Moving HDD

[CannonWTF]

Hey guys,

 

I just ordered all the parts for my first PC build and they should all be coming in this week. However I have been using a pre-built acer for the last few years, and I want to take some parts from it to keep the cost down on my new build. The main question I have is about moving the HDD from one machine to another. The HDD in question is a non-boot HDD. AKA I have my OS on a SSD that I also plan on moving, but reformatting. However I don't really want to reformat and lose and the things I have on my HDD. 

 

Can I just plug the HDD in and it work just like it does currently, or is it best to just back up all my stuff and re-download whatever I think I may need? 

 

Thanks for the help!

[WaggishOhio383]

You should be able to reuse the HDD just fine since it isn't the boot drive. All your files will still be accessible and it won't cause any issues. However, if you have any programs installed on that drive they will not function properly. Running the installer for the programs will often repair the missing files required to use the program files that were already on the other drive though.

[CannonWTF]

So I assume any word documents, pictures, power-points will not have any problem moving over. However something like The Witcher 3 would have to be reinstalled? Is this what you are saying? 

[WaggishOhio383]

45 minutes ago, CannonWTF said:

So I assume any word documents, pictures, power-points will not have any problem moving over. However something like The Witcher 3 would have to be reinstalled? Is this what you are saying? 

Yes. To my knowledge, that's how it would work.