Clearing everything off hdd but Windows 7

[Benjohnson789]

Hi,

I have 2 1tb sshd's, 1 as my main C drive and the other as extra storage. How can I wipe everything off both hdd's so I can start clean but keep Windows 7 on it without having to re-install or messing it up.

 

any help is really appreciated, thanks

[GDRRiley]

39 minutes ago, Benjohnson789 said:

Hi,

I have 2 1tb sshd's, 1 as my main C drive and the other as extra storage. How can I wipe everything off both hdd's so I can start clean but keep Windows 7 on it without having to re-install or messing it up.

 

any help is really appreciated, thanks

revert back to as early as you can go. 

[Freezanator]

30 minutes ago, Benjohnson789 said:

Hi,

I have 2 1tb sshd's, 1 as my main C drive and the other as extra storage. How can I wipe everything off both hdd's so I can start clean but keep Windows 7 on it without having to re-install or messing it up.

 

any help is really appreciated, thanks

Just get CCleaner and once installed, navigate to Tools > Drive Wiper. But the thing is, I'm not sure if it will skip the Windows files, which will render your computer unusable. To be on the safe side, just reinstall Windows 7. Just find a way to reset your computer to factory condition/settings. I'm not sure how to get since I'm on Windows 10, but I did it on my netbook some time ago, and I just left it for about an hour or two to reset itself to factory condition.

[Delicieuxz]

You can follow one the guide on this page that is relevant to your situation: https://neosmart.net/wiki/restore-to-factory-settings/

 

You can also follow this guide:

 

I'm unsure of what its effectiveness is, as I've never done it. What you're asking to do, to remove all files and everything, and be left with a clean installation of Windows 7, is exactly the result of reinstalling Windows 7 (minus any Windows updates that need to be downloaded). I also don't know if doing the factory reset will require you to reinstall hardware drivers afterwards... I guess that you'll need to.
 

If the above video's method works, then great. But if it doesn't, and if you do choose to reinstall Windows 7, and have concerns about the update process for Windows 7 after it's installed, there are a variety of ways to get the post-installation Windows 7 updates installed quickly, covered in this blog post:

 

For your extra storage HDD, to wipe that drive, right-click on it in Computer, and select Format. Then choose the options you want (if you don't know what they are, then just leave them as default), and then click Start. That will format that drive, and leave it in a clean state. The formatting process length will depend on whether you check the Quick Format box, or not. You only need to quick format the drive to get it how you're asking.

 

The quick format option will probably take less than a minute, while the full format could take a long time.