Back up any files you want to keep
Sign out of accounts and deactivate software licenses
Create a bootable drive or use the operating system recovery tools
Boot from the installation media or recovery environment
Open the disk management or erase utility
Select the target hard drive
Choose the erase, format, or secure wipe option
Confirm the action
Wait for the process to complete
Reinstall the operating system if needed
Verify the drive is empty and usable