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Windows 10 HDD and Windows 11 SSD compatibility

Anonymous
2022-04-14T17:46:56+00:00

I just bought a new PC that has Windows 11 installed on an SSD. I have a lot of important personal data installed on my current computer's Windows 10 HDD.

If I put my HDD inside the new computer as a secondary drive, will I still be able to access or move my data to my SSD?

Will the two drives be compatible regardless of having different operating systems installed on them?

Or will I have to reformat my Windows 10 HDD and lose all my data to make it compatible with the Windows 11 SSD as a secondary storage device?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. David-M 110.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-04-14T18:26:15+00:00

    Hi Coylie3.

    I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

    The HDD that has Windows 10 installed should work properly connected to Windows 11 without having to reformat it.

    However, adjust the BOOT priority in the BIOS of the Windows 11 computer leaving the SSD at the top priority. This way, you prevent the computer from starting Windows 10 from the HDD instead of Windows 11 from the SSD.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-04-14T18:28:01+00:00

    Provided the win11 boots up ok, if the win10 drive is then attached and shown in Disk Managment then provided your data is not stored under OneDrive, the data will still be accessible.

    There are certain processes you would need to do withe the win10 drive but what may depend on the size of that HD and how much fee space

    Same applies to the ssd size & free space

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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