Windows 10: Formatting an External Drive - HELP!!

Discus and support Formatting an External Drive - HELP!! in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; I want to format an external HD that I'd originally set up as a bootable backup of my laptop HD. In Disk Management the drive appears as Disk 1... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/Xocomil21, Sep 2, 2020.

  1. Formatting an External Drive - HELP!!


    I want to format an external HD that I'd originally set up as a bootable backup of my laptop HD.

    In Disk Management the drive appears as Disk 1 Healthy (GPT Protective Partition). My laptop's HD is Disk 0.

    When I right click on Disk 1 all options are greyed out except for HELP.

    I tried a few commands via Command Prompt but couldn't seem to select the disk.

    I want to format the disk to NTFS and then use it to backup some files.

    Advice please???

    submitted by /u/Xocomil21
    [link] [comments]

    :)
     
    /u/Xocomil21, Sep 2, 2020
    #1

  2. Format an external Drive.

    Hello Roger,

    Thank you for posting your concern in Microsoft Community and welcome to the Windows 10 Family.

    I would suggest you to follow the below steps to format the drive you are referring to.

    • Right Click on Start menu and select Open Computer Management.

    • In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

    • Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.

    • To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click
      OK, and then click OK again.
    Note: You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

    Hope it helps.

    Thank you.
     
    Sayan_Ghosh, Sep 2, 2020
    #2
  3. Paolo Mag Win User
    want to Format a La Cie External Drive Because the Software Genie 9 has too many versions of backup.

    Hello,

    To format an external USB or an external hard drive you can easily do it by accessing Computer Management. For us to assist you, we suggest that you follow the steps listed below:

    • Press the Start button.
    • Type Computer Management.
    • On the left side, click on Disk Management under Storage.
    • Locate the drive that you want to format.
    • Once located, right-click on the drive and choose Format.

    If the hard drive has not been formatted with the steps that we have provided above, we recommend that you contact the manufacturer of your hard drive. Some hard drive requires a software that you'll need to use just to format it.

    Let us know how it goes and if you need further assistance, feel free to post back.
     
    Paolo Mag, Sep 2, 2020
    #3
  4. Formatting an External Drive - HELP!!

    Help with external hard drive

    Hi Debbra,

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    I appreciate your interest in windows 10 and also for trying the troubleshooting steps to fix the issue. I understand the inconvenience you faced. I will certainly help you with this.

    I would suggest you to plug in hard drive then check in disk management you can see the drive or not.

    Follow the steps to check Drive in Disk Management.


    • Go to the Control Panel then click on the
      Administrative Tools. .

    • Under the Administrative Tool Click on Computer Management.

    • Click on Disk Management and check the External Hard Drive.

    Also check in BIOS whether External Hard Drive is listed or not.

    For help with the BIOS settings, refer to the computer manual or contact the manufacturer.

    If it doesn’t work then, I would suggest you to update BIOS for updating BIOS contact Lenovo Support.

    Follow the link:

    http://support.lenovo.com/in/hi/

    Disclaimer :

    Modifying BIOS/complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings
    can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

    Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

    Thanks.
     
    Preeti Patel, Sep 2, 2020
    #4
Thema:

Formatting an External Drive - HELP!!

Loading...
  1. Formatting an External Drive - HELP!! - Similar Threads - Formatting External Drive

  2. Formatting an external drive

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Formatting an external drive: when you format an external "exfat" SSD drive to "NTFS" or vise versa doesn't all the data/files & folders get deleted? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/formatting-an-external-drive/fa2d4bb5-7bcc-4573-804c-ce87d5122c5b
  3. Formatting an external drive

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    Formatting an external drive: when you format an external "exfat" SSD drive to "NTFS" or vise versa doesn't all the data/files & folders get deleted? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/formatting-an-external-drive/fa2d4bb5-7bcc-4573-804c-ce87d5122c5b
  4. Formatting an external drive

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    Formatting an external drive: when you format an external "exfat" SSD drive to "NTFS" or vise versa doesn't all the data/files & folders get deleted? https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/formatting-an-external-drive/fa2d4bb5-7bcc-4573-804c-ce87d5122c5b
  5. HELP! External Hard Drive Format

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    HELP! External Hard Drive Format: Good day everyone. I'm having difficulties with formatting my external hard drive. For the past 2-3 days, I've been trying to format it. It started acting up after sending 2 files of about 5gb each, I transferred these files at night, then the following day, it doesn't show...
  6. HELP! External Hard Drive Format

    in Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware
    HELP! External Hard Drive Format: Good day everyone. I'm having difficulties with formatting my external hard drive. For the past 2-3 days, I've been trying to format it. It started acting up after sending 2 files of about 5gb each, I transferred these files at night, then the following day, it doesn't show...
  7. External Hard Drive Format

    in Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware
    External Hard Drive Format: Good day everyone. I'm having difficulties with formatting my external hard drive. For the past 2-3 days, I've been trying to format it. It started acting up after sending 2 files of about 5gb each, I transferred these files at night, then the following day, it doesn't show...
  8. Which format for an external drive

    in Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware
    Which format for an external drive: I just bought a Seagate portable USB hard drive. It was supplied formatted as an ex-FAT drive. I changed this to NTFS. What's the 'best' format to use for external drives for Windows 10 use only? 139483
  9. Format external hard drive

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Format external hard drive: I’d like to format an external hard drive in windows 10. Please, give me instructions. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/format-external-hard-drive/ceefbfcb-e153-43f1-aa11-66086963ac41"
  10. Format external hard drive

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Format external hard drive: I’d like to format an external hard drive in windows 10. Please, give me instructions. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/format-external-hard-drive/78657fa9-d525-422d-a53a-44d4f459d0b4"