>> Drive Letters keep moving & changing....

[Twanny]

My System: Pentium 4 - 2.8 GHz - Windows XP PRo SP2 on HardDisk1 & Vista
Ultimate on HardDisk2.
PC Experience: Moderate :Home/Office User.
---------------------------------------------------
How can I prevent Drive letters from changing when I boot to Windows XP or
Vista?
My two HardDisks are partitioned into 3 drives each. I need to have
Partition 2 on my first HardDisk assigned to letter D. But when I boot to
VISTA (installed on my 2nd HardDisk - partition Letter E:\), this becomes C:\
as it should, but shoves Windows XP from C:\ to D:\ ....and in turn Drive D:\
(where I have all Data ), becomes E:\ etc.
I don't want to move my Data from Letter D:\ (I have hundred of shortcuts
pointing to this path and if I change it, all of them and assigned icons will
be not work)

Tried to do a google search, but my phrasing of the question did not bring
up anything relevant to my query.

There must be a solution to this : thanks for reading this.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

My System: Pentium 4 - 2.8 GHz - Windows XP PRo SP2 on HardDisk1 & Vista
Ultimate on HardDisk2.
PC Experience: Moderate :Home/Office User.
---------------------------------------------------
How can I prevent Drive letters from changing when I boot to Windows XP or
Vista?
My two HardDisks are partitioned into 3 drives each. I need to have
Partition 2 on my first HardDisk assigned to letter D. But when I boot to
VISTA (installed on my 2nd HardDisk - partition Letter E:\), this becomes
C:\
as it should, but shoves Windows XP from C:\ to D:\ ....and in turn Drive
D:\
(where I have all Data ), becomes E:\ etc.
I don't want to move my Data from Letter D:\ (I have hundred of shortcuts
pointing to this path and if I change it, all of them and assigned icons
will
be not work)

Tried to do a google search, but my phrasing of the question did not bring
up anything relevant to my query.

There must be a solution to this : thanks for reading this.

Seeing that your question relates to your Vista boot, you
should really post it in a Vista newsgroup, not in a WinXP
newsgroup. Under WinXP you would click Start / Run /
diskmgmt.msc, then reassign the various drive letters the
way you want them. It's probably the same under Vista.

 

[Twanny]

Seeing that your question relates to your Vista boot, you
should really post it in a Vista newsgroup, not in a WinXP
newsgroup. Under WinXP you would click Start / Run /
diskmgmt.msc, then reassign the various drive letters the
way you want them. It's probably the same under Vista.

----------------
Thanks for reading and replying. Actually, I just bought Vista and I am
green about using it and more familiar with XP -hence I posted here.
I already did assign the Drive letters with diskmgmt and they are OK under
XP. When booting to Vista though (the 2nd OS), Vista takes C:\ and pushes XP
from C:\ to D:\. How can I maintain D:\ for Data no matter how many OP
systems are installed? Do I assign XP to, for example, X:\ and thus keep the
already assigned partitions to their allocated letters? I do not want to mess
up when I boot to XP again... will XP (now X:\ ) revert back to C:\ ? Thanks
again.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

----------------
Thanks for reading and replying. Actually, I just bought Vista and I am
green about using it and more familiar with XP -hence I posted here.
I already did assign the Drive letters with diskmgmt and they are OK under
XP. When booting to Vista though (the 2nd OS), Vista takes C:\ and pushes
XP
from C:\ to D:\. How can I maintain D:\ for Data no matter how many OP
systems are installed? Do I assign XP to, for example, X:\ and thus keep
the
already assigned partitions to their allocated letters? I do not want to
mess
up when I boot to XP again... will XP (now X:\ ) revert back to C:\ ?
Thanks
again.

The letters you assign to your WinXP partitions while running under
Vista will NOT affect the letters visible when you're back in WinXP.

The cleanest way to retain drive letters in a multi-boot environment
is to use a proper boot manager such as XOSL. However, if you
have already installed your two OSs then it's really too late toi change.

 

[Twanny]

The letters you assign to your WinXP partitions while running under
Vista will NOT affect the letters visible when you're back in WinXP.

The cleanest way to retain drive letters in a multi-boot environment
is to use a proper boot manager such as XOSL. However, if you
have already installed your two OSs then it's really too late toi change.

------------------
I will take your word for it!
It won't be a problem re-installing Vista - I have not yet installed other
programs yet. I have found a bootmanager called VistaBootPro3.3 and it will
give it a go.
Again, thanks for your time and replies.

 

[Howard Kaikow]

I started running into that problem in Win 2000 last year.

You need to mess with the following Refistry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

In my case, not only were drive letters changing, duplicate drives were
created.

Even after the problem gets fixed, it sometimes reappears

A very useful article on fixing drive letters was at
http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/partsigs.htm.
I believe that the issue is also described in the MSFT KB (search for
MountedDevices).

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I started running into that problem in Win 2000 last year.

You need to mess with the following Refistry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

Modifying this key has the same result as using
the GUI under diskmgmt.msc - with one exception:
diskmgmt.msc won't let you change the system drive
letter (which would cripple the PC). When hacking
the registry there is no such safety net. The OP should
be well aware of this potential danger.

 

[Howard Kaikow]

Modifying this key has the same result as using
the GUI under diskmgmt.msc

Not quite

Windows 2000 clearly ignores those reqistry keys under some circumstances.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Not quite

Windows 2000 clearly ignores those reqistry keys under some circumstances.

I beg to disagree. If you modify the system drive letter in
HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices under Win2000 then
it will stick. I suggest you give it a try.

