I'm planning to do a clean installation of Windows 11 and I have three drives connected to my PC. I've already wiped two of the SSDs using File Explorer, but I'm unsure if I can format the SSD that currently has Windows installed from the desktop file explorer as well. Once that's done, I intend to restart my PC and boot from a USB with the Windows 11 installer, ensuring all drives are wiped completely. I'm doing this for a fresh start with no data leftover. On my first attempt, I noticed there was unallocated space, which made me pause the installation process because I didn't want to keep the OS drive intact. Any tips or advice on this would be really helpful!
1 Answer
You actually don't need to pre-format your drives before starting the Windows installation. When you boot from the USB drive, you'll reach a drive management section where you can format your drives or delete any existing partitions. It's pretty straightforward, so you can handle everything during the installation process.
What does it mean to delete partitions? Are there specific partitions that are safe to remove?