[Step-by-step Guide] How to Reset Only C Drive in Windows 10 Safely

Windows' primary partition is the C Drive. So, how to reset only C drive in Windows 10?

There was a time when computers had floppy disks as one of the premium features. On your computer, it would take up the A or B drive letter. Hence, the primary partition for Windows installation became the C drive.

Since then, C drive has graced millions of computers as the primary partition for Windows installation. But, sometimes, it can run into a few issues.

In this article, we will explore the necessity of resetting the C Drive only. We'll also discuss whether resetting the C drive is safe and what you need to do before doing it. So, let's find out how to reset only C Drive in Windows 10 or other Microsoft operating systems.

Why Do You Need to Reset C Drive in Windows 10

There are times when Windows 10 or any Windows PC runs into many issues. This could mean productivity problems or issues related to gaming. The primary purpose of resetting the C Drive is to boost performance. However, there are plenty of reasons that one may want to reset their C Drive in Windows 10, such as:

• Inability to install specific software or game.
• Bad performance, stutters, or slow performance of a game or software.
• Slowed down the computer because of not much storage.
• Slowed computer because of lack of C Drive space.
• Wish to free up space to install more software.
• To reset Windows settings to fix underlying issues.
• To boost the performance of the computer without losing settings or data.

Some users may want to reset only C Drive in Windows 10. However, it's essential to understand that when you reset your C Drive, you subject your computer to a few losses, such as:

• Loss of third-party software, games, or any utilities.
• Reset settings or configurations.
• Lost drivers and their software.
• Loss of other software-related data.

The one way you might be able to salvage your information and data is by creating a backup.

Preparation for Resetting C Drive on Windows PC

Before you go wiping your C Drive from all the data, you need to ensure that you take a few important prerequisite steps. Since wiping and resetting your C Drive will clean up all the critical data, you must create a backup of your C Drive.

Under such circumstances, you should ensure you have a backup of your C drive before you reset it. At this time, you can use professional backup software to back up the C drive on your Windows 10 computer. EaseUS Todo Backup, great disk cloning software available on the market, comes to help.

EaseUS Todo Backup Home is an all-in-one backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7. It can help you back up the system, disk, partition, etc. And it also allows you to create an automatic backup, a scheduled backup, and other types of backups. In addition, it also enables you to clone a C drive to SSD in Windows 10 and store your files on the Cloud, as it offers 250G of free cloud storage.

You can perform the steps below to conduct a disk backup.

Step 1. Start with selecting the backup contents.

Step 2. There are four backup categories, File, Disk, OS, and Mail, click Disk.

Step 3. It is available to back up a whole disk or a certain partition. Choose the one you need and click OK.

Step 4.  Select the destination where you want to save the backup.

Step 5. For disk/partition backup, you can choose to save the backup to local drive or to NAS.

Step 6. After the backup process is completed, your task will be displayed at the left. Right-click any one of the task, you can further manage your backup such as recover it, create incremental backup, etc.

2 Ways to Wipe C Drive on Windows 10 Computer

In this section, we'll tell you two of the most viable ways to reset your C Drive only. Once again, make sure you create a backup before proceeding with these steps, as they'll entirely wipe out your data and anything else on C Drive.

Therefore, let's get started and talk about the two ways you can wipe C Drive on Windows 10:

Solution 1. Resetting C Drive by Resetting this PC in Windows 10

The first is with the help of the in-built resetting system in your Windows 10 PC. It's one of the most reliable ways of resetting Windows 10, and it'll only remove configuration and third-party tools by the time it's done. Here's how you can access it:

· Head into System Settings.

· Go into Recovery.

· Find and click on the Reset this PC option.

· This will open Troubleshoot options.

· From there, click on the Reset this PC option once again.

· In the next option, click "Only the drive where Windows is Installed."

· In the next option, click on "Just remove my files."

· Or you can pick Fully clean the drive.

· Choose the option more suitable for you.

· Wait for it to finish.

· Done.

Your PC will restart once or twice during this operation. It's important to understand that you'll see only your files gone if you pick the first option. However, the second option will reinstall the entire Windows and completely reset the C Drive.

Solution 2. Wiping The Only C Drive via Diskpart

This section will tell you how to Wipe the C drive via Diskpart. Remember, this operation will delete everything on your C Drive. So, it's important that you have a bootable USB ready and that you back up your important files before proceeding.

Here's what you'll do:

· Restart your computer.

· Press F8 on your keyboard when the Windows logo appears.

· Head into the Advanced Options and click on Command Prompt.

· Type Diskpart and press enter in the command prompt.

· Type List disk and press enter again.

· Type Disk 2 and enter (make sure instead of 2, you enter the drive letter of your C drive).

· Type Clean all and press enter.

· Wait for it to finish.

· Done.

Once again, it's important to remember that the Disk 6 part refers to the number of drives where C Drive is. Therefore, you need to make sure you're clearing up only the drive that has C on it and no other.

A better way of doing it would be to disconnect all the other SATA or Hard Disk Drives from your PC before proceeding with this. And it's also important to remember that this will wipe everything. So, make sure you create a backup before proceeding with this method.

Final Thoughts

This is how you do it, folks. These two main methods can help you wipe your C Drive only and erase all data. It's important to understand that committing to this operation will wipe everything on your C Drive.

Therefore, it's imperative that you use a tool like EaseUS Todo Backup to create a C drive backup before proceeding. And it's also vital that you have a bootable USB ready to install a new Windows after the Diskpart method.

So, make sure you follow each step thoroughly and wipe only the C Drive on your Windows 10 PC.

FAQs

1: Can I reset the C drive only?

Yes, you can. In this article, we explored two ways that allow you to reset only the C Drive. However, it's important that you pick the right option when resetting your PC only to reset the Windows and not lose any data on your C Drive.

2: Does resetting the PC remove partitions?

No, it does not. Unless you're resetting using Diskpart, you only remove or wipe the data off your C Drive.

3: Does Windows 11 reset to wipe all drives?

No, it only wipes C Drive. Using the same methods in this article, a Windows 11 user can wipe their C Drive only. However, if the Diskpart method is not used carefully, users may accidentally remove all of their drives. So, it's imperative to reset only the C drive partition using the Diskpart method.

4: Why C drive is full but no files?

It could be a virus or another underlying error. Another issue could be a large hidden file. Either way, wiping your C Drive using the methods in this article can help you solve this issue.