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I currently have most of my programs installed on a D:\ drive and I need to reinstall Windows 10. What would I need to do in order to reference the program paths once the installation is complete so that Windows just knows where everything is again?

I have media on a separate drive as well, so that shouldn't be an issue, as well as my games on another drive so Steam will just point to the original path, but the program files will need to be referenced to show up in control panel, start menu, and anywhere else there originally accessible from via shortcuts and environment variables.

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  • If there is a program that makes this easier I don't mind paying for it.
    – bl4kh4k
    Oct 25, 2017 at 13:17
  • "What would I need to do in order to reference the program paths once the installation is complete so that Windows just knows where everything is again?" - You don't. Unless you reinstall those applications Windows won't know about them. You can backup the shortcuts, and those programs that generate their required registry entries when they are launched will work, but Windows won't know they are installed (those are different registry entries). You can backup your Steam installation folder, then transfer it back to the new installation, after you install Steam and your games will be detected.
    – Ramhound
    Oct 25, 2017 at 13:55

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With data like documents, photos, or videos it's easy to just point them to the new, non-standard location after reinstalling Windows. Most Steam games will also be fine (after installing Steam), though they might need to re-download some of the pieces (XNA, DirectX, etc.) if not already present on the system.

However, programs installed directly to Windows are going to be very hit or miss as to whether they can run on a new system without going through the install. Registry entries, DLLs, etc. all might be missing or unregistered and the runtime program doesn't know how to restore them like the install program would. Some programs even actively check if they have been installed or just copied as a form of anti-piracy protection. Some programs will work, but there's no way to know beforehand.

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  • Is it advisable to copy the registry and reapply it along with ProgramData and AppData folders?
    – bl4kh4k
    Oct 25, 2017 at 13:38
  • I don't know whether that would work or not, but I know that I wouldn't do it. One of the main benefits of reinstalling Windows is starting with a fresh, unbloated registry. Sticking your old registry into the new one would likely bring in any problems your previous Windows install had developed. It also wouldn't fix DLLs or other system files that were copied to system folders and aren't found in the program's install folder.
    – techturtle
    Oct 25, 2017 at 13:46
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    "is it advisable to copy the registry and reapply it along with ProgramData and AppData folders?" - No
    – Ramhound
    Oct 25, 2017 at 13:55
  • If you reinstall windows, then copy the program files, registry, program data, appdata etc all back, then in essence, you are getting back to the situation from before the reinstall. The system will be as slow, and all you have done is wasted your time. Instead, you will want to reinstall everything you need. This way you will more likely decide to not install everything from before which will make your system faster.
    – LPChip
    Oct 25, 2017 at 15:04
  • The system is fast, I like it the way it is... its running enterprise and I want pro back and its a bit-less upgrade so in essence should work if data was moved back. Just the key that will tell it "oh, I need to run as pro"... reboot and pro's back.
    – bl4kh4k
    Oct 25, 2017 at 16:41

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