I've bought a new PC with Windows 10 Pro to replace my oldish Windows 7 PC (onto which Windows 10 refused to install, possibly because it has some hardware attached/installed that it doesn't like and I have made some changes to the registry).
I want to set up the new machine like the old one, with Windows and software on the primary HDD (an SSD) and all data stored on a secondary drive, a 4gb HDD.
In an ideal world, I'd like simply to move the HDD from the Windows 7 PC to the Windows 10 machine — but as I store data for a variety of different projects, the HDD is divided into twelve partitions, and I'm not sure what the effect will be if I simply transfer the HDD into the new PC as it is. Will Windows 10 recognize and accept the HDD and its partitions (although I may need to reallocate drive letters) or do I need to back everything up from the partitions to an external drive, unpartition and reformat the HDD, move it and then start all over again? I'd really rather not do this (frankly I'd really rather not have Windows 10, which I loathe!), but I'd rather know now than discover halfway through the operation…
Advice would be very welcome!
I want to set up the new machine like the old one, with Windows and software on the primary HDD (an SSD) and all data stored on a secondary drive, a 4gb HDD.
In an ideal world, I'd like simply to move the HDD from the Windows 7 PC to the Windows 10 machine — but as I store data for a variety of different projects, the HDD is divided into twelve partitions, and I'm not sure what the effect will be if I simply transfer the HDD into the new PC as it is. Will Windows 10 recognize and accept the HDD and its partitions (although I may need to reallocate drive letters) or do I need to back everything up from the partitions to an external drive, unpartition and reformat the HDD, move it and then start all over again? I'd really rather not do this (frankly I'd really rather not have Windows 10, which I loathe!), but I'd rather know now than discover halfway through the operation…
Advice would be very welcome!