Clean Windows 10 install on SSD with HDD as storage only

UnflappableDobs · 17 Aug 2020

Hello all.
I need to do a clean Windows 10 install on my laptop (I want to sell it, and therefore need to disassociate my Windows account with the OS installation). I want to install Windows 10 on the SSD (M.2 2280 PCIE NVMe) and leave the HDD for storage only. Windows is currently installed on the SSD (which I added myself), but on booting there are two OS options (see below) as the boot manager seems to think that the old HDD OS is still installed.

Clean Windows 10 install on SSD with HDD as storage only-bios1.jpg

However, the SSD is not showing in the BIOS boot priority menu, so I cannot set SSD to default. When I do the clean install I want to make sure that BIOS recognises the SSD.

I have attached below a screenshot of the current partitions on both SSD and HDD; I'm not sure what the first partition on the SSD is and whether it should be a boot sector - but either way it's not being detected in current BIOS.

Clean Windows 10 install on SSD with HDD as storage only-partitions.png

Does anyone know of a single tutorial here that addresses this issue, or do I need to try and pull together different threads to address my specific issue (which I'm finding hard to do at the moment)?

Many thanks in advance.

dalchina · 17 Aug 2020

Hi, you appear to have various partitions of more than 1 O/S in different places. As this is presumably a UEFI configuration, I would expect to see 4 partitions for the O/S on C:

As you are clean installing and presumably happy to wipe everything, why not simply delete all existing partitions on both disks, then clean install, ideally with only the SSD accessible to avoid complications.

Clean Install Windows 10

Note around step 14 you have the option to delete partitions.

If the laptop runs 2004 successfully already, then the above tutorial should be all you need.

If you wish to install, say, 1909, then you can freely download that and create a bootable disk (see tutorial on downloading and iso for Win 10).

Megahertz · 17 Aug 2020

On a UEFI-GPT system, BIOS doesn't show the boot able drives on the boot priority list. It shows the boot loaders that are on the EFI Fat32 partition(s).
Option 1 (Windows Boot Manager on the Toshiba HDD) is the option to boot the HDD-SSD.
You should disable option 2 and 3.
When you installed Win 10 on the SSD it used the boot loader on the Toshiba HDD EFI Fat32 partition instead of creating a new one on the SSD. Now you boot the from the Toshiba HDD EFI Fat32 partition and then the boot sequence is transfer ed to the SSD.
As you're selling the computer, boot from the USB installation drive, go to install and delete ALL partitions on the HDD and on the SSD till you have one and only one unallocated space on each drive. Make sure you you select to install on the unallocated space of the SSD and then proceed.

Remember that on a empty drive that hasn't been properly "clean" someone can always retrieve the data.
Once you have installed Win 10 on the SSD, do a full format (not quick) on the HDD (It will take hours) to make sure data can't be retrieved.

UnflappableDobs · 19 Aug 2020

dalchina said:

Hi, you appear to have various partitions of more than 1 O/S in different places. As this is presumably a UEFI configuration, I would expect to see 4 partitions for the O/S on C: [. . . ]

Megahertz said:

On a UEFI-GPT system, BIOS doesn't show the boot able drives on the boot priority list. It shows the boot loaders that are on the EFI Fat32 partition(s).[. . . ]

Thanks for the feedback and advice dalchina and Megahertz. I'll read and (try to) digest this over the next few days

Megahertz · 19 Aug 2020

Have a look at this thread. OP also has the boot loader on one drive and the OS on another drive.
System partition on one drive; boot partition & Windows on another?

Ghot · 20 Aug 2020

UnflappableDobs said:

Thanks for the feedback and advice dalchina and Megahertz. I'll read and (try to) digest this over the next few days

Here's how I would do it. Use Partition Wizard 12 (free) to delete everything from the D: drive, then create one giant partition on the D: drive and do a quick format.

Then turn the laptop OFF, and unhook the D: drive (if possible), and unhook the internet completely.

Then use your bootable Windows install media to install Win 10 to the SSD. During the install, make sure you delete all existing partitions on the SSD, then install Windows 10.
During the install, skip any and everything that Windows offers during the install.

After all that, you can hook up the D: drive again. Now you should have a clean Win 10 install, no ties to your account, and the D: storage drive should be... empty.

topgundcp · 20 Aug 2020

Based on what you have shown above. The easiest way to re-install Windows is:

Boot up the Windows 10 Installation disk with UEFI mode. On the first screen,
hold down the SHIFT key + F10. A command prompt windows will display.
Type:
diskpart
select disk 0
clean
select disk 1
clean all
exit
exit

NOTE: Those commands will wipe out disk 0 and disk 1 and they are both now unallocated
so you don't need to disconnect anything. Also note: Clean all on Disk 1 will write 0 on every byte of the disk, this will take some time to complete so that no info/data can be recovered.
Back to the installation screen. Click on Next, select Custom then select disk 0 by hite lighting it.
Click Next and let Windows create neccessary partitions.
Follow the steps on the screen to install Windows.

Once completed, boot into Windows. Open Disk Management (Win+X->Disk Management),
Right click on Disk 1, select Initalize then quick format disk 1.

Now you have Windows installed correctly on Disk 0 and an empty Disk 1.

UnflappableDobs · 03 Sep 2020

Ghot said:

Here's how I would do it. . . . .

Thanks Ghot!

topgundcp said:

Based on what you have shown above. The easiest way to re-install Windows is . . .

Thanks topgundcp - think I'll try this method today. Will let you know how I get on.

munk1955 · 03 Sep 2020

The best way I have found to wipe clean an old HDD that you no longer need is I take it out to the range set it out to 100 yards and fill it full of 55 grain Jacketed AR15 wiper bullets.....Works every time.

UnflappableDobs · 15 Oct 2020

topgundcp said:

Based on what you have shown above. The easiest way to re-install Windows is:

Boot up the Windows 10 Installation disk with UEFI mode. On the first screen,
hold down the SHIFT key + F10. A command prompt windows will display.
Type:
diskpart
select disk 0
clean
select disk 1
clean all
exit
exit

NOTE: Those commands will wipe out disk 0 and disk 1 and they are both now unallocated
so you don't need to disconnect anything. Also note: Clean all on Disk 1 will write 0 on every byte of the disk, this will take some time to complete so that no info/data can be recovered.
Back to the installation screen. Click on Next, select Custom then select disk 0 by hite lighting it.
Click Next and let Windows create neccessary partitions.
Follow the steps on the screen to install Windows.

Once completed, boot into Windows. Open Disk Management (Win+X->Disk Management),
Right click on Disk 1, select Initalize then quick format disk 1.

Now you have Windows installed correctly on Disk 0 and an empty Disk 1.

Thanks @topgundcp - this is the solution I went with: it was very straightforward and worked perfectly. I will now mark this thread as RESOLVED. Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help.