i have a full windows install on an m.2 ssd and i also have a hdd and im wondering what to do with them i have windows installed on the m.2 and dont know how to wipe it/do a fresh install any help would be great
Give us a full rundown of ALL the parts in this system.i have a full windows install on an m.2 ssd and i also have a hdd and im wondering what to do with them i have windows installed on the m.2 and dont know how to wipe it/do a fresh install any help would be great
When you say upgrading, what do you mean?
Before doing anything, back up anything you want to keep on another storage device.
To do a fresh install, remove the hard drive from whatever system, so that the SSD is on its own. Boot a windows installation from disc or a USB drive, and select to format the drive before installation. This will completely remove everything from the SSD.
This would leave the hard drive intact, once you have windows booted, you can format the hard drive from there, if desired. Your installed programs on that drive won't work, but all the files will be there.
Before changing ANY parts, prepare for a full fresh OS install.im going to swap out all components
Give us a full rundown of ALL the parts in this system.
And then, what do you want the end state to be?
So...my current system has an i7-6700, 16gb of 2100mghz ram, corsair 650w semi modular psu, msi motherboard(pre built dont know the exact one), gtx 1070 and m.2 256gb hdd 1tb
new system after upgrade (probably going to upgrade gpu at some point within a year) i7-11700k, 16gb of 3200mghz corsair vengance ram, asus z590-f gaming wifi 850w fully modular psu(mainly for a gpu upgrade), gtx 1070 and same storage
ok thxSo...
For the OS activation, read and do this before you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
Save all your personal docs/passwords/whatever off to some other storage device.
Build the new system.
Install the OS.
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