Share via

What is the best way to completely wipe and reinstall windows?

Anonymous
2023-04-22T15:57:58+00:00

My computer has been crashing randomly, doesn't use solid state drive and will use a ton of RAM to operate. Need to uninstall and relinstall windows. Have tried all other recovery options and Dell tells me that I need to do a full reset. What is the fastest way to do this? I have already backed everything up I need to.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Install and upgrade

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. EmilyS726 225.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-04-22T16:28:58+00:00

    Hello, this is Emily.

    In this case, you can perform a clean install.

    To perform a clean installation of Windows 11 using the Windows Media Creation Tool:

    The following steps should be done on a working Windows computer:

    Download the Windows Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website. https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/win... click on the "download now" button under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media"

    Run the tool and select "Create installation media for another PC."

    Choose "USB flash drive" as the media to use for the installation and select "Next."

    Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of free space to your computer.

    Select the USB flash drive you want to use, and then select "Next."

    The tool will then download the required files and create the installation media.

    =====================================================

    Now these steps will  be done on your problematic computer:

    Go to the computer's BIOS boot menu to have it boot from the USB drive.

    Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 11, making sure to choose "Custom install" and select the option to delete all existing partitions.

    Once the installation is complete, you'll have a clean installation of Windows 11 on your computer.

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-22T16:03:45+00:00

    There's really no need to 'wipe' your computer before reinstalling Windows, whether you're followingDell's instructions or Microsoft's instructions. In either case you will be overwriting your computer's C: drive with a brand new copy of Windows. Whatever was previously on the C: drive is, for all intents and purposes, gone.

    The advantage of following Dell's instructions is that Dell includes all the drivers and other software that your particular computer needs, so you won't have to go searching for them later. Microsoft's instructions give you just Windows.

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments