Windows 10: Need to Disconnect Non OS Drives Before Upgrading to Windows 10?

The Windows 10 guide at https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2...tallation.html 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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...-location.html. 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?

:)

 

Windows 10 stuck on install

What ultimately worked for me, after changing BIOS settings and disconnecting non-essential external devices(including a USB Wi-Fi adapter), was disconnecting all internal drives except the OS drive.

I only attempted the upgrade installation three times. I started with the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant method and it failed at installing drivers. I then tried a DVD of the ISO through the Media Creation Tool with non-essential external devices disconnected and
it hung while copying files. Finally, I just extracted the files from the ISO, disconnected the extraneous internal drives, and ran setup from the system drive. The third installation was quick and painless, took less than 30 minutes.

 

Windows 10 Pro ISO Installation error message?

Some information that might help your situation

How to: Upgrade from Previous Versions of Windows Using Windows 10 ISO file

How to upgrade to Windows 10 from within Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 using Windows Update

For the errors, these steps might be of good help.

Uninstall Antivirus software

Sometimes the Storage devices cause issues: Disconnect SATA cables for non-OS drives

Disconnecting DVD drive is often reported as a workaround.

Disconnect non-essential hardware (including the Windows 10 USB install media as soon as the PC restarts for the first time during the upgrade).

 

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 kept the drives connected and I just updated my PC in 30 mins with no issues *Smile

 

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.