I have an old XP computer with 3 drives:
- Disk0 = C: D: E: F: (my current boot drive)
- Disk1 = I: (a data drive)
- Disk2 = J: K: L: M: (A new 2x bigger drive in an USB external case)
J is a "partition clone" of C (but J is double the size) (Same "partition clone" done for D>K E>L F>M) No "disk cloning" was done.
Computer Management reports:
- C is System (but no reference if it's BOOT or ACTIVE)
- J is Active (but no reference if it's BOOT or SYSTEM)
How can I remove Disk0 from the machine... and install Disk1... and have Disk1 become my new C: D: E: F: boot drive?
I know I have already done this poorly... but I need to do this WITHOUT another very long cloning process. (I've already cloned again and again trying to get this working.)
I can't use Disk Management:
- To change C to J... or any letter at all.
- I can't change J to C... already in use.
- I can't "remove" C to allow its latter reuse as J.
- I can't "swap" letters C and J. Directly... or indirectly... with a "temporary go-between letter".
I'm sure Microsoft had its reasons for making this so complex, confusing, and time consuming... but I can't guess why.
Help!
12 Answers
You need to access a partition manager, such as GParted, and modify the partition that corresponds to J: such that it has the boot/system flag set.
Once you are able to boot into Windows with only your new disk (this might not be trivial), go to Disk Management and remap all of your drive letters to your former ones, if need be.
You can mess with the boot order/rule if you start CMD and type msconfig
To change an existing drive letter on a drive, on a partition, or on a volume, follow these steps:
1.Log on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
2.Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Performance and Maintenance.
3.Click Administrative Tools, double-click Computer Management, and then click Disk Management in the left pane.
4.Right-click the drive, the partition, the logical drive, or the volume that you want to assign a drive letter to, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5.Click Change.
6.Click Assign the following drive letter if it is not already selected, click the drive letter that you want to use, and then click OK.
7.Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the drive letter change. The drive letter of the drive, the partition, or the volume that you specified is changed, and the new drive letter appears in the appropriate drive, partition, or volume in the Disk Management tool.
For more information, read this
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