How to install Windows 10 from internal hard drive partition

The methods to install Windows 10 from internal hard drive partition. There are 5 methods that can be used to install Windows 10 from internal hard drive:

1. Method via local partition (clean install): In this case, you need to create a boot partition to boot your PC, then use the Windows installation files to reconfigure the partitions and then to install Windows.

2. The Reset option is a clean install: It can be booted directly from Windows when it boots or by simply booting the PC from the repair drive to boot, then performing the reset. The reset is also done using the recovery options from Advanced Startup (through repair or any similar method).

3. Direct setup when the Windows operating system is started (upgraded): This method is performed using the Windows installation files stored on the drive. Just click setup.exe and continue to follow the next onscreen steps.

4. Use other methods when the drive is configured by the manufacturer to perform an operating system restore: This can be done when Windows is running through an application provided by the device manufacturer. Or the recovery process can be started through a recovery key like F1, F4, F10 or any other button, depending on the computer model (Some models have a special button for this purpose).

5. Another installation can also be performed by starting the PC from the repair drive and using the copy previously stored on the PC.

How to install Windows 10 from internal hard drive partition

To install Windows 10 from the internal hard drive partition, do the following:

Download the Windows 10 ISO file

You can download an original copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft here. You need a separate partition to turn on the boot partition and copy the Windows installation files into it. If you only have one C: local drive, then you need to create a new partition from the same drive.

How to create a new partition in Windows 10

Step 1. Right-click on the 'This PC' icon , then click Manage.

Step 2. Click 'Disk Management'.

Step 3. Right click on the C: drive, then click 'Shrink Volume'.

Step 4. Enter the amount to shrink in MB for the new partition, then click 'Shrink'.

Step 5. Right click on the newly created space, then click 'New Simple Volume'

Step 6. Click 'Next' twice, enter Volume Label , click 'Next' , then click 'Finish' . Don't forget to format the new volume.

Now copy, extract Windows installation files from Windows 10 ISO file or from DVD, USB drive to new partition

To copy a file from ISO, double-click on it or right-click on it, then click 'Mount'. When you click the ISO, the file will be mounted as a virtual DVD drive. When you open 'This PC' , you will see two new drives, a new HDD partition and the other a virtual DVD created from an ISO file. So copy all files from DVD to new partition.

Make the new partition work through Diskpart

Step 1. Click Start menu , type 'cmd' , right click on 'Run as Administrator' to open Command Prompt with admin rights.

Step 2. Type 'diskpart' , press the Enter button .

Step 3. Enter 'list disk' . If you only have one hard drive, enter 'select disk 0' . If you have installed more than one hard drive, select the drive on which you created the new partition.

Step 4. Now, enter 'list partition' , specify the number of new partitions, then enter 'select partition x' . Replace 'x' with the partition number.

Step 5. Type 'Active' and then type 'Exit' to close Diskpart.

Be careful in this section, clearly identify the drive or partition.

Create a new bootable internal hard drive partition in CMD

Step 1. Click Start menu.

Step 2. Type 'cmd' , on the 'Command Prompt' icon , right click on 'Run as Administrator' .

Step 3. Determine the drive letter of the new partition (where you extracted the Windows ISO files).

Step 4. In CMD Windows, enter:

X:bootbootsect.exe /nt60 X:

Replace 'X' with the drive letter of the new partition ( E: in this example ) and press Enter.

Now, the new partition is ready to perform a clean install.

Restart your computer and follow the standard procedure to install Windows

After installing Windows, you will see the boot menu every time you restart your PC. One option is to boot Windows and another is to run reinstall Windows.

You can choose to leave or delete this option. If you want to remove, enter 'msconfig' into 'Boot' then remove the new option created earlier to reinstall Windows.

Alternatively, you can remove the option to reinstall Windows and Windows setup files. But remember, never delete files created during Windows setup, nor format new volumes. You can only delete files that you have extracted from Windows 10 ISO.

Use the Reset, Recovery option to do a clean install of Windows 10

Windows 10 can be cleanly installed from Windows 7 or Windows 8 without booting from a DVD or USB drive.

If using this method, you will have a clean install of Windows 10, but cannot downgrade to a previous operating system, the Windows activation status will be the same.

Step 1. Click the new Windows 10 Start Menu or click the search icon on the taskbar

Step 2. Type Recovery , press Enter.

Step 3. Click on the link 'If you're having problems with your PC, go to Settings and try resetting it' .

Step 4. Under Reset this PC , click Get Started

Step 5. You can choose to keep files, but it's best to delete everything for a clean version of Windows 10.

If there are 2 or more partitions, you can choose to delete only the partition on the installed window or all the partitions .

In the next step, the example will choose 'Only delete my files' to save time, as the other option might take 4 hours or more to finish the installation.

David Pac

Update 01 April 2021