How To Wipe Hard Drive Windows 11 ❲RECENT 2026❳

Locate the drive you want to wipe. Be absolutely certain – the wrong drive can destroy your data.

Right-click the drive’s volume (the blue bar) and choose Format . how to wipe hard drive windows 11

The process takes 20 minutes to over an hour. Your PC will restart several times and finally boot to the initial Windows setup screen (like new). If you want to erase a D: drive, external USB drive, or any storage not running Windows 11, use this method. Locate the drive you want to wipe

Right-click the Start button and select Disk Management . external USB drive

Open Settings (press Windows + I ).

Go to System → Recovery .