Windows Clean Install - M14X - Help

Hey guys,

Well, I have had my M14x R1 for over 4 years now. It is still kicking along, but I think it is time for a clean install of Windows (I may wait until Windows 10 comes out). I have done this once before and I remember it was a bit of a PITA. Keep in mind, I have a Crucial M4 SSD and the original 500GB hard drive is in a caddy in the optical drive.

If I remember correctly that best way to do this was to download all the drivers onto a flash drive and use a Parted Magic to wipe the SSD. Now I did this a long time ago so I am not sure if that is still the best way to go about it. I have read the Clean Install sticky here on the forums which gives you a good order to follow when installing the drivers. However, I am unsure on the best way to go about wiping everything, etc...

I would essentially like to do a clean wipe as if I was going to sell it and give it someone else.

If any of you can help lay out a good list of steps for me to follow to make this process easier I would greatly appreciate it.

 

If you use alienwares recovery program, you will have the option to do a clean install of windows on the partian that was put aside originally on the original drive. You shouldn't have anything to worry about driver wise, when you use the software it will essentially back date it to the time of purchase. I did this with my m14x r2 when I was going through and upgrading it for my wife. Did not take long at all.

 

If you just need a clean copy of Windows, select each partition (at the "Where do you want to insta;; Windows" screen) and delete it, then create new ones. If you were to sell the system and wish to leave the disk blank, there are many other methods that can be used to write random characters on all sectors. If you're keeping the machine, deleting the MBR (by deleting the partition) should be enough.