Does Clean Install Wipe All Drives Exclusive -
Files, documents, photos, and videos located on the drive or partition where the operating system is installed.
By doing this, the installation environment physically cannot see or modify your data drives. There is zero risk of accidental formatting. Step 2: Create a Fresh Backup
The Difference Between Your System Drive and Secondary Drives does clean install wipe all drives exclusive
Before using Reset This PC, carefully read each screen and ensure you select "Only the drive where Windows is installed" when prompted about which drives to clean.
Power users often run scripts or use tools like diskpart to automate clean installs. A common script is: clean all (applied to disk 0) If the user does not properly check which disk is which, or if their second drive auto-assigns to Disk 0, the script wipes both drives. Files, documents, photos, and videos located on the
To confirm, you should:
Data on other physical hard drives or separate partitions on the same drive typically remains untouched and becomes accessible once the new operating system starts. 2. Risk Factors and "Windows Reset" Exceptions Step 2: Create a Fresh Backup The Difference
Never perform a clean install—even if you aren't touching secondary drives—without a full backup. Power surges or accidental clicks can turn a routine update into a data recovery nightmare.
Based on your search query, you are asking if performing a "clean install" wipes all drives connected to the computer, or if it is exclusive to just the one you select.
Other drives, such as external hard drives, secondary internal hard drives, or other partitions, are usually not affected, unless you explicitly choose to format or delete them during the installation process.
To clarify:

