A standard clean install (using Windows Media Creation Tool or a USB stick) is target-specific. It will only erase and partition the drive you explicitly select in the setup menu. It ignores all other drives connected to the computer, leaving their data intact.
Short answer: No — a clean install typically only formats or overwrites the drive/partition you choose, not every drive attached to the system. However, whether other drives are affected depends on the installer, your actions, and the operating system. Read the rest for specifics and safe procedures. does clean install wipe all drives exclusive
Many users confuse "clean install" with "low-level format" or "zero-fill wipe." A standard clean install (using Windows Media Creation
| Action | Wipes Drive C? | Wipes Drive D? | Wipes External Drives? | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Clean Install (Windows) | Yes (Target partition) | No | No (unless unplugged) | | Diskpart Clean | Yes (Entire physical disk) | Yes (if same disk) | Yes (if connected) | | Factory Reset (OEM) | Yes | Possibly | Possibly | | DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) | Yes | Yes | Yes (everything) | Short answer: No — a clean install typically
The exclusive nuance: If your Drive D is a partition on the same physical hard drive as Drive C (e.g., a 1TB drive split into C: 500GB and D: 500GB), then a clean install using the "Delete partition" function will wipe both C and D because they are on the same physical disk.
If Drive D is a separate physical SSD (different hardware), a clean install will never wipe it unless you manually click on it and press delete.