How can I format the C: drive when Windows is on it ?

You should be able to delete all the partitions then leave it blank and let image create paritions

@Mike100

You need a 3rd party partitioning tool, like Minitool Partition Wizard bootable version.
You can boot from this media, and do whatever you want to the C:\ drive.


Minitool Partition Wizard 11.0 Tech - bootable media - ISO

Dropbox - Partition Wizard 11 Tech.zip - Simplify your life

Burn to a CD or use RUFUS to create a bootable USB stick.
Insert CD or USB stick, then reboot computer.
From the "Boot Menu" choose the UEFI option (for the CD or USB stick).

For the various "keys" that are used by different motherboards or laptops, to access the Boot Menu, go here...

Boot Menu Option Keys For All Computers and Laptops | [Updated List 2021] |


Here's a pic of that webpage....

Mike100 said:

How can I format the C: drive and make it "like new" ?

I've been having some random freezes....

No drive can ever be made "as new" if it's starting to fail. Before reformatting everything you should check your drive's health. The drive's SMART data can be a guide to its health, particularly the raw values for 'Reallocated sector count' and the 'Pending sector count' (sectors that have failed and been replaced with a 'spare', and sectors that are possibly about to fail). Both these counts should be zero for a healthy drive.

I use the Portable apps version of CrystalDiskInfo to read my drives' SMART data.

CrystalDiskInfo Portable (disk health monitoring) | PortableApps.com

@Mike100

Here's a pic of Minitool Partition Wizard. It's a newer version, but is pretty much the same.
This is installed in Windows 10.
It's free to download, but I wouldn't try formatting C:\ with Partition Wizard (installed) on a computer that's freezing. Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

I just right clicked the C:\ drive to show you the drop down choices...

The bootable version will allow you to do the same things.

Mike100 said:

Several times a day Thunderbird would open & freeze to a blank screen & would say "Not Responding" in the upper left corner. Once in awhile Firefox would do the same. I could not close out of them in Task Manager & had to power off the PC.

I reinstalled TB but it made no difference.

I ran sfc /scannow & it supposedly fixed a problem and everything worked great for 5 days, But today TB froze 3 times.

I just restored an image & we'll see how that works. However when I opened File Explorer I got a blank screen & "Not Responding" message. A wonderful way to start things off. We'll see what happens.

I ran SMART from Samsung Magician & there were no errors.

Since you already had the problem with freezing... whatever is causing it is probably in your backup as well.
If you think it's a Windows problem, you can try an In-Place upgrade... before you do a clean install.
Doing this on a computer that's freezing might present problems also.



Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade



Here is the short version of the In-place upgrade tutorial...

DISABLE non-Microsoft:
a) antivirus software
b) firewall software
c) drive encryption software

Make a full OS backup with a program like Macrium Reflect (free)
Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free

Go here and get the Media Creation Tool and save it to your desktop.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...load/windows10

RUN the Media Creation Tool and use it to: Create an ISO image... save IT to your desktop.
This will be the latest version of the ISO image.



Right click the ISO image and choose: MOUNT
Open File Explorer and you will see a new drive letter. It will look like a DVD optical drive.
Double click the new drive letter to open it.
Find setup.exe and double click it to start the in-place upgrade.

Choose the Keep personal files and apps option.

After it's all done... to UNmount the ISO image, right click the new drive letter and choose: EJECT.


The ONLY thing you will lose is some of your personalizations. Your programs and data will be intact.



Unfortunately, an In-Place Upgrade will "keep" all your 3rd party drivers as well. So if one of them is the problem... an In-Place upgrade won't fix that. It will fix any Windows problems though.

@Mike100

You can also try Step #5 in Option One, here...

Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image

Clean Install Windows 10 | Tutorials (tenforums.com)

When you reimage your OS drive, you are not using it.

Sounds like maybe you didn`t image all of the necessary partitions needed, or your OS was bad when you made the image.

Do a clean install if you still have problems after doing a repair install.

Download W10 and make a brand new USB installer.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)