Forum Discussion
how to completely wipe usb drive on Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC?
Hi all, I have dozens of important and sensitive files stored on my USB drive, and I’d like to ensure they’re permanently deleted so they can’t be recovered. I know that simply deleting files fro...
Costa_Rica Quick format only removes the file system’s index, which means the actual data remains on the USB drive until it’s overwritten by new files. As a result, file recovery software can often scan the drive and restore files that haven’t been overwritten.
A full format goes further by overwriting the data with zeros, which makes recovery significantly more difficult and it is an secure way to wipe a USB drive on Windows 11 PC as far as I know, though not always impossible. Specialized recovery tools or professional services may still retrieve some data, but chances of success are far lower than with a quick format.
