I work in IT and usually tell people to avoid upgrading an existing operating system, recommending a clean installation instead. However, I have a gaming PC with a large number of games installed, and starting over would be a major hassle. How reliable are in-place upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on the same hardware, and is there anything I should do beforehand to reduce the risk of problems or having to reinstall everything?
3 Answers
In-place upgrades are much more reliable than they used to be. On the same hardware, Windows 10 to Windows 11 will probably work without major trouble, especially if the machine is reasonably modern and has no unusual drivers or hardware. Make a proper backup first, but you likely don't need to wipe the system just because you're upgrading.
Your game library usually isn’t the reason to avoid a clean install. If the games are on a separate drive, you can point the launcher at that library afterward and let it discover the existing files instead of downloading everything again. Even on the system drive, backing up saved games and using the launcher’s library-detection features can save a lot of time.
I’ve seen a large number of upgrades and only a small percentage caused problems. Most failures involved very old systems, strange hardware, or existing driver issues. Check that your important applications and hardware are compatible, uninstall anything known to interfere with upgrades, and create a recovery plan before starting.
That works especially well when the library is on another drive. Change the launcher’s install location to the existing folder and it should verify the files rather than redownload the games.