How to clean c drive windows 10

Are you selling or giving away your computer? You may have erased your private data by deleting files and reinstalling Windows, but you’re not quite done yet. The last action you need to take before saying goodbye to your old friend is wipe the hard drive clean.

Most computers now come with solid-state drives (SSDs), which are faster than their mechanical counterparts but can be trickier to wipe. Simply deleting your files doesn't do the trick since they can be restored from the Recycle Bin. And even if you empty the Bin, your deleted files can often be recovered with the right utility. 

Regardless of what version of Windows you are running, you can reset the OS to factory conditions using built-in reset features. However, a good hard drive eraser utility will be needed if you want a stronger and more secure method of wiping your drive.

Wipe Your Drive in Windows 10

In Windows 10, open Settings > Update & security > Recovery, and then click the Get Started button. When asked what you want to erase, select Remove everything. Choose the Local reinstall option to reinstall Windows from your computer. 

Click Change Settings and turn on the switch next to Wipe the drive. Click Confirm, then Next, and finally click Reset to start the process.

After the drive is wiped and Windows is reinstalled, you can then go through the initial setup process. When finished, your PC is rebooted, placing you at the Windows setup screen. If you plan to keep the computer, you can go through the setup process again. If you plan to get rid of the PC, just shut it down.

Wipe Your Drive in Windows 11

If you've updated to Windows 11, the process is largely the same as it is in Windows 10, with a few tweaks. Open Settings > System > Recovery and click Reset PC.

When prompted, choose Remove everything, just like in Windows 10. Choose Local reinstall to reinstall Windows from this device, since it will run faster than the cloud download. If that doesn’t work, choose Cloud download.

From the Additional settings window, click the Change settings link and enable the switch for Clean data, then click Confirm. Click Next to start the process, then click the Reset button.

Your computer then goes through the reset process whereby your drive is wiped and Windows is reinstalled. You can set up Windows again if you plan to keep the computer, otherwise it’s safe to shut it down now.

Wipe Your Drive in Windows 8.1

Still on Windows 8.1? Go to Settings > Change PC Settings > Update and recovery > Recovery. Click Get Started under the Remove everything and reinstall Windows section.

Click Next, then choose Fully clean the drive to ensure everything is deleted. Click the Reset button and your drive is wiped, your PC is reset, and Windows is reinstalled. After your PC reboots, you’re placed at the Windows setup screen where you can go through the setup process again if you plan to keep the PC. Otherwise, shut it off now.

Wipe Your Drive in Windows 7

Windows 7 users won’t find the same reset tool that newer versions have, but you can still bring your hard drive back to factory settings under the right conditions. To make the process go smoother, you’ll need either a recovery partition(Opens in a new window) or the Windows 7 installation disc(Opens in a new window). 

Open Control Panel, choose Recovery, and then click the Advanced recovery methods link. Note that if your PC doesn’t have a recovery partition then you may receive an error here, preventing you from moving forward.

You will then be presented with several different options on how you wish to reinstall Windows 7. After making your choices, choose Skip when asked to back up your files, then click Restart.

Windows then restarts. Depending on the option you chose, you can now reinstall and set up Windows 7, thereby wiping out the previous installation.

Third-Party Disk Utilities

Wiping your hard drive from within the operating system is a quick and convenient method, but a third-party utility can provide greater security and protection. 

Recommended by Our Editors

For those who are wiping a mechanical hard drive, make sure you choose a utility that meets the DoD 5220.22-M standard. This means the utility will fully wipe your drive by overwriting your data three times with different characters.

Disk Wipe

Disk Wipe(Opens in a new window) is a free portable erasure utility that runs from a USB drive and wipes your Windows boot drive. Simply download and run the DiskWipe.exe file on your PC, or create a bootable environment on your USB flash drive and run Disk Wipe from there. 

Its simple interface displays your drives and partitions. Select the one you want to erase and click Wipe Disk. The program asks how you want to reformat the drive—NTFS, FAT, or FAT32. You then choose the type of erasing pattern and the number of passes. Options include One Pass Zeros, One Pass Random, or US Department of Defense DoD. Generally, the more passes you choose, the longer the process but the more secure the erasure.

Active KillDisk Freeware

Active KillDisk Freeware(Opens in a new window) is a more limited version of the $40 KillDisk Professional for Windows(Opens in a new window), but it is still a capable and effective tool. You can easily create bootable disk wipe media on a DVD or USB drive or set up an ISO file. You then use that media to boot up your Windows PC, where you can wipe the primary drive. 

The program provides a graphical menu showing your various drives. Select the drive you want to erase and click the Erase Disk icon. KillDisk offers a range of erasure methods, including those from the DoD, US Army, British government, and NIST.

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard

The free AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard(Opens in a new window)is a disk partitioning and management tool that lets you easily wipe your hard drive. The program helps you create a portable version that you can run from a USB drive as well as bootable media to burn to a CD/DVD, copy to a USB stick, or save as an ISO file. 

From the main interface, select the drive or partition you want to erase and then click the Wipe Disk icon. The only drawback with the free version is that it limits you to just one erasure method, namely filling the sectors with zeros. To use a more advanced method, you’ll have to upgrade to the $49.95 AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro(Opens in a new window) product.

Like What You're Reading?

Sign up for Tips & Tricks newsletter for expert advice to get the most out of your technology.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.