Removing os without formating it

[Ezsno]

Hello there. I have a little question to ask. How can i remove my os from my drive without formating it and removing all the software that i had on it. Also i don't have my cd because my os was a digital copy. 

[Ezsno]

What i meant to say is without formating the drive and my installed software is still there

[Sheldon_King]

Maybe try Shift-Delete on C:/Windows? Or System32? (Maybe I didn't look at all, but is system 32 still a non hidden folder?). 

 

EDIT: System 32 is in C:/Windows, just delete that. It is the classic way to F windows. It will leave the programs and programs x86 alone. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Just download the Windows OS installation image from Microsoft and create your own installation media.

 

Windows 7: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows7

Windows 8.1: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows8

Windows 10: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

 

You're going to have to reinstall your programs anyways if you install another OS. I wouldn't recommend doing that because you're ought to run into stability issues.

[Enderman]

No, you can't properly do that.

[Ezsno]

I already have a os on my new ssd. And i want to transfer my data and other stuff to my new pc

[Sheldon_King]

3 minutes ago, Ezsno said:

I already have a os on my new ssd. And i want to transfer my data and other stuff to my new pc

You could move Documents (folder) and programs files (folder) over, but you will still have to reinstall the programs. Your new install will not know what to do with the programs with out the installer, unless you are using a portable program to start with.  Generally .dat files will hold program settings, so keep those, and game saves are generally in users documents, so keep those. Otherwise, reinstall. 

But deleting the windows or System32 folers will render the OS unusable. Those folders hold all of the windows kernel and base programs. 

 

Edit Reason: Wrong word. 

Edited November 3, 2016 by Sheldon_King

[Ezsno]

So even if i have my os on a different drive i still have to re install my stuff? But i have my Microsoft office there and other one timed licensed stuff 

[Mira Yurizaki]

13 minutes ago, Ezsno said:

So even if i have my os on a different drive i still have to re install my stuff? But i have my Microsoft office there and other one timed licensed stuff 

Those programs won't run on the new OS install anyway unless you reinstall it or transfer the licenses.

[Sheldon_King]

3 hours ago, Ezsno said:

So even if i have my os on a different drive i still have to re install my stuff? But i have my Microsoft office there and other one timed licensed stuff 

Office is not a portable program, it will have to be reinstalled. 

If you are talking about an OEM license, then you are limited to one computer, not one install. You can use a program called MagicJelleyBean to retrieve your licenses (windows, office, some games, and probably more).  It can be downloaded here: https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

 

As for reinstalling, it really depends on the program. Some installers just dump a portable version to your  disk and give you a shortcut. Chromium does this on windows. Some Programs are just one click run anyway, for instance YUMI.  The rest require access to other programs, or libraries, and a permanent directory to where it is and its dependencies are on the computer (directory basically). These will not run without a reinstall. If it is a microsoft program, adobe program, or larger than about 200ish megabytes, then you are likely looking at a reinstall. Smaller programs are likely either dependent plugins, or portable apps (like chromium).