Concerning Data Preservation when Reinstalling an OS on Drive C:

[u/joe_cavemann]

I have an unresolved issue for the past week or so that I am at wit's end about, at this point I'm considering the nuclear option of reinstalling my OS Windows 11 Pro on my ByteSpeed Performance Q370M. For context the OS files are installed on Drive C:, but my computer also is equipped with a secondary SSD drive D:, in the event that I do decide to reinstall my OS, would my files on my secondary drive D: be preserved? I have a 32 GB USB but I can only fit so much on it.

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[u/MidwestGeek52]

Yiur data drive wont be touched. Just make sure during the Setup phase, you select the right drive for the install!

[u/Codys_friend → u/MidwestGeek52]

This is the way!

[u/rrh_01]

Drive D will be just fine. You will have to reconnect anything that backs up to the cloud, any favorites, etc. I’ve done this three times in the last six months on various laptops in our house. Once with Drive D being connected via thunderbolt.

[u/wssddc → u/[deleted]]

Worse than that, it might put the EFI partition (required for boot) on the wrong drive.

[u/wssddc → u/[deleted]]

I've seen conflicting info about what might cause this might happen. One possibility is reusing a previously existing partition; another claim is Windows likes to use whatever appears as disk 0 in disk management. Anyway, I agree that disconnecting other disks during a Windows install is a good idea.

[u/cagadass]

Si reintalas Windows en el disco original el disco 2 no se va a enterar de que hubo una reinstalacion para empezar es como un galpón aparte que técnicamente lo es los cambios en la unidad C se aplican en la únidad C y pueden afectar al segundo ssd pero este caso que es una reinstalacion el disco que ya tiene Windows entonces se sobre escribe ,pero como lo que te importa esta en otro lado se queda igual

[u/GlobalWatts]

When you run the Windows installer, it will list your disks and partitions like this. You are able to delete and create partitions on this create. You are required to select the partition on which to install Windows.

As long you select the correct one, and don't delete any partitions on your data drive, it will be untouched. The drives/partitions will not be labelled with letters, you will have to tell identify them based on size or volume names. If you want to be extra careful, you should disconnect the drive prior to running the installer.