P.S. Aren't we getting sidetracked? The OP asked about
WinXP and Vista, so your assumption about Win2000 does
not appear to be relevant to this thread.

 

[Howard Kaikow]

I beg to disagree. If you modify the system drive letter in
HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices under Win2000 then
it will stick. I suggest you give it a try.

My problem has never been with the system drive.
Other drive letters have not always stuck.

 

[Rock]

My System: Pentium 4 - 2.8 GHz - Windows XP PRo SP2 on HardDisk1 & Vista
Ultimate on HardDisk2.
PC Experience: Moderate :Home/Office User.
---------------------------------------------------
How can I prevent Drive letters from changing when I boot to Windows XP or
Vista?
My two HardDisks are partitioned into 3 drives each. I need to have
Partition 2 on my first HardDisk assigned to letter D. But when I boot to
VISTA (installed on my 2nd HardDisk - partition Letter E:\), this becomes
C:\
as it should, but shoves Windows XP from C:\ to D:\ ....and in turn Drive
D:\
(where I have all Data ), becomes E:\ etc.
I don't want to move my Data from Letter D:\ (I have hundred of shortcuts
pointing to this path and if I change it, all of them and assigned icons
will
be not work)

Tried to do a google search, but my phrasing of the question did not bring
up anything relevant to my query.

There must be a solution to this : thanks for reading this.

To get to disk management in Vista click the Start Orb | Administrative
Tools | Computer Management. That opens an MMC console with a variety of
snap-ins one of which is Disk Management. You can change the letter
designation for most drives but you cannot change it for the drives where
the Vista files are located and where the boot files were located. If when
Vista was installed the volume where XP has it's boot files, which in your
case seems to be the original C: drive, Vista will place it's boot files
there. This will become D: when viewed in Vista and it can't be changed
because it holds the boot files.

The way to do this is to install Vista without the Vista installation seeing
the XP drives, then use a boot manager as Pegasus mentions.

This really should be posted to a Vista newsgroup, and you should search
through the posts in there for the information. It has been asked and
answered many times in those groups.

microsoft.public.windows.vista.administration_accounts_password
microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_assessment
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices
microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
microsoft.public.windows.vista.music_pictures_video
microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing
microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance
microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan
microsoft.public.windows.vista.security

Look through either installation_setup or general

 

[PD43]

P.S. Aren't we getting sidetracked? The OP asked about
WinXP and Vista, so your assumption about Win2000 does
not appear to be relevant to this thread.

Pegasus - 1
Howard - 0

 

[Twanny]

To get to disk management in Vista click the Start Orb | Administrative
Tools | Computer Management. That opens an MMC console with a variety of
snap-ins one of which is Disk Management. You can change the letter
designation for most drives but you cannot change it for the drives where
the Vista files are located and where the boot files were located. If when
Vista was installed the volume where XP has it's boot files, which in your
case seems to be the original C: drive, Vista will place it's boot files
there. This will become D: when viewed in Vista and it can't be changed
because it holds the boot files.

The way to do this is to install Vista without the Vista installation seeing
the XP drives, then use a boot manager as Pegasus mentions.

This really should be posted to a Vista newsgroup, and you should search
through the posts in there for the information. It has been asked and
answered many times in those groups.

microsoft.public.windows.vista.administration_accounts_password
microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
microsoft.public.windows.vista.games
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_assessment
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices
microsoft.public.windows.vista.installation_setup
microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
microsoft.public.windows.vista.music_pictures_video
microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing
microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance
microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan
microsoft.public.windows.vista.security

Look through either installation_setup or general

-----------------------
As I said I earlier, I am familiar with Windows XP, but Vista was bought
only a couple of weeks ago and everything is new. Anyway, you gave me a lot
of information to work on, but I want to get this right, even if I have to
reinstall Xp and Vista. I will go through the posts you mentioned.

Thanks again everyone for your time and input.

 

[Howard Kaikow]

The article I referenced points out that the problem exists in Win 2000 and
Win XP, not to mention such articles in the KB.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

The article I referenced points out that the problem exists in Win 2000
and
Win XP, not to mention such articles in the KB.

This very detailed and interesting article refers to something
completely different than the OP's question: How system drive
letters end up being incorrect and how to fix them. This can
easily happen when cloning OSs. The OP did not clone his
system: He performed a dual OS installation. His question
relates entirely to the drive letters of non-system drives. There
is no need for him to hack the registry, as stated before.

Still, the article makes reference to a utility called "Savepart"
which it claims can fix the problem of incorrect system drive
letters. This is a vexing issue that can cause the logon process
to loop permanently. Fixing this problem can be difficult -
maybe Savepart is the panacea we need. I intend to check
it out.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

The article I referenced points out that the problem exists in Win 2000
and
Win XP, not to mention such articles in the KB.

Bad luck, no panacea. "SavePart" explicitly states this:
"In case you need to create a new drive letter, you can
either use the Windows disk management tool or edit
[the] registry with [while] booting with a WinPE or
BartPE CD)." After cloning it is often necessary to
"create a new drive letter", and unfortunately SavePart
won't do it.

SavePart appears to be a fairly powerful free tool for
those who need to modify a PCs boot environment while
working off a DOS boot diskette. Its usefulness would
be considerably enhanced if the manual (a 194 kByte
text file) was translated into idiomatic English. Phrases
such as "seems to be incoherence between drive letter
and partition name" are a little difficult to understand
until one realises that the author means "disagreement",
not "incoherence".

I would strongly discourage the OP from using this tool.