Removing a Boot file from a Partition that is NOT being used

[Boblink]

Hi, I was having problems with VistaHP and thought that I could kill 2 birds
with one stone by adding a new Hard Drive and reinstalling Windows VistaHP.
For information purposes, the original HD was Partitioned into "C" (OS), "D"
data files, "E" (Photos) and "F" Extra storage (for future use).

In any event, I did not have the proper cables available so I REMOVED the
original HD and placed the new HD in my system and installed VistaHP and
Partitioned the new HD in to 4 Partitions also and installed all my software
programs, data files, apps, ...... on the new HD.

Everything appeared to be fine and a couple of weeks later, I placed the
orginal HD back in the system with the intentions of Re-Formatting the drive
for additional stirage (and using the new HD as the Primary Drive).

This went "semi-OK", I was able to reform and re-label most of the
Partitions on the original HD except for the Partition that contained Vista

and at the moment, when I go to My Computer I have Local Disk "C" (39.8GB
free of 82.7GB), Old C Drive "D" (13.4MB free of 125MB), "G" Data Files
(29.8GB free of 36.8GB), "H" Photos (181GB free of 194GB), "I" BU (82.5GB of
151GB), "P" Extra Space (352GB free of 352GB) and "Q" More Extra Space
(45.4GB free of 95.3GB).

My objective / what I would like to do, is DELETE and / or Re-Format the
"D" (Old C Drive) which I was able to get down to 125MB but as best as I can
tell, the Drive contains the following file 125.5MB with 107.8MB Used and
17.7MB Free and the following folders:

$RECYCLE.BIN, BOOT, System Volume.

I would appreciate you help in advising me HOW to Delete / Re-format this
“D†Partition which I believe is NOT needed since I WAS able to run VistaHP
on the new HD for a few weeks when the original HD was "out of the box" (and
the $RECYCLE.BIN, BOOT, System Volume

were NOT used and / or needed) or must I "start from scratch" and Re-Format
BOTH the original HD and the new HD and Re-Install Windows Vista again?

BTW, I order an upgrade copy of Windows7 and will be willing to wait a
couple of months for the release if W7 has the capability of doing what I
want (deleting / removing / reformatting /......the Old C Drive that still
contains a BOOT file which I believe is screwing this up)

Thank you for you help,

Bob

 

[Boblink]

Thanks for getting back to me theog, you wrote:

Delete all partitions on old drive, repartition to suit.

*WARNING ALL DATA WILL BE LOST.*

I believe but am sure that I tried this.
If I am not mistaken, I DELETED the Data Files, Photos, BU ,... Partitions
(the combined them into 2 Partitions (Extra Files and More Extra Files) but I
was only able to (I believe DELETE, it might have been re-format but I think
it was Delete) MOST of what was on the the Drive that contained the OS
(VistaHP) EXCEPT for the files that I listed.
This Drive only has 125MB so I am not concerned about obtaining more storage
space, I would like to make my system as clean and efficient as I can and
this Partition (D-Old C Drive) is COMPLETELY useless so I want to get rid of
it.
Thanks again theog,
Bob

 

[Boblink]

I w ish I could theog but Windows does NOT allow me to Delete the Partition
that USE to contain Windows VistaHD my guess is because it still contains a
BOOT File although the Boot file is NOT being used.
Any other thoughts / suggestions?
Thanks,
Bob

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Boblink.

What tool are you using to delete partitions on the old HDD? Disk
Management should handle the job very nicely.

Just boot into Vista (on Disk 0, of course) and run Disk Management
(diskmgmt.msc). Check the Status column to be sure that both the System
volume and the Boot volume are on Disk 0. (If either are on Disk 1, then
STOP. You need to change your hardware setup or your BIOS settings.)

Then right-click on each volume on Disk 1 in turn and choose Delete Volume.
If you get an error message, post the EXACT text here.

After ALL volumes are deleted, the whole Disk 1 should show as Unallocated
Space - or Free Space. If that's not what you see, please post back and
tell us. A screenshot would be helpful.

Then do whatever you want with all of Disk 1. You can right-click in the
Free Space and create one or more partitions. You can assign them whatever
free letters you like, format them, label them, and use them as you choose.

