[SOLVED] Cloning Non-OS HDD Without Losing Programs?

[SS12]

If I clone an HDD that doesn't contain my OS, but contains other programs, to another HDD, will I be able to use said programs without having to reinstall them again? Does the cloning process preserve file associations and program settings? Or will I just have to reinstall all the programs I had on the original HDD?

 

[accessrandom]

Making a few assumptions here:

If you have Windows on your C: drive, and you clone the programs on your D: drive to E:, then all of the shortcuts on your C: drive will continue to point to D:

If you manually assign the drive letters for D: and E: such that they are E: and D;, your shortcuts will then point to the programs on the cloned drive. Hope that makes sense.

To re-assign drive letters in Windows 10, start Disk Management by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Disk Management.

Right-click the D: volume and assign it to F:
Right-click the E: volume and assign it to D:
Right-click the F: volume and assign it to E:

This swaps the drive letters of D: and E:, which I assume are your original and cloned drives containing your programs. You can then delete, clear, or even remove the E: drive since Windows shortcuts will be pointing to the correct volume (make sure to test those shortcuts first).