Now your drive is formatted, and everything is gone. ( That’s the only sign that the formatting is complete.) Your mouse will show a busy sign during the formatting process, and will turn back into an arrow once it’s complete. If you want to format this partition, any data stored on it will be lost.” Click OK if you know you want to proceed. Select the Primary drive and click Next.Ĭlick Format and you’ll see a warning that this drive “ might contain important files or applications from your computer manufacturer. Choose where you want to install Windows. When prompted with a choice of Types of Installation, choose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) for Windows 10 or Custom (advanced) and then Drive options (advanced) for Windows 7. Note that Windows is not actually being installed, so don’t worry if you don’t have a product key (if prompted, select the box for no product key).įollow the next steps to choose your desired version of Windows and accept the terms. Select your desired language and time, and click Next.Ĭlick Install now and wait while Windows completes the setup procedures. Do so - you may see a message that says Windows is loading files. If not, you’ll see a message that says Press any key to boot. The Windows startup app should launch automatically. Insert the Windows 10 or Windows 7 startup DVD or make sure your bootable USB drive is plugged in. Here’s how to format your primary hard drive on Windows 10 or 7: Now that you have either the startup DVD or the USB, you’re ready to format your drive. Windows 7: Download the Windows 7 OS and then the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool here.įor either Windows 10 or 7, follow the instructions to create the bootable USB drive. Windows 10: Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool here. Make sure you have an external USB (also called a thumb drive or flash drive) ready. If not, you’ll need to create a bootable Windows USB drive. If you have a Windows 10 or Windows 7 startup DVD, you can skip the next paragraph. Note that this process will delete the OS and all files, but it won’t permanently erase them. That means your primary drive won’t be in use, so we’re able to work on it. To get around that, we’ll run Windows from an installation DVD or a USB drive. You can’t format the primary drive while it’s running, for the same reason that you can’t repair a car engine while driving. Your C drive (C:) is your primary drive where the operating system (OS) is located. How to format a primary drive (C:) on Windows

But it’s a little different if you’re formatting the primary drive, a secondary internal drive, or an external hard drive. Formatting a hard drive on Windows is largely the same whether you’re using Windows 10 or 7.

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