Install options with legacy BIOS. If I dont ask, I'll never know...

I'm just trying to further my understanding with this.

I always clean install by using the installation media to take the drive in question down to unallocated space, and then create a new partition and install Windows. That works well and gives me the small 'System Reserved' partition and the main C partition. I add other partitions of my own choosing afterwards. All good except that each time I want to clean install I have to first back up all the stuff on the other partitions and then recreate new ones after the clean install and then copy stuff back again.

What would happen if I used the installation media to:

A/ Delete (or format... I'm guessing that's an option from memory) only the existing C partition and for me to clean install into that new space. I would leave the pre-existing System Reserved partition.

B/ As above but this time deleting (or formatting...) the existing 'System Reserved' partition and clean installing. This would leave the small System Reserved partition either empty or I could delete it altogether (so now unallocated).

Is the original 'System Reserved' partition only of use (and only usable) by the original installation that created it ?

Would deleting the System Reserved partiton (my option B above) allow a new similar partition to be created by a new clean install or does that only happen when the whole drive is 100% empty with no pre-existing partitions (such as extra ones I add later).

Make sure that the data partitions that you want to keep are at the end of the drive, not the front. When you do your clean install, on the custom install screen, delete every partition that is before your data partitions. Then highlight the unallocated space and install to that.

Thanks... its an SSD but all the other partitions were created after installing Windows.

Would installing to the unallocated space still create a new system reserved partition ?

Mooly said:

Thanks... its an SSD but all the other partitions were created after installing Windows.

Would installing to the unallocated space still create a new system reserved partition ?

Yes

Excellent... thank you.