With the help of the recovery tool in Windows 10, you can reset your PC and wipe the drive at the same time. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, and click Get Started under Reset this PC. You are then asked if you want to keep your files or delete everything.
How do I wipe my computer without losing Windows 10?
Windows 10 has a built-in method for wiping your PC and restoring it to an ‘as new’ state. You can choose to preserve just your personal files or to erase everything, depending on what you need. Go to Start > Settings > Update & security > Recovery, click Get started and select the appropriate option.
How do I wipe my hard drive without losing windows?
Windows 8- choose “Settings” from the Charm Bar> Change PC Settings> General> choose the “Get Started” option under “Remove Everything and Reinstall Windows”> Next> select which drives you want to wipe> choose whether you want to remove your files or fully clean the drive> Reset.
Can I wipe my hard drive and start over?
Select the Recovery option in the left navigation pane. Click the Get Started button in the “Reset this PC” section. Choose either the Keep my files or Remove everything option, depending on if you want to preserve your files or delete everything and start over. Follow the prompts to begin the recovery process.
Will I lose Windows 10 if I factory restore?
When you use the “Reset this PC” feature in Windows, Windows resets itself to its factory default state. … If you installed Windows 10 yourself, it will be a fresh Windows 10 system without any additional software. You can choose whether you want to keep your personal files or erase them.
How do I wipe my computer before recycling?
Simply go to the Start Menu and click on Settings. Navigate to Update & Security, and look for the recovery menu. From there you just select Reset this PC and follow the instructions from there. It may ask you to erase data either “quickly” or “thoroughly” — we suggest taking the time to do the latter.
Does formatting a drive wipe it?
Formatting a disk does not erase the data on the disk, only the address tables. It makes it much more difficult to recover the files. … For those who accidentally reformat a hard disk, being able to recover most or all the data that was on the disk is a good thing.
Will formatting C drive erase Windows?
If you’re trying to format your C drive because you want to replace or reinstall Windows, you do not need to format ahead of time. Formatting is done automatically during the Windows installation. … Formatting does not permanently erase the data on the drive.
How do I wipe my hard drive clean and reinstall Windows?
To reset your PC
- Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings. …
- Tap or click Update and recovery, and then tap or click Recovery.
- Under Remove everything and reinstall Windows, tap or click Get started.
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
What is the best program to wipe a hard drive?
5 Free Programs to Completely Wipe a Hard Drive
- DBan (Darik’s Boot and Nuke)
- KillDisk.
- Disk Wipe.
- Eraser.
- HDD Low Level Format Tool.