Deleting From File Explorer
Your SD card can be managed through File Explorer just like any other connected drive or file folder and with many of the same options. Deleting files using File Explorer is the quickest and easiest method, but it may leave some data behind which can be used by recovery experts to restore the file. This is only a concern if you are planning to give away or sell the card in the near future and need to make sure that all files are permanently deleted. Insert your SD card into your computer’s SD card reader port. If your computer doesn’t have an SD card port, insert the card into a SD-to-USB adapter and connect the adapter to one of your computer’s USB ports. Press Windows-X and select File Explorer from the Power User menu if you’re using Windows 8. For Windows 7 users, click Start followed by Computer. Double-click the SD card in the Devices and Drives menu. Right-click the image you want to delete and select Delete.
Formatting Your SD Card
If you’re going to give away or sell your SD card or want a more secure erasure of the card’s contents, formatting is a better solution. Formatting completely erases and overwrites all data, making it much harder to recover even for a data recovery professional. However, it can be a bit more time consuming depending on the options you select. Right-click on your SD card in File Explorer and select Format. While formatting with Windows is often fine, the SD Association recommends using its proprietary SD Formatter tool to format SD cards. Free downloads of both SD Formatter and its user guide are available. Select FAT32 from the File System drop-down menu if it isn’t selected by default and un-check the Quick Format check box. Click Start to begin formatting. Allow the computer some time to complete the formatting procedure.
Removing the Card
When you’re done, properly eject the SD card to finalize any data-writing procedures. Failure to do so may result in data corruption. Right-click the SD card in File Explorer and select Eject. Wait for the pop-up declaring it’s safe to remove the card and then remove it from the card reader or USB adapter. Alternatively, click the ^ arrow in the system tray and find the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media icon. Right-click the icon and select Eject SD Card. Wait for the pop-up message declaring it’s safe to remove the card.
