If you don’t receive an error message and there is no delete option, the failure of deletion can be relevant to write protection. Clear readonly attributes using Diskpart utility If you are still unable to remove the files off external hard drive, refer to the four solutions given below. How to solve it effectively?īefore going to further methods, you should ensure that the file that you need to delete is closed and not used and isn’t used by a running application. ✿ The external hard drive is under virus attack. ✿ You have no permission to manage the files on the disk. ✿ The file system of the disk is corrupted. ✿ The external hard drive holding file is write-protected. ✿ The file is opening or occupied by a running program. The reasons that cause the failure of file deletion can be various and complicated and the main elements are concluded as follows: Why cannot delete files from external hard drive?Īpart from the situation aforementioned, you may encounter other situations like “the deletion option appears but you’ll be prompted by the message that “ The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable”, “it seems that you have deleted files successfully but when you open the drive from File Explorer, you’ll see the deleted files appear again” etc. Why cannot I delete files from my external hard drive? how can I get rid of these unnecessary files on my external hard drive? Any advice will be appreciated!” I try to delete other files, but the result is the same. But when I right-click one file, there is no 'Delete' option in the pop-up menu. “I have a 500GB Seagate USB external hard drive and it is connected to a Windows 10 based computer.

Can't delete files from external hard drive

Delete from external hard drive mac