Is it possible to FORMAT an external hard disk that has been encrypted using Storagecrypt

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I lost approximately 680 GB of data on my Seagate 2TB hard drive while experimenting with a software called StorageCrypt. I used it a few months ago and today I tried it again. But, I didn't know that the old password is already set in the hard disk when I pressed the encrypt button.

I forgot the password which is disappointing. Not to mention, the software uses 128 bit AES encryption so there is no way that I am going to recover that data.

I want to completely erase the hard drive so it is just like it was when I first purchased it. Is it possible to format a hard drive which has been encrypted? I tried to format by right click, Format. But the size of the disk is shown as 1 MB.

Best Answer

Yes

Most probably, your encryption software created a special partition, which Windows doesn't know how to deal with. Delete this partition and start afresh:

  1. Right-click on Computer in Start Menu, select "Manage"
  2. Select "Disk Management" from left pane, under "Storage"
  3. Select the right partition (volume) on the right disk from the list of disks (bottom right pane) This is very important to make sure you select a correct disk/partition, the partition in question shouldn't have a drive letter, and most probably would be listed as RAW type.
  4. Rigtht-click and select "Delete Volume"
  5. Create a new one on the same disk, with the maximum size (should be the default). You could format it as NTFS, or FAT32, depending on your preference.
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