Very Common Reinstall problem Not addressed in other threads very well

Winuser said:

If I remember correctly when asked where to install Windows you select new and the installer will set it up with the correct directories.

You actually highlight the unallocated space (after deleting the partitions) and select Next. The New button is for manually creating a new partition.

NavyLCDR said:

You actually highlight the unallocated space (after deleting the partitions) and select Next. The New button is for manually creating a new partition.

That's how I did it and Windows set all the needed partitions. I done it that way more than once. I just did it that way a few days ago when I did a clean install on my Acer Laptop.

@R8to,

Realize, though, that we are talking about a clean install here. I know you talked about programs being installed on the hard drive D: drive. It's not as simple as only having the programs stored (installed to) the hard drive D: drive. When you do the clean install, all the things that happened to install those programs on Windows 10 will be erased. To restore the programs from D: drive, you have to actually re-install them - which means you will need the source setup files for them as well as any product keys or licenses for them.