Removing only os

[chadbry]

Didnt know where else to put this one, getting an ssd for a boot drive.....really dont want to re install 50 games and move all my stuff blah blah. is there any way to just remove my os and leave my other files alone? im thinking no because that would botch all my directory's anyway. just wondering if there is a trick i missed??

 

[sminlal]

If you install the OS to your boot drive you'll have to reinstall your games anyway, even if you just reinstall them to the hard drive again. "Installing" a program does more than just copy it to the drive, it also configures Windows so that it knows how to run it. When you install a new copy of Windows to the SSD it won't have that configuration and so it won't be able to run the programs on your hard drive.

There isn't any easy way to remove the OS from a drive. It's much simpler to just copy all the data files you want to keep to a new drive and then reformat the one that had the OS on it.

Of course you have a separate backup drive you've been using to keep copy of all your files for safety, right? You can copy all your files to the backup drive and then reformat the drive that had the OS on it. That will be a lot easier in the long run.

 

[inzone]

Before you go and reformat you can give this free software a try and clone your OS to the new SSD. That way you will have the same OS and all of the settings but you will have to redo your shortcuts because the games will now be on a different drive.

http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/

 

[daship]

Before you go and reformat you can give this free software a try and clone your OS to the new SSD. That way you will have the same OS and all of the settings but you will have to redo your shortcuts because the games will now be on a different drive.

http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/

50 games aren't going to fit on a tiny SSD. no dice.

 

[inzone]

You leave the 50 games on the old hdd and you clone the OS.

 

[WyomingKnott]

You leave the 50 games on the old hdd and you clone the OS.

?? The registry will be pointing to C : for the games, but they will be in directories on D : or some other drive. My guess would be that this would not work. Have you actually done this and had it work?