A NAS drive is a storage drive that can be connected to multiple devices to allow multiple people to share storage and access different files on different computers and mobiles. The Network Attached Storage Drive (NAS Drive) can be easily connected to different people’s devices for a shared storage option.
NAS devices have inbuilt processors and operating systems that provide system intelligence and also run several applications. However, for various reasons, one might want to format a NAS drive and clear all storage.
Here are the steps to follow while formatting your NAS drive.
Steps to formatting your NAS drive
- Log onto your NAS’s station manager using administrator credentials. Once you log into your NAS using Administrator credentials, you will find different folders.
- Click on Control Panel to look into the settings and find options to format your NAS drive.
- After the control panel opens, different headings for different sets of options will be available for your drive. Look for the heading “system” and then select the option “update and restore” under the “System” heading.
- Once you choose “update and restore,” three tabs will be available for you to select from.
- DSM update
- Configuration backup and
- System Reset
To format your NAS drive, you should select system reset.
- Under the “System Reset” tab, you will find a heading called “Factory reset.” Under Factory reset, you will find some information that tells you that your system will be restored to its factory settings, all data stored will be wiped out, and all your settings will be reset to default. If you understand it, click on “Erase all data”.
- A Dialogue box will appear on the screen that tells you that all your data will be wiped out and your device will return to its default settings and then ask if you wish to continue.
- There will also be a box to check that states that you understand that all your data will be wiped out, and you will have to check it before you proceed further.
- Once you check the box, you will have to wait for 5 seconds to click on erase all data to begin the factory reset process.
- You will be asked to type in the administrator password once before the process begins. Type the password and select “submit”. A pop-up window will appear to inform us that the process is starting, and you can use your drive to reconnect once the restart is finished.
How to factory reset your Synology NAS (DSM 6)
How do I format a NAS drive to NTFS?
- To open Disk Management, right-click “My Computer/This PC” on the desktop and choose “Manage” > “Storage” > “Disk Management.”
- Right-click on the external hard drive you want to format and choose “Format…” from the menu that appears.
- In the “File system” box, choose “NTFS,” and then check the “Quick format” box.
- Click “OK” to format the drive, then wait until the process is done.
What is the best format for NAS drive?
Use exFAT for all external storage devices that will be used for file sharing. FAT32 is the most compatible file system (and the default format USB keys are formatted with).
Which is better exFAT or NTFS?
NTFS is a speedier file system for internal drives. It routinely outperforms exFAT and utilizes less system resources. As read/write rates are handled differently over USB connections and between operating systems, exFAT performs quicker when utilized as the file system for external storage.
Conclusion
It is fairly easy to reset your NAS drive and restore everything on it to factory settings. However, this is not a process that you should do very often. Since all the data is wiped when you do this, a factory reset is recommended to be the last thing you should do for any purpose.