Clean install


JAy Cutler

New member
Local time
3:45 AM
Posts
4
OS
Windows 11
People, a little help!

I'm going to do a clean install for the first time with MediaCreationToolW11, so I'd just be interested, do I have to delete the whole C partition during installation?

Attached aClean1.jpgre images of the discs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Yes. And you should delete every partition on the disk until it is nothing but unallocated space.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
@NavyLCDR

This new thread has reminded me of a question I have.

Clean installing 11 tomorrow on a new blank SSD. Nothing but unallocated space will be there. Assuming the installation will create the partitions it needs, and leave the rest of the disk as unallocated space, and I can then create a new partition volume for my new Drive D, can you tell me how much of the new SSD Win11 will occupy by default with its several partitions?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkCentre M920S SFF
    CPU
    i7-9700 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3132
    Memory
    32GBDDR4 @ 2666MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 630 Graphics onboard
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG E2442
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 x Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 500GB NVMe SSD, 1 x WD_BLACK SN770
    250GB NVMe SSD (OS and programs), 1 x WD_BLACK SN770
    500GB NVMe SSD (Data)
    Case
    Lenovo SFF
    Keyboard
    Cherry Stream TKL JK-8600US-2 Wired
    Mouse
    LogiTech M510 wireless
    Internet Speed
    Fast (for fixed wireless!)
    Browser
    Chrome, sometimes Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Premium & Defender (working together beautifully!)
  • Operating System
    11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkCentre M920S SFF
    CPU
    i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3132
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 @ 2600MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD 630 Graphics onboard
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG FULL HD (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 x Samsung 970 EVO PLUS NVMe; 1 x Samsung 980 NVMe SSD
    Case
    Lenovo Think Centre SFF
    Mouse
    LogiTech M510 wireless
    Keyboard
    Cherry Stream TKL JK-8600US-2 Wired
    Internet Speed
    Fast (for fixed wireless!)
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Premium and MS Defender, beautiful together
@NavyLCDR

This new thread has reminded me of a question I have.

Clean installing 11 tomorrow on a new blank SSD. Nothing but unallocated space will be there. Assuming the installation will create the partitions it needs, and leave the rest of the disk as unallocated space, and I can then create a new partition volume for my new Drive D, can you tell me how much of the new SSD Win11 will occupy by default with its several partitions?
Windows 10 and Windows 11 setup will occupy the entire physical disk by default. If you want a D drive partition afterward, you need to shrink C drive to make room for it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Many thanks. I'll get 'er done that way.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkCentre M920S SFF
    CPU
    i7-9700 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3132
    Memory
    32GBDDR4 @ 2666MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 630 Graphics onboard
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG E2442
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 x Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 500GB NVMe SSD, 1 x WD_BLACK SN770
    250GB NVMe SSD (OS and programs), 1 x WD_BLACK SN770
    500GB NVMe SSD (Data)
    Case
    Lenovo SFF
    Keyboard
    Cherry Stream TKL JK-8600US-2 Wired
    Mouse
    LogiTech M510 wireless
    Internet Speed
    Fast (for fixed wireless!)
    Browser
    Chrome, sometimes Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Premium & Defender (working together beautifully!)
  • Operating System
    11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkCentre M920S SFF
    CPU
    i5-8400 @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo 3132
    Memory
    32GB DDR4 @ 2600MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD 630 Graphics onboard
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG FULL HD (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 x Samsung 970 EVO PLUS NVMe; 1 x Samsung 980 NVMe SSD
    Case
    Lenovo Think Centre SFF
    Mouse
    LogiTech M510 wireless
    Keyboard
    Cherry Stream TKL JK-8600US-2 Wired
    Internet Speed
    Fast (for fixed wireless!)
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes Premium and MS Defender, beautiful together
When you clean install, the process will first allocate the disks - C drive and about 3 small system parititions. It will ask you what size you want for the C drive, with the default being the remaining space. You can specify what size you want, but on my SSDs I've set the C drive as 100 Gb and only use that for Windows. All data is elsewhere so I can easily back up and restore the C drive with Macrium Reflect.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel I3-10100
    Motherboard
    MSI H410M-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 1030
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 970 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Samsung QVO 870 SATA SSD 2 Tb
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Microsoft Office 2021 Plus
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel i3-8100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z370 D3
    Memory
    16 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GT 720
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Seagate 2 Tb HDD
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
When you clean install, the process will first allocate the disks - C drive and about 3 small system parititions. It will ask you what size you want for the C drive, with the default being the remaining space. You can specify what size you want, but on my SSDs I've set the C drive as 100 Gb and only use that for Windows. All data is elsewhere so I can easily back up and restore the C drive with Macrium Reflect.
In the hundreds of clean installs I have done to unallocated drives, Windows setup has never asked me what size I want to make C: drive. In this tutorial can you show where it asks for what size you want C: drive to be?

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
I clean installed from an ISO on 10/4 without any prep to the drive that contained the .194 build. The disk had the usual 4 partitions with a C: and D: drive. During setup I just selected the C: drive, and none of the other were impacted.

Be aware that the install, with an MS account, may create a different account name to what you may have had before. It does not let you create the account with a specific name. This really only matters if you restore any configuration files that point to the old account name.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP / Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    i5-8250U
    Motherboard
    83B9 56.50
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio(SST)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 256GB SSD
    Internet Speed
    500Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
And unplug all other drives (just the power cable) or disable all other drives in the Bios.
Your installer should only see 1 drive to install windows on.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Skylake Special X299
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming II
    Memory
    GSkill Trident Z RGB 32GB 3600 16-16-16-36 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 3080 12GB FTW3 Ultra Gaming (12G-P5-4877-KL)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PG279Q
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440 165Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 500GB x2, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2, Western Digital Black 4TB x1
    PSU
    EVGA 1200 P2, EVGA Black Custom Braided Cables
    Case
    Thermaltake View 31 Tempered Glass Limited Edition
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910 Orion Spark
    Mouse
    Logitech G700s, Asus ROG GX860 Buzzard
    Internet Speed
    Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, Malwarebytes 4.5.2
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Riing Duo 14 x3, Thermaltake Riing Plus 14 x2, Corsair HS70 Pro Wireless Headset
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Skylake Special Z170
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1
    Memory
    GSkill Trident Z RGB 16GB 3600 16-16-16-36 (F4-3600C16D-16GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC x2, EVGA Pro SLI Bridge
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC G2460PG
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 144Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 870 Evo 500GB, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2
    PSU
    EVGA 1000 P2, EVGA White Custom Braided Cables
    Case
    Corsair Vengeance C70 Gunmetal Black
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i v2, Corsair ML120 x2, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
    Mouse
    Logitech G500s
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum
    Internet Speed
    Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, Malwarebytes 4.5.2
    Other Info
    Corsair SP120 x4, LG Blu-ray Drive, Durabrand HT-395 100 Watt Dolby Digital Amp
In the hundreds of clean installs I have done to unallocated drives, Windows setup has never asked me what size I want to make C: drive. In this tutorial can you show where it asks for what size you want C: drive to be?

When you get to step 11, where you have a completely unallocated volume, instead of clicking "next", click "new". You will then be prompted for a size which will default to the max size.

In the example the next screen shows a pre-alloacted volume with data which must be a different volume.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel I3-10100
    Motherboard
    MSI H410M-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 1030
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 970 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Samsung QVO 870 SATA SSD 2 Tb
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Microsoft Office 2021 Plus
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel i3-8100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z370 D3
    Memory
    16 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GT 720
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Seagate 2 Tb HDD
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

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