F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Trying to assist my brother with his PC upgrade, I’m really confused. I bought the components for his birthday.

Trying to assist my brother with his PC upgrade, I’m really confused. I bought the components for his birthday.

Trying to assist my brother with his PC upgrade, I’m really confused. I bought the components for his birthday.

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Ikarus_ORG
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226
05-04-2016, 10:54 PM
#1
I purchased my brother a fresh motherboard, CPU, and boot drive. I’m unsure what to do now that I’ve attempted to begin the process. He has five drives in his PC with more than 6 TB of storage. I received a 1 TB M.2 and a 3 TB hard drive, both brand new. How can I install Windows on the new boot drive and then move or transfer his account and data? His collection includes games and saved files spread across all drives. Would implementing RAID be beneficial for organizing his files better? I’m unfamiliar with this setup before. I need guidance—this is stressful. Is there a method to back up only his essential files without manually selecting each folder? I don’t even know which folders to choose. I’ve built PCs before, but never upgraded them like this. Thank you for your help—I regret buying him a high-end CPU and now worry about losing his data.
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Ikarus_ORG
05-04-2016, 10:54 PM #1

I purchased my brother a fresh motherboard, CPU, and boot drive. I’m unsure what to do now that I’ve attempted to begin the process. He has five drives in his PC with more than 6 TB of storage. I received a 1 TB M.2 and a 3 TB hard drive, both brand new. How can I install Windows on the new boot drive and then move or transfer his account and data? His collection includes games and saved files spread across all drives. Would implementing RAID be beneficial for organizing his files better? I’m unfamiliar with this setup before. I need guidance—this is stressful. Is there a method to back up only his essential files without manually selecting each folder? I don’t even know which folders to choose. I’ve built PCs before, but never upgraded them like this. Thank you for your help—I regret buying him a high-end CPU and now worry about losing his data.

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asafverypro
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05-19-2016, 04:29 PM
#2
I’m not a specialist, but copying the program files and user folder is a solid way to preserve key data. SteamLibrary folders tend to be large, but they’re only necessary if you have a very slow internet connection and don’t want to re-download games.
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asafverypro
05-19-2016, 04:29 PM #2

I’m not a specialist, but copying the program files and user folder is a solid way to preserve key data. SteamLibrary folders tend to be large, but they’re only necessary if you have a very slow internet connection and don’t want to re-download games.

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iron_pip
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05-19-2016, 05:49 PM
#3
The SSD maker should possess cloning tools. You might also try Acronis to duplicate the drive, though it's unclear if a free version exists.
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iron_pip
05-19-2016, 05:49 PM #3

The SSD maker should possess cloning tools. You might also try Acronis to duplicate the drive, though it's unclear if a free version exists.

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ss278
Junior Member
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05-20-2016, 03:09 AM
#4
I damaged his computer and I’m unsure what to do next. The boot drive isn’t working, and I can’t fix it with a Windows USB or command prompt. I tried to help my brother, but now all his files are lost. I need assistance.
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ss278
05-20-2016, 03:09 AM #4

I damaged his computer and I’m unsure what to do next. The boot drive isn’t working, and I can’t fix it with a Windows USB or command prompt. I tried to help my brother, but now all his files are lost. I need assistance.

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___iRekt___
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505
05-26-2016, 09:40 PM
#5
Start calmly. First, ensure you have the right tools ready—Windows Media Creation Tool for a bootable USB (requires at least 16GB). Install Windows on the new M.2 SSD without connecting any other drives. After setup and driver installation, reinstall your desired software. If BitLocker was active, you can recover data from the previous drives. Any needed programs will need a fresh install. Local game files can be transferred to the correct location and may function after reinstalling the main game or confirming local files work with Steam.
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___iRekt___
05-26-2016, 09:40 PM #5

Start calmly. First, ensure you have the right tools ready—Windows Media Creation Tool for a bootable USB (requires at least 16GB). Install Windows on the new M.2 SSD without connecting any other drives. After setup and driver installation, reinstall your desired software. If BitLocker was active, you can recover data from the previous drives. Any needed programs will need a fresh install. Local game files can be transferred to the correct location and may function after reinstalling the main game or confirming local files work with Steam.

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