When prompted, choose the option for Remove everything. To wipe your drive in Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & security > Recovery, and then click the Get Started button. You can set up Windows again if you plan to keep the computer, otherwise shut it down now. Your computer goes through the reset process whereby your drive is wiped and Windows is reinstalled. From the Additional settings window, click the Change settings link, enable the switch for Clean data, and then click Confirm.Ĭlick Next to start the process, then hit the Reset button.

If that doesn’t work, select the Cloud download. When asked what you want to erase, select Remove everything.Ĭhoose Local reinstall to reinstall Windows from this device, since it will run faster than the cloud download. Go to Settings > System > Recovery and click Reset PC. Wiping your drive in Windows 11 is largely the same as in Windows 10, with a few tweaks. To be certain your data can't fall into the wrong hands, a good hard drive eraser utility is still your best bet if you want a stronger and more secure method of wiping your drive. However, most computers now come with solid-state drives (SSDs), which are faster than their mechanical counterparts but can be trickier to wipe.

How to wipe a laptop