Fresh install windows on C drive but keep D?

[Hellcat711]

Hi there,
A while ago I refreshed windows on my C drive (reinstalled but kept all files). This didn't exctly do much but it did mess up my graphics drivers (DXGI errors for days).

I am wondering if it is possible (sensible) to disconnect D drive and completely 100% reinstall windows on my C drive (its an SSD), then connect D and reinstall what was on C to carry on happily.

Bear in mind my D drive is a 1TB HDD with over 700GB of files, programs, games, steam games and miscellaneous junk. Will this cause issues with registry entries / file paths? Will I be able to carry on with life with full access to all my stuff without wasting space on either drive and without spending two weeks renaming file paths?

And most importantly - will it fix my issue to start with, the graphics driver issue that was only triggered when I reinstalled windows the first time?

 

[gdmaclew]

Any "fresh" install of your OS will require a re-install of any games and programs regardless of which hard drive they were installed on.
You are correct when you say that it will cause issues with Registry settings and files paths.

The best way to solve your graphics driver problems is to run DDU from guru3d.com. (Be sure to run it in Safe Mode for best results).
Download the latest driver before you do this (download but do not install until after running DDU).

Steam is a special case because if you re-install the Steam App when you re-install your OS, you can just tell Steam where your games are and it will find them.(assuming they are on your D: drive)

 

[SkyNetRising]

Did you try reinstalling graphics drivers?

Sure you can reinstall windows. And it's highly recommended to disconnect all the other drives during install. But most of your apps/games will need to be reinstalled too.

 

[ss202sl]

Steam games would be good. Just re-install Steam,and point it to your games folder(library) on the D Drive

 

[Hellcat711]

Any "fresh" install of your OS will require a re-install of any games and programs regardless of which hard drive they were installed on.
You are correct when you say that it will cause issues with Registry settings and files paths.

The best way to solve your graphics driver problems is to run DDU from guru3d.com. (Be sure to run it in Safe Mode for best results).
Download the latest driver before you do this (download but do not install until after running DDU).

Steam is a special case because if you re-install the Steam App when you re-install your OS, you can just tell Steam where your games are and it will find them.

ah heck, I have tried soft installing them, rolling back. I have used DDU to obliterate every driver I had and reinstalled fromthe ground up to no effect. Guess I can always try again though