A clean install of Windows typically automatically wipe all of your drives

Select the unallocated space on your primary drive and click . The installer will format it and begin the clean install. Step 5: Reconnect Your Drives

Apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store onto a secondary drive usually need to be re-downloaded, as their registry entries on the C: drive were wiped.

Note the size of your C-Drive (e.g., 476 GB) so you don't accidentally click the wrong one.

The safest way to guarantee that a clean install does not wipe your secondary drives is to physically disconnect them before you boot into the installation media. For external drives, simply unplug the USB cables.

The moment you realize you have wiped the wrong drive, stop using the computer. Continuing to use the drive writes new data over the old data, making recovery increasingly difficult or impossible.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how a clean install works, what stays, and what goes. Understanding the "Target Drive"

Give your drives unique names (e.g., "WORK_DATA" or "GAMES") in your current OS so they are easier to spot in the installer list. The Golden Rule: Always have a verified backup

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Ensure files are fully synced to the cloud before formatting.

During setup, you are presented with a list of all detected partitions and drives. Data is only removed from the specific partition you choose to format or delete.