'format'? external hardisk..

[.praj]

hey all..

a newbie to the forum. =)
need some help deleting files from my plug&play 40GB external hardisk. don't know if format is the right word to be used.. but all i need to know is how to remove all the files in it. just don't want to do for each..

thanks for any help..

[cohenx]

If you want to format your external HDD just do the following:

- Rightclick on the device (in explorer)
- Format

But be aware, the data is not fully deleted then. If you give the device away or sell it, other peeps can restore most of the files with a data recovery software.

If you just want to format it to clean it up, its okay, just do it.

[.praj]

no way am going to be giving it away. just want to clean stuffs in it & put them back. thanks for the reply..

just wondering.. where do the files/data go on formatting? am hoping the option format would remove all the files making it 'look' like a newly bought hd..

[cohenx]

It looks like a newly bought hdd :]

The sectors for data storage are just sorted in a new way and flagged as "ready to overwrite". You, as a user don't see this, but a data recovery tool can rebuild most of the content when just do the reverse action.

(simplified description, don't blame me :P)

[.praj]

lol.. anyways, thanks =)