External hard drive cannot be formatted - what to do?
If an external hard drive cannot be formatted, this is often due to read and write errors. This practical tip shows you how to fix the problem.
External hard drive cannot be formatted - you have to do that
There is often a read or write error on the hard disk. Proceed as follows:
- Switch to the "Control Panel".
- Open the "Administration".
- Select "Computer Management" here.
- In the menu on the left, select "Disk management" under "Data storage". You now get an overview of all data carriers that are connected to the PC.
- Find the external hard drive and right click on it.
- Select "Delete volume" in the context menu. Confirm with "Yes" in the next window.
- After successful deletion you can format the hard disk.
An SD card can also be formatted under Windows. In another practical tip, we will show you how.