The same principle applies to partitions. If you have one physical hard drive that is split into multiple partitions (e.g., a C:\ drive for Windows and a D:\ drive for your documents), a clean install will only erase the partition you target with the installation, leaving all other partitions on the same drive untouched.

No. Not exclusively. But the confusion is understandable, and getting this wrong can cost you your entire digital life.

Select the drive or partition where you want to install Windows. You can choose to delete or format the existing partitions to ensure a truly clean install.

It does touch other physical drives unless you explicitly tell it to.

For users with multiple physical drives, several best practices can ensure that your data remains safe during a clean installation.