Question Installing Windows 10 on New M.2

[Zallman125]

So I have 3 existing hard drives on my PC at the moment and I just installed a new M.2 drive. I have transferred over any important video's pictures and documents onto an external hard drive and now I want to delete/reformat/wipe everything off my 3 hard drives and start fresh with my new M.2 (with windows on it) and 1 SSD I had originally I'm getting rid of the other 2 drives and giving them to a family member for their PC. I Bought and I'm using Windows 10 I purchased from best buy, came with a USB stick with windows installer setup on it and a key code as well. My question is Do I or can I delete and format all my drives now/first and then just stick the USB from windows and boot off that and install windows on the m.2 or can I stick the USB in boot off that and download windows on the M.2 drive first ? Cause then windows would be installed on 2 different drives does that matter? In what order or how would you go along doing all this? Also want to mention I did not upgrade to windows 11 either even though my computer says its compatible and ready for the new windows 11 but I haven't done it. Should I upgrade to 11 first? before reinstalling onto the new M.2? I feel like the USB stick that came with windows will not work or something happening with my luck ha! Some help or advice would be great! Not worried about backing anything up all I do is play games on My pc so nothing important is on any hard drive or on the computer itself.

 

[USAFRet]

Physically disconnect all drives except for the new SSD that you will install on.

Then...

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Zallman125]

Okay unplugging looks like a safe bet for sure and will be doing that! but i still need to know to delete and format the drives before or after ?

 

[USAFRet]

Okay unplugging looks like a safe bet for sure and will be doing that! but i still need to know to delete and format the drives before or after ?

The other drives?

You don't NEED to.

But all you'd really need to do is delete whatever is on there, leaving a blank drive.

To be safe, show us a screencap of your current Disk Management window, before this fresh OS install.

 

[Zallman125]

Idk how to add a screenshot just asks me for a URL lol sorry

So is it safe to just unplug all my drives besides my M.2 install windows onto it make sure in the BIOS that drive is my main boot drive. Then plug in all my other drivers and delete and format them all? and i should be good to go?

 

[USAFRet]

Idk how to add a screenshot just asks me for a URL lol sorry

So is it safe to just unplug all my drives besides my M.2 install windows onto it make sure in the BIOS that drive is my main boot drive. Then plug in all my other drivers and delete and format them all? and i should be good to go?

Yes.

And to post a pic here, upload it to imgur.com, post the link here.

 

[Zallman125]

https://imgur.com/a/TwIZGxh

View: https://imgur.com/a/TwIZGxh

 

[Zallman125]

The Z drive is the new M.2 drive I want windows on and the Toshiba drive is my external one so ignore that one but the C, D and E drive I want to delete/format. My C drive is what my windows is installed on now but i want to keep that drive as my second one. D and E I will be giving them away to a family member

 

[USAFRet]

The Z drive is the new M.2 drive I want windows on and the Toshiba drive is my external one so ignore that one but the C, D and E drive I want to delete/format. My C drive is what my windows is installed on now but i want to keep that drive as my second one. D and E I will be giving them away to a family member

So, install on the new M.2 drive.
Later, reconnect the others.

Delete all existing partitions.
New Simple Volume and format.
Keep or give away as desired.

 

[Zallman125]

Do you have a video or link on how to delete partitions and format Hard drives?

 

[USAFRet]

Do you have a video or link on how to delete partitions and format Hard drives?

Disk Management.
Right click on the relevant partition.
Delete.

 

[Zallman125]

Well for example my D drive has like nothing on it nothing important I right click on it in disk management and delete is grayed out format is grayed out whys that?

 

[Zallman125]

Same goes for my C drive where windows and some other games are installed everything is greyed out. But my E drive where most of my games and programs are does allow me to format and delete

 

[USAFRet]

Well for example my D drive has like nothing on it nothing important I right click on it in disk management and delete is grayed out format is grayed out whys that?

Disk 2?

For the C drive...you cannot delete that while that OS is running.
You can only do that from a different OS.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Well for example my D drive has like nothing on it nothing important I right click on it in disk management and delete is grayed out format is grayed out whys that?

D: drive contains pagefile. This partition can not be deleted from within windows.
You'd have to relocate pagefile to a different partition first.

 

[Zallman125]

yes Disk 2 everything is greyed out all the other drives it does allow me to delete and format besides the one with windows on it but makes sense why here's a picture

https://imgur.com/a/4gf8iMS

View: https://imgur.com/a/4gf8iMS

 

[Zallman125]

D: drive contains pagefile. This partition can not be deleted from within windows.
You'd have to relocate pagefile to a different partition first.

whats a pagefile?? how do i do that? if i move it into another partition does that mean i wont be able to delete it there either?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Default pagefile location is drive C:.
Since you have it on drive D: , this means you have previously relocated it there.
So - you know, how to do it.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-move-virtual-memory-different-drive-windows-10

 

[USAFRet]

Is this non-deletion before or after the new OS install on the new drive?

 

[Zallman125]

I never moved or relocated anything I did buy this PC as a prebuilt maybe the people at cyberpowerPC did that? this PC came with 3 hard drives when I got it. But if I delete and format everything on the C drive will it then let me format and delete everything on Disk 2?

 

[Zallman125]

OR can I move the page file back to the C drive? where it originally was? or is the page file already on the C drive?

 

[Zallman125]

Is this non-deletion before or after the new OS install on the new drive?

I haven't done anything yet I haven't started deleting anything formatting anything started the new OS download nothing

 

[SkyNetRising]

OR can I move the page file back to the C drive? where it originally was? or is the page file already on the C drive?

Yes. You can do that.

 

[Zallman125]

okay guys ill try all this and see if I can get it all to work smoothly. Btw do you need this page file? can you delete it? is it necessary to have on a drive? if I delete everything and install windows on my new M.2 drive will it create a new page file on it?

 

[USAFRet]

okay guys ill try all this and see if I can get it all to work smoothly. Btw do you need this page file? can you delete it? is it necessary to have on a drive? if I delete everything and install windows on my new M.2 drive will it create a new page file on it?

Yes, Windows needs a pagefile.

Install your OS on this new drive, and leave the pagefle settings alone.