I'm new to reinstalling Windows and want to perform a clean Windows 11 installation from a bootable USB drive. At the installation screen, Disk 0 contains the existing system, OS, recovery, and manufacturer restore partitions, while Disk 1 is the USB installer labeled ESD-USB. Should I delete only the OS partition, or remove every partition on Disk 0 and let Windows recreate them? I'll back up any important files first.
2 Answers
If you want a completely clean installation and have already backed up everything you need, delete every partition on Disk 0 until it shows as unallocated space. Do not delete anything on Disk 1—the ESD-USB partition is the installer. Then select the unallocated space on Disk 0 and click Next; Windows will create the required system and recovery partitions automatically.
The smaller partitions are the EFI, Microsoft Reserved, recovery, and manufacturer restore partitions. They can all be removed for a true clean install, but deleting them also removes the factory recovery tools. If you want to preserve the manufacturer restore option, keep the restore partition and delete only the Windows-related partitions, though a full wipe is usually simpler.
Either way, double-check the disk number and capacity before deleting. The 29 GB ESD-USB entry is the installation drive, not the internal drive.
Thanks, that clears it up. I’ll make sure the important files are backed up before deleting anything.