Clone Drive Issue

[Gus Zernial]

I'm replacing old WinXP System A by new WinXP System B. I cloned the old
system disk to the new system disk, did a Repair install to account for
some hardware differences, and the new system boots - BUT, there are
some problems.

The system disk on the old system was the F: disk and the system disk
on the new system is the C: disk, so I find the system/applications
looking in the wrong place for stuff. Is there a way to change the
system (registry?) on a global basis to account for the fact that
things are now on the C: disk? Or if not, can I rename the system
disk on the new system as the F: disk? Thanks!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'm replacing old WinXP System A by new WinXP System B. I cloned the old
system disk to the new system disk, did a Repair install to account for
some hardware differences, and the new system boots - BUT, there are some
problems.

The system disk on the old system was the F: disk and the system disk
on the new system is the C: disk, so I find the system/applications
looking in the wrong place for stuff. Is there a way to change the system
(registry?) on a global basis to account for the fact that
things are now on the C: disk? Or if not, can I rename the system
disk on the new system as the F: disk? Thanks!

You must rename the system disk to F: in order to maintain
stability. Run regedit.exe, then navigate to
HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices and rename \DosDevices\C:
to DosDevices\F:. After rebooting the machine, your system
drive letter will be F: again.

 

[Gus Zernial]

Thx for quick response, and yes that definitely makes system
more stable. One question, tho - I can rename C: to F:, but C:
doesn't seem to want to go away. C: comes back on reboot, and
I now have two drives, C: and F:, which seem to be the same
thing. Any way to avoid this? Thx!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Use the same approach to delete \DosDevices\F: from the
registry.

 

[Gus Zernial]

Yes, but - I'm thinking that this would cause a problem in that there
are many pointers to the F: drive in the registry - am I wrong?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Sorry, I got it back to front: Delete \DosDevices\C: from
the registry.

 

[Gus Zernial]

Yes, I've done that, but see below "C: doesn't seem to
want to go away. C: comes back on reboot, and I now have
two drives, C: and F:" .....

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Which drive is your System drive? Do this to find out:
- Click Start / Run {OK}
- Type this command:
set system {Enter}