Hey everyone! I decided to do a clean reinstall of Windows for a few reasons: I wanted to change my home folder username, switch my main boot drive from an old SSD to a faster NVMe SSD, and get rid of what I thought might be some bloatware and malware.
I backed up my important files and created a bootable USB using the Windows Media Creation Tool. After changing the boot order in my BIOS to start from the USB, I went through the installation prompts. I picked my desired drive to install Windows on without deleting any partitions because I thought selecting the drive would take care of any previous installations.
After the installation, I got an error message saying 'it looks like you started an upgrade and booted from installation media.' It prompted me to either continue with the upgrade or do a clean install, so I chose not to and eventually ended up in a setup that looked like a fresh install of Windows. However, when I checked File Explorer, I noticed my new C drive had the old files and some drives were renamed—it seems like the old installation might still be on there.
I got what I initially wanted: the new C drive, the right username, and a mostly clean Windows environment. However, I'm not sure if this is a true clean reinstall since it looks like some files are still there. Should I worry about residual malware or other files, and is it worth trying to do another clean install by deleting the partitions this time?
2 Answers
I’d recommend deleting all partitions during the installation and selecting the NVMe drive for Windows. After that, you could format your old SSD as a data drive, but it’s crucial to ensure you only have your new boot drive connected during the installation to avoid any complications.
If you're worried about malware, it’s a good idea to make a fresh boot USB from another computer before attempting a reinstall. During the installation, be sure to delete all the partitions so you can start with a completely clean slate.
Got it! I won't connect both drives during the install. Thanks for the heads-up!