Clean Windows Install Question

[canoemtp]

I am buying a new SSD to replace the 60G SSD I have. I have a mechanical drive which has been partitioned for data, games, music, etc. I was going to clone my smaller SSD to the larger one but most people recommend a clean install of windows. If I do a clean install, will the new drive see the mechanical drive partitions and will those programs work right?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

If you do a clean Windows install, you'll still be able to access all the data on the hard drive but any applications or games installed on it won't run until you re-install them.

That's because a fresh Windows installation wont know anything about those applications, either in the registry or elsewhere, and there won't be any support files for them in the Windows folder.