One key technique in the Windows repair playbook involves wiping out everything on the storage device (typically C:\) from which Windows boots and on which that OS resides. Prosaically enough ...

can remain twinned with your laptop, even after you wipe it clean of everything ... (The exact process for older versions, like Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, may differ but are overall the same.

If you’re selling your Windows computer ... to want to first wipe everything. Or you may want to rid yourself of several years of data bloat and start again with a clean slate.

Although Windows 10 looks a little different ... Toggle on the switch for Clean data? to have Windows wipe everything on the drive securely and reduce the chances of data recovery.

While the data might appear to be gone, anyone with enough dedication and the right set of tools can recover data that's been "erased" from a hard drive. How to wipe a Windows hard drive Microsoft ...