How do i delete files on my external hard drive

I try to delete other files, but the result is the same. Why cannot I delete files from my external hard drive? Any advice will be appreciated! The reasons that cause the failure of file deletion can be various and complicated and the main elements are concluded as follows:.

If you are still unable to remove the files off external hard drive, refer to the four solutions given below. In such condition, you can turn to remove write protection from external hard drive using Diskpart at first.

Start with the following steps:. Have a look at the following steps. Locate the file or folder going to be deleted, right-click it and choose Properties on the pop-up menu. Permission for xxx xxx the name of the file or folder that needs deleting dialogue will prompt. Click Add button to enter Select Users or Group screen.

Now, you have the full control for the file or folder and you can choose to delete it. You can run disk checking utility by following the steps below:. Open File Explorer, locate the drive that you need to fix, right-click it and choose Properties among listed options.

Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Back up important data. If there is data on the drive you need to keep, make sure to save it on another hard drive. Connect your external hard drive to your computer.

Most external hard drives can be connected to your computer using a USB or firewire cable. In some cases, an external hard drive may need to be plugged in using an AC adapter.

This icon is used on wikiHow as fair use because it is being used to provide how-to instructions. Click This PC. It's in the sidebar menu to the left. This displays all external and internal hard drives connected to your computer. If you don't see "This PC", look for the name of your computer.

It's next to an icon that resembles a computer monitor. Right-click your external hard drive. This displays a pop-up menu next to the hard drive. If your external hard drive has a specific name, it will be listed in File Explorer. Otherwise, it may be listed as "USB Drive" or the make and model of your hard drive.

The amount of space each hard drive has is listed below the drive name in File Explorer. Right-click the hard drive with the amount of space that matches your external hard drive. Click Format….

It's in the menu that appears when you right-click on your hard drive. Select a file system. Use the drop-down menu below "File System" to select the file system you want for your external hard drive. There are three main file systems you can choose from. Select this option if you only plan on using your external drive on Windows computers. It works well with all versions of Windows and recent versions of macOS. Select this option if you plan on storing large file sizes and plan on accessing your external drive on other devices, such as macOS.

It is, however, compatible with more devices. Select this option if you don't have any large files and need the largest compatibility across multiple devices. It's at the bottom of the Format menu. This displays a pop-up warning. Click Ok. It's in the pop-up warning. The pop-up warning informs you that all data on the external drive will be erased.

This acknowledges the warning and formats your drive. It may take several minutes depending on your computer hardware and the size of your external hard drive. This appears in a window that pops up when the drive is finished formatting. Method 2. Type Disk Utility. This opens the Disk Utility app. Alternatively, you can find the Disk Utility app in the Utilities folder, which is inside the Applications folder in Finder. Select your external hard drive. All external hard drives are listed below "External" in the sidebar to the left in Disk Utility.

Click Erase. It's in the button in the middle at the top of the Disk Utility app window. Type a name for the external hard drive. This is the name the hard drive will be renamed to once it is formatted. Select a file format system.

Select this option if you have a mechanical or hybrid hard drive, if you are using an older version of Mac OS, and only plan on using your external hard drive on Mac computers. Step 2: Directly drag and drop the unwanted file to the tool or you can click Add button to input the unnecessary file. Step 3: Select the file deletion mode and slow mode is more preferred here as it can erase the useless file more completely.

Step 4: Hit Delete button in the lower right corner and click OK option to forever delete the selected files from your external hard drive. For Windows. Data Recovery. Fixed: Unable to Delete Files from External Hard Drive It must be troublesome that you cannot delete files from the external hard drive in Windows 10, especially at the time you need to release disk space.

Obtain the Permission of the Unwanted File 2. Remove Write Protection from the External Drive 3.