Several questions regarding clean installing. (How to get the cleanest install, etc...)

[Esnes Nommoc]

Thank you very much in advance if you could took the time to answer my questions. 😍 I don't know many tech forums but this seems like the most reliable right now since I have always been looking for problems here and see if any thread has a solution.

1. After clean installing to Windows 10 (by formatting and then deleting all drives and installing Windows to the unallocated space), I get these hidden drives (the ones that are not the C drive).
- What are these drives and can I remove it?
- Previously when I did a clean install to Windows 8.1, there was only the C drive and the System Reserved partition, where is it now? I thought that it's created when you install Windows to the unallocated space, but apparently not always.

If you can't see the image, there is:
+ No name, 1mb unallocated space.
+ Recovery, type GPT (Unused Partition).
+ No name, type GPT (EFI System Partition).
+ No name, type GPT (Reserved Partition).

2. Would it be more "clean" if:
+ During the install window, I delete all drives, install Windows to the unallocated space, then once Windows is all set up, install a partition program such as EaseUs' and create new drives.
Or
+ During the install window, I delete all drives, then create new drives, then install Windows to the C drive?

3. Do I need the Intel Driver? The only Intel driver that's suitable with Windows 10, as I checked on that page, is in Beta. (I'm making a list of all the programs and software I need to install after 😛 )

4. When installing Windows 7, it asked that I must unplug my USB after it's done installing everything, and so I get the laptop cleaned. But to Windows 8, it didn't ask that anymore, but the screen and pretty much is still the same. Can I unplug the USB during its "10 seconds till restart"? 😛 It's kind of irritating when doing a clean install to see an USB plugged in after that.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes. Disconnect all drives except the target drive (To protect against accidentally deleting anything on other drives), run the setup and delete ALL existing partitions, then install to the unallocated space. Windows will create the necessary partitions and perform any necessary formatting. If you're moving from an older OS than Windows 8, make sure AHCI or UEFI are enabled in the bios so it installs in UEFI mode rather than in legacy mode.


http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html


Do NOT select the install option to also install updates during the installation as it seems to cause issues with the install. Updates can be done later, including any necessary driver updates. We haven't really seen any driver issues on clean installs. Mostly only on upgrades. Make sure you've already performed an upgrade to 10 at least once before clean installing if you're using the free ISO rather than a purchased version.

 

[Esnes Nommoc]

Thank you! The link you gave was also really helpful! 😀

 

[Darkbreeze]

No problem at all. Glad to be of some help. If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask.