Tom's Hardware > Forum > Windows Vista > Vista General Discussion > Reinstall windows vista while keeping files on secondary hard drive

Reinstall windows vista while keeping files on secondary hard drive

Forum Windows Vista : Vista General Discussion - Reinstall windows vista while keeping files on secondary hard drive

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
strattonjwhite   02-17-2009 at 01:09:43 AM

I need to reinstall vista which I have on my primary hard drive and I have all my data (pics, music, docs) on my secondary hard drive. I am wondering if I can reinstall vista without effecting my secondary drive with all the important stuff? I could use some advise and wisdom on this?

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
loneeagle   02-17-2009 at 02:57:00 PM
- 1 +

If everything is on the second HD, yes, you can even reformat the main drive and reinstall Windows. You have the best situation. No need for a backup before proceeding.

If you are scared, just unplug the drive power and/or the SATA cable. Replug once all reinstalled.

Good luck.

Reply to loneeagle
strattonjwhite   02-17-2009 at 03:22:36 PM
- 0 +

and it's just raw data on the 2nd hd right? so after reinstall there wouldn't be any problem of vista not recognizing the data?

Reply to strattonjwhite
pat mcgroin   02-17-2009 at 03:42:51 PM
- 0 +

No vista will see it.
It wont know what to do if you have any programs on the second drive though.
If you have any programs on the second drive you will need to reinstall them as they must be in the registry to run correctly.

If you do have a program on the second drive just leave it.
Reinstall Vista and then reinstall the program to the same location that it already is.
It will just over write the files and make the correct registry entries.
The same trick can be used in a dual boot setup. That way you only have one copy of all the files and save alot of space.

Reply to pat mcgroin
ohiou_grad_06   02-24-2009 at 03:20:08 AM
- 0 +

Yeah, I keep my drive partitioned for that reason. That way anything goes wrong on my OS partition, I can easily reinstall and have any data on the other partitions. Works like a charm.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Windows Vista > Vista General Discussion > Reinstall windows vista while keeping files on secondary hard drive
Go to:

There are 547 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.528 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?