I don't really use file encryption myself, so I can't really help you with recommendations. Windows comes along with Bitlocker, which from what I can tell is a very decent encryption tool. I use LastPass as a password manager, and that comes along with encryption options for data. I've heard about DiskCryptor and VeraCrypt being good, but I have absolutely no experience with them.
Honestly though, the best way to encrypt things on a hard drive is to just lock it up in a cupboard. Unless you are sharing the hard drives with a bunch of people you don't want accessing your files, then you don't need to use encryption. You are just creating problems for your future self.
I heard that hashcat is a good program to break down rar and 7zip encryptions. There are several of them though, a quick google search should give you some decent recommendations.