How to Wipe a Hard Drive without Deleting Windows

Updated by

Cici 

Written by

Tracy King 

Updated on Sep 19, 2024

Getting a new PC and want to sell or give away the old one? Should you recycle your computer with others in the same company? Before carrying out these actions, there is one thing you have to do. That is to wipe the hard drive. It will help you protect sensitive data like financial records, business information, payroll information or anything else private from leaking. 

And in some special scenarios, for example, recycling a computer between employees, you will have extra requirements - wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows so that the computer's new owner can directly use it. But how can you do it?

How to Wipe a Hard Drive Without Deleting Windows 

Some users might choose to delete the files or format the disk manually. Here I should say it is not the best choice as there is so much third-party data recovery software that can retrieve data in these situations. To achieve a satisfactory result of abandoning a computer naked, with nothing else to be found anymore, you need two essential tools: [1] Hard drive wipe software - EaseUS BitWiper; [2] Windows Recovery program. The third-party software needs a minute to download, while the Windows program is available in Settings. I'll present the whole steps with my own computer, as an example.

On my personal computer, as you see, there are six partitions in total. If I plan to wipe all partition data without affecting the operating system, I need to go through two sections.

• First, I don't care about all the five data partitions at all, so use EaseUS hard drive wipe software to wash them all at once.
• Second, I got Windows OS as well as some personal data & programs on the system partition, so I need to perform a factory reset to remove everything except the Windows system.

Next, we will show you how to wipe a hard drive without deleting Windows. This tutorial is available for all the Windows versions including Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista.

Part 1. Wipe Data Partitions Using EaseUS Partition Wipe Software

Step 1. Launch EaseUS BitWiper and click "Wipe Partition".

Step 2. Select the volume or partition you need to wipe or erase, and click "Next" to continue.

Make sure that you've selected the correct partition to wipe out.

Step 3. Choose the wiping method - EaseUS Secure Erase and click "Next" to continue.

You can also select other wiping methods available on the pane to clear your target partition. 

Step 4. Click "Wipe" to confirm and permanently erase all data from your selected partition again.

Step 5. Wait patiently, when the wiping process finishes, click "Done" to end the task.

NOTE: Since each time you can wipe one partition, so it's going to take you equal time to handle all the disk partitions. In my case, I should repeat another four times of the three steps.

If you like using EaseUS Partition Master to wipe hard drive without deleting Windows, click the button below to share it with other people.

Part 2. Wipe System Partition Data by Resetting 

By restoring Windows to its factory default configuration, resetting will erase all the personal data and applications on the system partition. 

To get it done, refer to the standard path to the Settings:

Click Windows menu and go to "Settings" > "Update & Security" > "Reset this PC" > "Get started" > "Remove everything" > "Remove files and clean the drive", and then follow the wizard to finish the process.

After finishing all the above steps, you can completely and securely wipe everything off a hard drive except the OS, and no one can get access to the deleted files.

Complement - How to Wipe a Hard Drive and Reinstall Windows

By combining the EaseUS BitWiper and Windows factory reset options, you can absolutely reach the goal of keeping nothing but OS on a given-up PC or laptop. Though the more data partitions you configured on a hard disk drive, the longer time it takes to accomplish the whole task, it's the most comprehensive solution to wipe the programs, settings, hidden items, downloads, and private data files on the selected hard drive, meanwhile, keep the Windows system and boot files intact.

Just in case, if you want a more straightforward way to wipe a hard drive for one time, you may undertake the other two processes.

• First, wipe an entire hard disk using EaseUS BitWiper.
• Second, reinstall the Windows 7 or Windows 11/10 operating system from scratch.

Part 1. How to Wipe an Entire Hard Drive

Since you're going to delete everything including the operating system on the hard drive, you can use the "Wipe Disk" feature in EaseUS BitWiper for help. To let the software take effect, you just need to simply select the entire target disk and then start the wipe process:

Step 1. Run EaseUS BitWiper. Click the "Wipe Disk" tab.

Step 2. Select the targeted HDD or SSD to wipe.

Notice: Please make sure you have chosen the correct HDD or SSD. Once the wiping starts, your data is irrecoverable.

Step 3. Choose Wiping Method and click "Next".

Choose a suitable wiping method. Recommend EaseUS Secure Erase!

Step 4. Check the warning message and click "Wipe" to confirm.

Step 5. Wait for wiping finish and click "Done".

Part 2. How to Clean Install Windows

Use installation media to reinstall Windows 11/10, for example.

Step 1: Go to the Microsoft software download website, download the media creation tool, then use it to create installation media on a DVD or USB drive.

Step 2: Follow the detailed guide for how to reinstall Windows 11/10.