Leo’s voice echoed in her memory: “Delete every single partition on the SSD until you see one big block of ‘Unallocated Space.’ Then select it and click ‘Next.’ Windows will automatically format it to NTFS and start the installation.”
She plugged the USB into her sluggish PC and restarted it. As soon as the manufacturer’s logo appeared, Leo told her to spam the key—usually F2, F12, DEL, or ESC. For Elena, it was DEL. how to format an ssd windows 10
Her PC was silent. Responsive. New.
The PC booted from the USB, showing a blue Windows Setup screen. Elena clicked through language options, then “Install Now.” She scrolled past the activation key prompt (her key was digital, linked to her Microsoft account) and chose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).” Leo’s voice echoed in her memory: “Delete every
Now came the graveyard of drives. She saw her SSD listed as “Drive 0 Unallocated Space” and a few small recovery partitions. Her PC was silent
The screen flickered. A bar appeared: “Copying Windows files.” The format was done. The SSD was now a blank, pristine canvas.
Her tech-savvy cousin, Leo, laughed when she told him. “You don’t need an exorcism, Elena. You need a clean slate. You have to format your SSD and reinstall Windows 10.”