Question regarding OSes separate from other Program Files

So my SSD recently crapped out on me and I replaced it tonight. Now on my SSD I have only Win10, nothing more. On my HDD I'm still seeing program files from my old programs but obviously there are no shortcuts or anything on my desktop. Do I need to back through and install everything again? I've never had to deal with something like this before. Thanks!

so the OS was on an SSD and your Program files were sym-linked to a HDD?

I'm not sure what sym-linked means but yes, I had my OS previously on an SSD and everything else on an HDD. The old SSD died and has been replaced.

You need to Install the OS on the new device and map the HDD back to the way you had it...

In many cases reinstalling is not needed. Just find the .exe for each program and double-click.
Most of them will work. Then right click the .exe and Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

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Did just that, thanks!

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