donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

Hi all,

My upgrade is scheduled for 11pm tonight eastern and I'm wondering if I should leave my 3 aux drives plugged in? If anyone knows please let me know.

Thanks!
Donna

Jahawk Loc: Rhode Island

I left my western digital backup drive connected and there were no problems.

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

Thanks, Jahawk.

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

It may be ok but, I've always made it a practice to disconnect all the C drive and DVD drives when I do an install. It prevents any possibility of problems.

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

And thank YOU, too, Nicksr1125. My s/o agrees with you.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

I also agree. The fewer places it can go the less damage it can do.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

There is no right or wrong on this one I found out. Normally one would be advised to just go with the basic install with your C drive only. I was running off of the technical build in which I left everything connected; my 6 internal drives (including a raid drive), my external drive, my network drives, my server (2013), All of my peripherals, such as my scanner, printer and such, and had absolutely no problems with either the technical builds nor the Win 10 Pro which installed last week. It was not a clean install either when I installed the first Win 10 technical build. It did ask me at that time to re-enter the serial #'s or activation codes on a couple of programs. It recognized my network and everything. All of my drives have a bunch of junk on them and they were not affected. The thing runs like a bat out of hell!

When I installed Windows 7, I did a clean install and also at that time, I purposely made sure that everything was connected. It too ran smooth out of the gate except that I had to do a few driver updates at that time. I did not have to do anything with Windows 10. Go figure. I did know that if I were to have any problems, I am so deep into Windows that I can fix any problem thrown at me. I am not so sure this is a good thing. Lol.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Shouldn't be a problem if they are independent of you boot drive, but you may want to think about any backups that you have enabled....

So far I haven't had a problem with the limited upgrade that I did, on a secondary boot drive (dual boot system), but my primary boot is still Windows 7. Windows 10 is just there to test...

I've had problems with an older Windows 7 32bit system, still can't get it to upgrade to Windows 10.....

I would still recommend caution....

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

On most computers, the "C" Drive is the boot drive and that's where the OS partition is located. You CAN NOT disconnect the drive that the present operating system and boot strap are located unless you intend to install WINDOWS10 on another drive and set your computer up for dual boot operation, but from my experience, the boot drive has always been designated as the "C" drive unless this is altered through the BIOS under BOOT PRIORITIES SEQUENCE.

You do not need to leave any other drives connected as they will not be effected by the WIN10 installation routine.

When WINDOWS10 installs, it will make a full backup of your present system so if things do fail, you can return to your old operating system easily using "RESTORE".

Another consideration to keep in mind is you will need to have enough room left on the drive for the installation routine to download and allow space for it's swap and temp files to be generated. These files will be removed after the installation is completed. If there's insufficient space, the installation will crash. Microsoft recommends you place anything not related to the OS on other drives and clean up the boot drive as best possible. You can also move all MUSIC, PICTURES, DOCUMENTS and other folders to another drive to make space as these too will not be subject to changes during the upgrade process and this generates more usable space on the designated boot drive.

It is also a good practice to update any drivers needed for any video cards, eSATA cards and added peripherals from their specific manufacturer's websites so these drivers are WIN10 compatible. AMD and NVIDEA have already sent out notice to their customer base about this and the downloadable updates are available.

After installation is completed, open the SETTINGS (located by clicking on "START" and then "SETTINGS" to alter your preferences. This "SETTINGS" menu and subsequent pages, replaces the old "CONTROL PANEL". Many have found their video preferences changed to basic settings during the install and things like dual monitor settings are altered.

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

I am a computer repairman . This should answer your question . Microsoft decided a few versions of windows ago to check for more than one drive when installing windows . Their feeling was if they install the start up files on another drive if it is available during installation of windows . It will be much harder for the start up files to get corrupted . So if your windows was installed when you had another drive installed , there is a 99.9% chance the main start up files were installed on the 2nd hard drive . This is why I always disconnect all other drives before I install windows on any computer . The reason being if the other drive with the start up files goes bad , is disabled , removed , etc. , windows will not start . I have 7 drives in my big desk top , and running more than one windows on different drives . If you only have one drive than you have nothing to worry about when installing windows , but if you are like many computer owners . You have 2 or more drives connected . Here is how you can find out if your windows start up files are on another drive . Shut down your computer , unplug all the drives except the one with windows operating system on it . Now try to restart the computer , if it starts , leave all the other drives unplugged during the upgrading of windows .And if the computer wont start , plug one drive in at a time until the computer starts . Now you know which drive has the operating system on it , and which drive has the start up files on it . This drive will have to stay plugged in also while you upgrade windows and use windows .Tommy

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I don't think the Win10 upgrade would matter to them, but I don't leave mine plugged in when I'm not backing up. There's no reason to have them running all the time.

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

Thanks for all the responses. What a LOT of very knowledgeable hoggers here! The upgrade has been done and everything seems to be just fine. I'm busy exploring the new OS now but all looks just great.

BTW, I did it by uplugging my aux drives but I do feel confident that I could have left them plugged in. They have nothing but photo files on them. My computer came with Windows 8.1 on it.

Thanks again!

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

Hi Jerry,

I don't use mine as backups but as working space. I use Carbonite for backup.

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

How does one find out when the upgrade is scheduled?

My Surface 3 Pro updated two days ago but nothing on my MSI Laptop yet ?

Sarg69

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

I got a popup in the corner of my PC one day asking me if I wanted to be put on the list for the Windows 10 upgrade - that I would be contacted when it was ready.