, and then click the "Save" button to select the storage location for the restored files.

Summarize

This article describes three ways to permanently delete hard disk files in Windows 10/8/7 and Windows 11 systems: using the "clean all" command at the command prompt, fully formatting the hard disk, and erasing the hard disk. If you have any questions about MiniTool software, please feel free to contact us.

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