Mapping Hard Disk Drive

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Guest

When I installed everything, my hard disk drive was designated as "F." I
didn't think much about it , and installed all of my programs, data, etc. and
connected with my wireless LAN. Now I can't remove or install certain
programs, apparently because they are seeking the non-existent "c" drive.
1. Do I need to remap the F drive as the C drive?
a. If so, can this be done without starting everything all over?(eg.
reload&reinstall)
b. I the answer to 1a is yes, how do I do this, and what risks are involved?
2. If the answer to 1 is no, is there a workaround? if so, what is it?
Thanks much,
Steve
 
You can change letters/paths in diskmgmt.msc,but to change F: to C:
in xp requires a reinstallation of xp.
 
Andrew E. said:
You can change letters/paths in diskmgmt.msc,but to change F: to C:
in xp requires a reinstallation of xp.
Click to expand...

.... and THAT will require reinstallation off ALL other programs, won't it?

I am told there IS a way of reassigning letter C to the now F drive. Does
anybody know how this can be done?

I had this problem and my solution was to reinstall everything from scratch.
I'll see if I can fish it out for you. But if you do a google search you
will come across it. However, reassigning another letter to the drive you
have your system on is not easy. I can however be done without activating
the F drive by starting from the Win XP CD itself and then reassigning
letter C to the now F drive while it is not active.

Anybody out there who could tell us exactly how this can be done?
 
Here is how I did it... copied from an earlier posting
******
You can change drive letters as you described. The only snag is that you
CANNOT re-assign another letter to the drive that has got Windows XP
installed on it while it is active. A sort of Catch 22 situation. But if you
want to reformat your hard disk anyway read on...

I had this problem and my solution was to
1- physically disconnect the second hard disk and clear CMOS on the
motherboard making sure the 2nd HD was still not SEEN to be there.
2- format the hard disk that had Windows on it
3- Reinstall Windows on the ONLY hard disk left connected
4- After everything is done and the system is back up and running, reconnect
the second hard disk which will now automatically be given the next unused
letter -- in my case a G.
5- Access the Console and re-assign letters to the various drives. Be smart
here and think ! I had CDEF to contend with. You have to think ahead. I
called my D a G which released the letter D which I could now use for my 2nd
HD changing it from F to D. Get the idea?

But having said all this, I know there IS an easier way to do this from the
Console without having to reformat the HD and reinstall Windows. It is done
by starting Windows FROM the CD and to do this you will have to enable CD
start. F11 (?) as the computer starts. But you have to know what you are
doing to use this method which is the easier neater solution to the problem.
And you don't have to reformat the HD and reinstall Windows because when
you enable CD start the HD is not active and its assigned letter can be
changed. But you do have to know how to do this. I must admit I myself
don't know how to do it the easy way.

Maybe somebody can pinpoint us to a web-page that explains it all in detail.

Good luck and have fun. And don't forget to take a couple of Aspirin or
Paracetamol tablets before you start. <G>
 
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