New external hard drive has software installed in it and I'm not sure if I can format it without bricking it

I bought a new hard drive and to my surprise it has software installed in it.

I tried to copy stuff inside but due to it having a different filesystem, there were some issues with allowed names and then I could barely delete stuff in it: it took so long just to permanently delete an empty folder.

I think the solution to all this is formatting to my filesystem: ext4.

I'm pretty sure I can format it however I please but I'm overthinking it due to being aware that these devices run a operating system of their own and I'm afraid to break it, although it's probably untouchable as firmware.

To add to my doubts, there's a 4MiB unallocated partition.

Can I delete it or is it some kind of metadata about the hard drive? Probably not, but I'm left wondering what it is:

I really don't want to brick a brand new device.

Format it.

The software is doing nothing for you.

I don't know what "free software" they gave you but it isn't needed for the operation or function of that drive.

If you are worried about what you might lose from the drive, you can always copy off the free "crap" and copy it back after the format.

I bet it is some trialware backup program or some other junk. I guarantee you don't need it.