Formatting Windows 10

215

08-08-2016, 08:56 PM

I've chosen to part with my rig since I no longer enjoy gaming and use it infrequently. With the holidays approaching, I thought it would be simple to get rid of it. I wanted to know how to thoroughly erase both the computer and its data. I have a 120GB SSD for the operating system and a 1TB HDD for storage, but I don’t have the installation media or an optical drive. The OS came from a friend whose contact information is no longer available, and I don’t have a USB drive to use.

baconandfries

08-08-2016, 08:56 PM #1

Cra123
Senior Member

251

08-09-2016, 11:21 AM

Search for "partition" and view its content. Choose the desired drive partition. Then click "format."

Cra123

08-09-2016, 11:21 AM #2

Search for "partition" and view its content. Choose the desired drive partition. Then click "format."

Kavenoke
Member

242

08-14-2016, 09:29 AM

He provided you with a product key. Then simply download the Windows 10 installer, create a bootable USB from it, and perform a fresh installation. The installation medium will format automatically, and you can clear the other drives either during Windows setup or beforehand in the drive management section of the installer.

Alternatively, if you wish to keep the system without the operating system, boot from the USB, erase the drives, and then power off the machine. This will format the drives and remove the OS entirely. You could also connect the drives to another device and format them there.

Kavenoke

08-14-2016, 09:29 AM #3

mj18wals
Senior Member

256

08-15-2016, 10:26 AM

You can't extract the information from within Windows to erase the entire system, so that approach isn't feasible.

mj18wals

08-15-2016, 10:26 AM #4

You can't extract the information from within Windows to erase the entire system, so that approach isn't feasible.

Eulfy
Member

122

08-21-2016, 03:22 PM

install the windows 10 media creation tool, choose a USB drive, then pick "create for another computer". start the flash drive and follow the prompts to select your drive and format it.

Eulfy

08-21-2016, 03:22 PM #5

install the windows 10 media creation tool, choose a USB drive, then pick "create for another computer". start the flash drive and follow the prompts to select your drive and format it.

sashapuppylove
Member

204

08-22-2016, 10:29 AM

No, it doesn't wipe both drives.

sashapuppylove

08-22-2016, 10:29 AM #6

No, it doesn't wipe both drives.

DarkStains
Member

149

08-25-2016, 02:15 AM

This should function reliably.

DarkStains

08-25-2016, 02:15 AM #7

This should function reliably.

sc0rp1a
Junior Member

08-27-2016, 11:36 AM

Choose the drive you wish to format, pick its format, then proceed to the next drive and repeat the process. Continue this for every drive you need. The interface will display them in a list, making it easy to format all of them at once.

sc0rp1a

08-27-2016, 11:36 AM #8