Possible to do something like a fresh Windows 10 install without losing my data? Might there be a better solution here?

[Xialoh]

I just upgraded my system (as in every single piece of hardware other than my SSD and HDDs) yesterday. i5 2500k system to an i7 6700k system, so there's a lot of changes. I used Windows 10's easy reactivation feature to get things running again near instantly. Just now however, I got a BSOD. "DPC_Watchdog_Violation". Upon googling, it seems this is caused due to incompatibilities with drivers and such.

So I figure this is almost inevitably due to the upgrade. I've got 2 options: find an easy way to update everything properly, or fresh install and take the choice out of my hands. The problem is that I don't want to lose my data, which is 900 or so GBs on this SSD. My storage drives are also too filled to hold it.

Is there a simple solution to this problem?

 

[rgd1101]

Yes. the solution is always do backup.

 

[SchizTech]

Try a Windows reset, under Settings > Update and Recovery > Recovery. It will give you the option to keep or remove data. When selecting to keep data the utility will just replace system files and restore settings - in the process re-installing every driver from scratch.

 

[SchizTech]

However, as RGD indicates it's wise to always have a backup just in case.

 

[Xialoh]

Try a Windows reset, under Settings > Update and Recovery > Recovery. It will give you the option to keep or remove data. When selecting to keep data the utility will just replace system files and restore settings - in the process re-installing every driver from scratch.

Alright thanks, although the backup still isn't an option. Maybe I'll pick up a 6TB for backup later though..