Disconnecting internal drives before install


You get to choose the drive when installing Windows, but if your M2's are identical there might be a problem.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    W11 pro beta
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    home built
    CPU
    Athlon 3000G
    Motherboard
    Asrock A320M-HDV r4.0
    Memory
    16Gb Crucial DDR4 2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard cpu
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560-1440
    Hard Drives
    WD black SN750 M2 500Gb
    PSU
    500W Seasonic core 80+gold non modular
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R2
    Cooling
    front 2 x 120mm rear 100mm stock psu
    Internet Speed
    135/20
    Browser
    Firefox and edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security and free Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    W11 pro 64 beta (from W10 pro system builder pack)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    MSI B450 tomahawk max II
    Memory
    4 x 8Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000 DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    onboard cpu
    Sound Card
    motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 21.5" IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 1Tb Black M2 SN850X on Asus hyper M2 X16 max V2 card
    PSU
    Be Quiet 400 semi modular 80+gold
    Case
    Coolermaster Silencio 650
    Cooling
    140mm front, 120 rear Akasa Vegas Chroma AM
    Internet Speed
    135/20
    Browser
    edge/Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD plus Malwarebytes free
I did some further research into this. It appears that what cereberus stated was absolutely correct (not that there ever was doubt!).

It looks like the only time you might potentially encounter an issue is if you have an EFI partition on another drive. In all likelihood this means that you have another drive on which Windows was at one time installed to previously.

Knowing this makes the situation easy to avoid. I just reinstalled on the one and only machine to have ever been an issue for me and all went 100% smoothly.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Kamrui Mini PC, Model CK10
    CPU
    Intel i5-12450H
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    PSU
    120W "Brick"
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Cereberus: On my machine, drive 0 is my data drive and drive 1 is my OS drive so if I'm understanding your very comprehensive post properly, Windows will install properly on drive 1 and not try to modify drive 0. I'm not trying to set up a dual-boot system; I just want to upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11 on drive 1. And of course, everything will be backed up beforehand with Macrium Reflect.

Rob
So long as data is backed up, all should be fine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
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