spring cleaning a HD!

[judge john]

my computer has been running a bit sluggish for a bit now, particularly at start-up. i have so many different programs running and so much software that i just accumulate of the internet over time that i thought a 'spring clean' would do the computer a world of good. So i am planning on moving all the stuff i need and want to keep to my 200GB secondary HD and leaving just windows on the primary 120GB HD. just to make sure i get rid of everything i will re-install windows as well.
i am telling you all this as i want to know if there is anything i can take advantage off when re-installing like optimising windows? or is there anything i haven’t thought of that i might miss? and also if i only have one HD with windows installed on will that mean i can't install games ect on the non-windows HD?

[SuperSparks]

You can install apps or games on the non-Windows drive with no problems at all normally (you may just occasionally find one that will insist on installing to the Windows drive).

One thing you can do to potentially speed things up a little is to split the pagefile over both drives. Do it before you install anything on the second drive, and make sure that it goes onto the first partition of the second drive, and the C: partition of the Windows drive, as that is wher the rotational speed of the paltters is highest and gives the best read/write performance.

[judge john]

now i think about it i have some s/w installed that i no longer have the CD or installer for. if i copied the already installed files (in program files) for this s/w would it work without installing them again?

[SuperSparks]

In a word, no

[judge john]

why not? all the files are there for the s/w to load so why won't it work. i mean they don't require the CD to run. it just contained the files that i have installed anyway.

[shiva_42]

why not? all the files are there for the s/w to load so why won't it work. i mean they don't require the CD to run. it just contained the files that i have installed anyway.

Cause it won't! Windows programs, when installed, can make multiple entries to the Windows Registry among other "footprints". When you reinstall Windows all of that information is lost/reset. I'm personally not too fond of how Windows manages these issues either, but truth is truth. Won't work.

[judge john]

ok, well i went ahead anyway and installed windows on my new HD. now i have it set up all perfectly on the new hd and have imported all the stuff i need form my old HD. at the moment i only have one plugged in at a time as i only have one connecting wire!
what i need to know is if i uninstall windows on my old HD will it still retain all my files?

[SuperSparks]

Delete the Windows and Program files folders, but leave the Docs and Settings as well as any other files that you saved to the original drive.