How to Securely Wipe a Hard Drive Without Deleting Windows

Whether you have plans to sell your computer, reuse an old hard drive, free up space, clean viruses, or upgrade, you may want to wipe your hard drive without affecting the system, like the user below:

“I'm running Windows 10 and want to clear everything off my SSD, though I don't want to lose my operating system. Thanks heaps.”reddit.com

However, simply deleting files does not mean the data is actually removed — it just marks that space as available for new data. To completely erase the files, you need to properly wipe your hard drive.

So, here come the questions: Can I wipe a hard drive but keep Windows? And how to wipe a computer? Read on to get more details.

Can I Wipe a Hard Drive Without Deleting Windows

Is it possible to erase a hard drive without losing Windows before selling or reusing it?

The answer is YES.

However, there are several circumstances that affect whether you can wipe a hard drive while keeping Windows:

Scenario 1: The Disk Has Only One System Partition

If your computer’s hard drive contains only one partition, and that partition holds the Windows operating system, you Can’t wipe it without also deleting Windows.

As Windows needs the system partition to boot and run, erasing that partition will remove all system files, drivers, and boot information — essentially making your PC unbootable.

Scenario 2: The Disk Has Multiple Partitions (e.g., C:, D:, E:)

If your hard drive has several partitions and only one of them (typically C:) contains the Windows operating system, then you Can safely wipe other partitions on the same disk.

For example, if your disk contains:

• C: (System/Windows)
• M: (Personal data)
• S: (Backup or other files)

You can format or wipe M: and S: without affecting Windows.

Scenario 3: The Computer Has Multiple Physical Drives (e.g., Disk 0, Disk 1, Disk 2)

If your PC has multiple physical drives (e.g., SSD for Windows and HDD for data), you Can erase any drive that isn’t the system drive without deleting Windows.

For example, if your PC contains:

• Disk 0 (SSD): Contains Windows system (C:)
• Disk 1 (HDD): Contains personal data (D:, E:)

You can safely wipe Disk 1 without affecting the OS.

Depending on your actual situation, you may already know if you can wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows.

Before diving into the specific methods, you are recommended to back up your hard drive data to avoid potential file loss.

Initial Step: Back Up Your Hard Drive Before Wiping It

Are you looking for a comprehensive tool to back up, wipe, format, and manage partitions and disks efficiently?

The good news is that MiniTool Partition Wizard meets all your needs.

This software is a professional partition tool designed for managing your hard drive, offering functions such as copying disks or partitions, wiping partitions or disks, formatting partitions, changing drive letters, and more.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Option 1. How to Copy a Partition

MiniTool Partition Wizard’s Copy Partition feature transfers data between partitions without loss.

It automatically activates power-off protection during the process, ensuring data security even during a power outage.

Here’s how to copy a partition using MiniTool Partition Wizard:

Step 1. Open MiniTool Partition Wizard to enter its main interface. Choose the partition to copy and select the Copy Partition feature from the left panel.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select unallocated space for the new partition and click Next.

Step 3. Adjust the size of the new partition as needed, select primary or logical type, and click Finish.

Step 4. Click Apply to finalize the changes.

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Option 2. How to Copy a Disk

MiniTool Partition Wizard’s Copy Disk function helps to copy all partitions and data from one disk to another. All partition data on the target disk can be used normally.

Now, follow the instructions to copy a disk:

Step 1. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard to access its main interface, and select Copy Disk from the toolbar.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select a target disk to store copied data and then click Next to proceed.

Step 3. Click Yes to proceed.

Step 4. Select a copying method and click Next.

Step 5. Carefully read the note that explains how to boot from the destination disk, then click Finish to return to the main interface.

Step 6. Click Apply to implement all changes.

After backing up your partitions or disk, the following part introduces how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows.

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How to Wipe a Hard Drive Without Deleting Windows

Properly wiping a hard drive guarantees that the files are permanently erased, stopping anyone from retrieving the deleted information.

If you’re not sure how to wipe a hard drive without removing Windows, adhere to these instructions!

Need a fast guide? This short video will help:

Method 1. Use MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard supports both Wipe Partition and Wipe Disk features, and these two features are completely free to use.

This software is fully compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. No matter which system you’re using, you can download and install it.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Now, learn how to wipe a hard drive or partition using this free partition software.

#1. Wipe a Disk on Windows

Step 1. Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to enter its main interface.

Step 2. Choose the target hard drive and select Wipe Disk.

Step 3. The software will prompt you about the consequences of wiping the disk or partition: “Wiping Disk will remove every sector of data on the disk. Data once wiped cannot be recovered by any data recovery solutions.”

You will find five methods for wiping listed. Choose the one you wish to utilize. We suggest using the last method here.

