How to format an HDD with pre-installed Windows 7

I could really use some help here.
What’s the best way to go about formatting my hard drive if my laptop came with Windows 7 already pre-installed?
I’m totally fine with the actual process of wiping the drive and reinstalling Windows—I know how to do that—but I’ve always used external media to install everything in the past.
When Windows comes pre-loaded from the factory, is it tucked away on some kind of special protected partition or something...?
I haven't actually tried anything yet because, honestly, I'm a little paranoid about bricking the thing.

Thanks in advance for the help 👍

Delete the partition where Windows is sitting, but leave that recovery partition alone.
Then just install Windows onto the space you just cleared out.

Sorry, but I’m honestly a little lost on what you're actually trying to achieve here? Usually, Windows is installed right on the C: drive... If your plan is to format something like the D: drive, you can totally do that without "deleting" Windows from the C: partition at all.

Jack James65 said:Wipe the partition where Windows is currently sitting, but leave the recovery partition untouched.
Then just reinstall Windows onto the space you cleared out.

Thanks. So you're saying the recovery partition is its own separate thing and I can use it to trigger the reinstall?

Yeah, I guess you could just use the recovery partition to install Windows onto that empty space you cleared out earlier.

Brandon Wilson13 said:Thanks. So you're saying the recovery partition is separate, and I should use that to reinstall Windows?

One more thing 😵, I've always just installed Windows from a CD, so how am I supposed to get into boot or recovery mode when I have a pre-installed version of Windows?

When you boot up your laptop, you should see a prompt on the screen—something like "press F10 to start recovery"