3 Easy Methods to Convert External Hard Drive to NTFS

Convert external hard drive to ESD-USB accidentally? Here are some ways you need to do to fix it.

We understand how desperate it is when you accidentally converted external hard drive to ESD-USB. You must be worrying about the data in your external hard drive. Another question that might come up in your mind is “Can we convert the external hard drive to normal?”

In this post, we will answer your question. We can convert the external hard drive back to normal, NTFS format. The tutorial is divided into three methods. However, you need to recover the lost data in advance before you proceed to the methods in this post.

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How to Convert External Hard Drive to NTFS

There are three methods that we will introduce you to convert external hard drive to NTFS. Take a look at them below:

Method 1. Check and Fix Errors

The first method is check and fix errors in the hard drive. We will use the Command Prompt to do this. Here we go:

1. Plug in the external drive to PC and open the Windows Disk Management to see if the external drive appears normally. Click the Rescan Disks under the Action tab if the external hard drive doesn’t appear.
   
2. Open Command Prompt (Admin) by typing cmd in the Search box.
3. Type chkdsk x: /f (note: x is the external drive letter) and hit Enter.
4. The progress will start and fix any errors found.
   
5. Type exit and press Enter.

Method 2. Create A New Partition

The next step is to create a new partition. But, before we do this, you’d probably want to recover the lost data in the external hard drive. Once you have done with the restoration, you can proceed to creating a new partition.

1. Launch the Windows Disk Management window.
2. Right click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.
3. Hit the Next button.
   
4. Type the desired size for the new partition and click Next. (1 GB = 1024 MB)
5. Choose the drive letter and hit Next button.
6. Insert a volume label, choose the Perform a quick format and hit Next.
7. Press Finish.

READ ALSO: Easy Tutorial to Migrate Windows OS to SSD/HDD

Method 3. Format to NTFS

When do accidentally convert external hard drive to ESD-USB, the drive will appear RAW. What you can do in this situation is to format it to NTFS. You can rely on Disk Management, DiskPart, or third-party software like MiniTool Partition Wizard to do this task.

Final Words

Hopefully the methods above can help you convert external hard drive back to normal successfully.

For queries and suggestions, feel free to contact us. Thank you for reading, Folks!