DoD 5220.28-STD is a well-established data erasure standard designed to ensure that the data on the hard drive is irretrievable after it has been deleted. It effectively erases the data on the disk by overwriting it multiple times.

Then click the OK button to proceed to the next step.

Step 4. After the process ends, you’ll return to the main interface, where the selected disk will be shown as “Unallocated.” Click the Apply button at the bottom left to execute the changes.

Step 5. In the pop-up window, click Yes to confirm the action.

Follow-up Works: Create a New Partition for Disk

The wiped disk will show unallocated. In this situation, consider using MiniTool Partition Wizard to create a new partition.

Here’s how to create a partition using MiniTool Partition Wizard:

Step 1. Right-click on the unallocated space and select the Create option from the dropdown menu. 

Step 2. In the next window, you will need to verify parameters such as Partition Label, Partition Type, Drive Letter, File System, Cluster Size, Partition Volume, Partition Location, and Partition Alignment Method.

After that, click the OK button to return to the main interface of the software. 

Step 3. Click the Apply button to finalize the creation.

#2. Wipe a Partition on Windows

If you have a hard drive with multiple partitions: C: for the Windows OS, and D:, E:, F: for important data, the Wipe Partition feature can help erase all files on partitions D:, E:, and F:.

In the following example, we will demonstrate how to wipe partition F:.

Step 1. After entering this software’s main interface, select the target partition and select Wipe Partition from the left panel.

Step 2. Choose a wiping method from the five options provided and click OK.

Step 3. After the process completes, the target partition will appear as “Unformatted” without a drive letter or label. Finally, click Apply in the bottom left corner to execute the changes.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, click Yes to confirm the action.

With these four simple steps, you are able to wipe the data partition and keep the system partition.

Follow-up Works: Format the Erased Partition & Assign a Drive Letter

Once you wipe a partition without deleting Windows using MiniTool Partition Wizard, there are additional steps you need to take — format the partition and assign a drive letter.

The erased partition will not be visible in File Explorer since it remains in an unformatted condition. You must format that partition and assign a drive letter so that it displays normally on your computer.

Fortunately, you can achieve these tasks with MiniTool Partition Wizard.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

>> Format the partition:

Here’s how to format a partition using MiniTool Partition Wizard:

Step 1. Choose the target partition and click on Format Partition from the left action panel.

Step 2. In the following interface, you can define the partition’s label, file system, and cluster size.

Once done, click OK to go back to the main interface.

Step 3. Click the Apply button to start the formatting process.

>> Assign a drive letter:

After formatting, you will see this partition does not have a drive letter in Disk Management or show up in File History. Therefore, you need to assign a drive letter for it using MiniTool Partition Wizard:

Step 1. Select the partition and click Change Drive Letter.

Step 2. In the following window, choose a new drive letter from the drop-down menu and click OK.

Step 3. Click Apply to complete this process. In the pop-up interface, click Yes to confirm.

Now, check whether your hard drive is working normally or not.

Method 2. Use Disk Management

Disk Management is a built-in utility in the Windows operating system that allows for the management of hard drives, partitions, and volumes.

It offers various functionalities that assist in deleting partitions, formatting disks, extending partitions, initializing disks, and more.

You can also wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows by using Disk Management.

Here’s a guide on using Disk Management to wipe a hard drive.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog. Then type diskmgmt.msc in the box and hit Enter to continue.

Step 2. In the Disk Management window, right-click the target partition for the hard drive and click Format from the context menu.

Step 3. In the pop-up window, uncheck Perform a quick format to perform a full format and click OK.

Step 4. A warning will pop up, notifying you that formatting this volume will delete all data on it. Click OK to continue.

Method 3. Use DiskPart

Using DiskPart is best if you have a second hard drive you want to wipe and don’t want to affect your Windows installation.

Here’s how to use DiskPart to wipe a hard drive:

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog. Then type diskpart in the Run box and click OK.

Step 2. In the pop-up Command Prompt window, type list disk and hit Enter to continue.

Step 3. You will see all available disks listed here. Select the target hard drive, here we use select disk 2 for example, and press Enter.

Step 4. Type clean all and hit Enter to continue.

After cleaning the disk using DiskPart, you will see that the disk shows Unallocated in Disk Management. Right-click the unallocated space and choose New Simple Volume to create a new partition to make the disk work normally.

Bottom Line

According to your actual situation, you should know if you can wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows.

If you can, the first thing you need to do is back up your hard drive to prevent any data loss.

Afterward, you can try using MiniTool Partition Wizard to wipe the partition/disk, utilizing Disk Management to format the hard drive, or using DiskPart to clean it.

If you encounter any problem with MiniTool Partition Wizard, contact us by sending an email to [email protected].