will reinstalling win 10 on C drive erase everything on the D drive?

[simonz93]

My OS is on the C drive which is a SSD. I'm hoping that a clean reinstall will boost performance, but I also do not want to lose all the software and games + mods that I have on the D drive.
So will a clean install in the recovery menu that says "erase everything" touch the stuffs on the D drive?
Thank you.

 

[dudmont]

Not if you don't initialize and format the d drive. If your drive is on a raid disk, then you'll lose everything.
That being said, I would definitely back up the d drive before doing anything. Keep in mind, if you have a steam libary, you'll not need to re-download and install the library, re-installing steam will cause steam to recognize the library, presuming you put everything back in the same folders.

 

[jkhoward]

Just pull the D: drive from the system to be on the safe side. I've had windows install the System files on the secondary drive when re-installing Windows.

EDIT: It isn't a huge issue, but if you remove the D: drive, C: will have issues.

 

[simonz93]

Thanks guys. I don't want to open another thread for a related question. My PC came with windows 10 preinstalled, so I don't have a product key or a CD.

If I reinstall the OS I would need to enter a product key at one point. How do I find mine?

Thanks

 

[dudmont]

Windows will recognize your mobo and make it all kosher in the process.