The Windows 10 guide at Windows 10 - Upgrade Installation states "Temporarily disconnect all non OS hard drives until Windows installation has finished. This is to avoid Windows Setup from installing files on other hard drives by mistake."
I'm about to upgrade my desktop PC from Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10. I currently have the following internal drives :SSD System Disk (containing OS partition C: & Windows UEFI partitions) - Drive C: contains Windows, most user files and all programs except games
Hard User Disk 1 - containing drives D: & X:. Drive D: contains some user's documents, photos, music & movies folder and game installations. Drive X: is used for system backups. The relocation of user files to Drive D: was done by right clicking on their original location on Drive C: then selecting a new location under the Location tab i.e. by using Option 2 in . Note the partitions on D: are not active.
Hard User Disk 2 - containing Drive E: for File History and other backups. Note the partitions on E: are not active.
Do I really need the bother of opening the case to disconnect and reconnect Disks 1 & 2 to upgrade to Windows 10? I've done other OS upgrades before with a similar disk configuration without problems. What may go wrong?
You do not need to but crap can happen. The other day, I was installing windows and cocked it up by deleting a partition on wrong drive (even though I always tell beginners it is a good idea to disconnect data drives - LOL)
Also, it has been known for installer to crap out affecting other drives (rare to be fair). User error is the most likely situation though.
If data is not backed up elsewhere, (imo) still a good idea to disconnect drives temporarily.
If you did risk it and like me, stupidly deleted a partition you did not mean to, then there is an excellent tool that I used to recover that deleted partition "minitool partition recovery free" in less than a minute including choosing options.
I only have the standard boot partitions on the the SSD system drive and all other partitions on the other disks are inactive in Mini Tool Partition Wizard. I also have a full Macrium Reflect backup image. I'm inclined to take the risk of leaving the drives connected. My main concern is I've moved some user document / music / photo video files to drive D: - but the user profiles remain on drive C:
You should be OK. The biggest problem has been when there have been active partitions on other drives and users don't realize that is where their computer has been booting from the whole time.I only have the standard boot partitions on the the SSD system drive and all other partitions on the other disks are inactive in Mini Tool Partition Wizard. I also have a full Macrium Reflect backup image. I'm inclined to take the risk of leaving the drives connected. My main concern is I've moved some user document / music / photo video files to drive D: - but the user profiles remain on drive C:
I kept the drives connected and I just updated my PC in 30 mins with no issues
I've got the same Win-7 config approach as the original poster; however for W10 upgrade, I'm inclined to disconnect all drives except for my OS SSD. Any chance having the data drives disconnected during the upgrade would cause the links from the profile on the OS drive to be broken? Just want to be sure. Acknowledging the instructions are pretty clear: disconnect all but the OS drive.
