There are a few reasons why you might want to wipe your C drive clean. Perhaps you are selling or giving away your computer and want to remove all personal data. Or maybe your C drive is cluttered with unused programs and files and you want to start fresh. Resetting your C drive can help improve system performance and free up valuable storage space.
Before wiping your C drive, it’s essential to back up any important data you want to keep. This includes personal files like documents, photos, music, and other media. Once you wipe your C drive, everything will be permanently deleted. So make sure to transfer all the crucial files and folders you want to save to an external hard drive or cloud storage.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to fully wipe a C drive on a Windows 10 computer. We will go through using both the quick format option and the more secure diskpart clean command.
Back Up Your Data
As mentioned above, the first thing you want to do is create backups of your important files. Here are some ways to back up data before wiping your C drive:
– Copy files to an external USB drive or USB flash drive
– Use cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft OneDrive to upload files
– Use backup software like Apple Time Machine if you have a Mac
– Copy files to another computer on your local network
– Burn files to DVDs or Blu-ray disks
Ideally, you want to maintain both a physical backup and a cloud backup. This gives you both an onsite and offsite copy of your data should anything happen to your originals.
When backing up, be sure to copy all user folders like Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads and Desktop. Also copy any other files and folders you have saved elsewhere on the C drive. Double check you got everything you need before proceeding.
Log Into Windows With Admin Privileges
To wipe your C drive, you will need to be logged into Windows with an administrator account. Standard user accounts do not have the necessary permissions.
If your computer boots directly into the desktop without requiring a login, then just continue to the next steps. Otherwise, logout out of any current user profiles and log back in as an admin. Typically the original account created on a Windows machine is an admin by default.
Turn Off BitLocker If Enabled
BitLocker is Windows’ built-in disk encryption feature. If you have BitLocker enabled on your C drive, you will need to temporarily suspend it before wiping the drive.
To check if BitLocker is on, go to Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption. If you see any drives listed there as “On”, BitLocker is active.
To turn off BitLocker:
1. Click “Suspend protection” on the drive you want to wipe.
2. Check the box that says “Do not require BitLocker password on system reboot.”
3. Click “Suspend protection” and then confirm your choice.
This will allow you to access the drive unencrypted so it can be wiped. Just remember to re-enable BitLocker afterwards if you want the drive encrypted again.
Option 1: Quick Format C Drive
The quickest way to wipe a drive is to use the format function in File Explorer. Here is how to do a quick format of C:
1. Open File Explorer and right-click drive C. Select “Format…”
2. In the Format window, choose “Quick Format” and leave the other settings as default.
3. Click “Start” then confirm your choice.
4. The format will begin and complete in just a minute or two.
This is the easiest way to wipe a drive, but it is less secure. Some data may still be recoverable using specialized tools. For a more thorough cleaning, use the diskpart method below.
Option 2: Diskpart Clean Command
Diskpart is a command line disk management utility built into Windows. It provides a clean command that can completely wipe and sanitize a drive by overwriting it with zeros.
Here are the steps to use diskpart clean on C:
1. Type “diskpart” in the Windows search box and open the DiskPart app.
2. Type “list disk” to show all connected drives. Make note of the disk number for your C drive.
3. Type “select disk X” replacing X with your C drive disk number.
4. Type “clean” and then “convert gpt” to reformat the drive.
5. Type “exit” when finished to close DiskPart.
The clean command works by overwriting the entire drive with zeros, completely removing any trace of previous data. It provides a much more secure wipe than a quick format.
Reinstall Windows (Optional)
If you wiped your C drive because you wanted to start fresh with a clean Windows install, you can now reinstall the operating system.
The quickest way is to use the Reset this PC option in Windows 10. This will automatically reinstall Windows while keeping any necessary drivers and manufacturer customizations.
Here are the basic steps:
1. Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security
2. Click Recovery in the left menu
3. Under Reset this PC, click Get Started
4. Choose Keep my files or Remove everything
5. Follow the prompts to reinstall Windows
You can also boot from a Windows 10 installation USB or DVD if you want to do a clean manual install. Just make sure to install it onto your newly wiped C drive.
Restore Your Files and Programs
Once you are back up and running on your cleanly wiped C drive, you can start restoring your backups and reinstalling programs.
To restore files, simply copy them back from the backup location you used earlier. USB drives and cloud storage make this easy. Just be sure files go into the correct user folders (Documents, Pictures etc.) to retain the original folder structure.
You will also need to reinstall any programs you use like web browsers, Microsoft Office, games, etc. You may need to find the original installers or download the apps again from their official websites.
Take this opportunity to evaluate if there are any old unused programs you no longer need. Only install essential applications to avoid cluttering your fresh C drive.
Re-enable BitLocker If Used
If you had BitLocker enabled previously, don’t forget to turn it back on. The wiped drive is now nice and clean, so you can encrypt it again for added security.
To re-enable BitLocker, go back to Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption. Click “Turn on BitLocker” and follow the prompts to encrypt your C drive.
Conclusion
Wiping your C drive gives you a clean slate and can restore speed and performance to a sluggish Windows computer. Just be sure to fully back up your data first before you wipe everything.
The quick format option gives a basic wipe while using diskpart’s clean command provides more secure drive sanitation. You may also want to reinstall Windows for a truly fresh system.
Now you can enjoy your revived C drive. Don’t let it get cluttered again! Periodically wipe and reinstall Windows to keep your computer running like new.