Is there any way to install Windows 10 on a second hard drive without wiping any data?

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Slocos

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Feb 26, 2014
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Right, so recently I finished upgrading my PC and the last piece of the puzzle was a new SSD. I installed it, cloned my old one to the new and then formatted the old drive as a secondary. I'd been on a "non-genuine" copy of Windows 7 ever since I couldn't remove the product key from my old motherboard however when I installed the new hard drive I was allowed to activate windows (not sure how???). Anyway once this was finished the free upgrade for Windows 10 appeared, this seemed like a good idea as it would finish off my PC nicely, the cherry on the cake if you will. I started to download the update and went to bed. Next morning "Windows failed to boot". Great! I managed to create a Windows 10 recovery disk however it couldn't repair the OS nor could it upgrade it again. I deleted the partitions on the old drive and installed it fresh. Windows 10 is up an running on my old hard drive however all my data and installed apps are on the new one. Is there anyway I can install Windows 10 on my new hard drive without formatting or wiping my data. Obviously I can backup to the old hard drive then wipe and install the OS on the new however installing all my apps/games doesn't appeal to me that much, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Elliott
 
Solution
USAFRet
1. You need to obtain a genuine OS license. Win 7 or 10.
2. That the system Upgraded to Win 10 does not change it's non-genuine status
3. See #1
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Slocos

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Feb 26, 2014
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No, it was the drive I initially install Windows 10 on however it seems to be corrupted, I can access the drive from my old hard drive (which does have Windows 10 on) but I can't boot from it.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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Unknown if it would work. You could try installing 10, and "Keep everything".

But I strongly recommend you have a backup of all your critical data on that drive before starting.
And do this with only that single drive connected.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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"...however it couldn't repair the OS nor could it upgrade it again"

It sounds like that install is too corrupted to work with.
You're probably out of luck trying to keep what is on that drive.
 
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Slocos

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Feb 26, 2014
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Yeah, before posting I was pretty sure that was the case, no harm in asking though. Thanks for you're help. Looks like I have a couple of evenings re-installing all my apps.

Thanks again.

Elliott
 
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