Once you hit that Format button, you aren't losing data. You are gaining potential energy . That blank drive could be a backup for your new gaming PC, a movie drive for your road trip, or a fresh start.
Now go forth. Wipe that slate clean.
You don’t need to clean it. You need to reformat it. Most people think reformatting is just a fancy way to hit “delete all.” It’s not. It’s closer to repainting the walls and changing the locks. reformat external hard drive windows
Side note: Disk Management looks intimidating. It’s just a map of your storage. Don’t touch the drive labeled “C:” unless you enjoy reinstalling Windows. Once you hit that Format button, you aren't losing data