I'm looking to reinstall Windows on my computer and fully clear out all my files and applications for a fresh start. I recently added a new M.2 SSD and currently, my Windows is installed on a SATA SSD. I want to know the best way to transfer Windows to the M.2 SSD while ensuring everything else on the system, like my old files and apps, is wiped. Should I start with the transfer or reset everything first? Also, will transferring Windows automatically clear my PC, or will my files still be there?
1 Answer
First off, if you're planning to completely clear your PC and reinstall Windows, you need to back up any files you want to keep because a fresh install will wipe everything on the drive. After that, grab a USB stick, and download the Windows 10 or 11 media creation tool. You can make that USB into a bootable drive. Just change the boot order in your BIOS (look up how to access BIOS for your specific motherboard) to boot from the USB stick. When you get to the drive partition options, make sure to delete the current partitions so everything becomes unallocated. Then install Windows as you normally would. This way, your data will be marked as 'deleted', but technically it can still be recovered unless you use a dedicated drive-wiping tool to make the data unrecoverable first.
That sounds pretty clear, but do you know of any good YouTube tutorials for this? I'm feeling a bit lost since it's my first time reinstalling Windows.