BTW, I order an upgrade copy of Windows7 and will be willing to wait a
couple of months for the release if W7 has the capability of doing what I
want (deleting / removing / reformatting /......the Old C Drive that
still
contains a BOOT file which I believe is screwing this up)

Every Windows since Win2K has had Disk Management and it has always been
able to delete and create partitions, so there's no need to wait for Win7.
And Disk Management does not care what is on a volume that you've told it to
delete - UNLESS you've CURRENTLY booted the computer from that volume, or
are CURRENTLY running the operating system on that HDD. And Disk
Management's Status column will tell you which is CURRENTLY the Boot volume
and System volume. If neither the current boot volume nor the current
system volume are on Disk 1, then Disk Management should be able to do
anything it wants to volumes on that HDD.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Boblink]

Thank you for your help RC, FYI I use Windows Diskmgmt.mcs and also I think
you might have identified the problem (why I am unable to DELETE the small
125MB folder), I primarily use Windows Diskmgmt.msc and use EaseUS Partition
Master 3.5 if I can't get it done with diskmgmt.msc. In any event, I think
you might have uncovered the problem (the reason why I am unable to Delete
the 125MB Folder). The new Disk Drive, which contains the ONLY version of
VistaHP on my system, is identified as Disk1 NOT Disk0 so it appears that I
will need to rename Disk0 (the original HD) Disk1 and rename Disk1 (the new
HD) Disk0.
Is this doable?
Let me point our=t again that the computer was able to operate properly with
Disk1 (the new HD) as the ONLY HD that was installed (I took Disk0, the
original HD OUT of the computer and did not place it back in for several
weeks so unless I am missing something, the system was able to run just fine
without Disk0.
Anyway, I am glad that you were able to uncover the problem, now let's see
if there is a solution or must I reformat BOTH Disk0 and Disk1 and reinstall
Windows VistaHP to straighten out this mess?
Thank you for your help RC,
Bob

 

[Boblink]

Hi S1W2, thank you for your POST, from my novice prospective, I think that
you have me on the right path but I am running into problems. When I go
Control Pannel-->Disk Manager, Disk0 (the original HD) is identified as a WDC
Device and Disk1 (the new HD) as a Hitachi device.
When I do into BIOS (Enter during start-up on my system) and go to
StartUp--->Primary Boot, the 1st Boot is CDDCDW, the 2nd Boot I changed to
Hitachi and the 3rd boot I have Hitachi again. BTW, their is only ONE option
for HD which is the 1st HD that is selected under Hard Disk Drive. The other
selections available are Hard Disk Drive (as mentioned above) where the 1st
Drive is Hitachi and the 2nd Drive is WDC.
Now when I re-boot mystem and go back to Disk Manager, Disk0 is STILL the
WDC Drive and Disk1 is the Hitachi Drive.
What am I doing WRONG?
Thanks,
Bob

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bob.

<Sigh>...A mindset is a very hard thing to break. :^{

First, please throw away Partition Master and any other third-party
utilities. YOU DON'T NEED THEM and they just create distractions. Disk
Management will do all that you need to do.

Next, physically unplug your old WDC HDD. Now boot into Vista. Start Disk
Management. Look in the Status column. Which volume has the "System"
label? Now look to the far left column to see the name and letter for this
volume. Now look below to the Graphical View and find this drive letter.
Look in the far left column. This is Disk 0, right? And this is your
Hitachi HDD, right? So your Hitachi is NOT always Disk 1! So Disk numbers
are not permanent! They can change, depending on how many HDDs are plugged
in, on which cables are connected to which HDD, and on the boot device
sequence set in the computer's BIOS. Since you can boot with only the
Hitachi connected, you obviously no longer need the WDC to start the
computer and run Vista. Before shutting down, be sure to note also which
volume has "Boot" in the Status column.

Now, shut down the computer and physically plug in your old WDC HDD again.
Power up into Vista again, and start Disk Management again. Now look in the
Status column for the labels "System" and "Boot". Again, look to the left
to see which drive letters they refer to. Look for those letters in the
Graphical View and see if they are both on Disk 0, both on Disk 1, or one on
each. And be sure to note which is your old WDC HDD and which is the new
Hitachi HDD.

What you want is to see BOTH the System and Boot volumes on your Hitachi.
You don't really care if it is Disk 0 or Disk 1, just that both are the
same. That will mean that you booted up from the Hitachi and Vista is
installed on the Hitachi. When you get this situation, you can do anything
you want to the old WDC HDD because it holds neither the current system
volume nor the current boot volume. So go ahead and wipe it clean. ;<)

But if the System label is on the WDC HDD, that means that the computer
actually booted from that HDD for the current session, so you cannot do
anything with that system volume. No OS will obey the command to reformat
the partition that holds its own startup files; that's like obeying an order
to commit suicide!

But if we've determined that the computer is actually booting from the WDC
HDD, we can fix the problem. ;<)

With both drives connected, reboot. VERY EARLY in the boot process, long
before Vista even starts to load, press whatever "magic" key your computer
uses to enter the BIOS setting utility. (On my computer, that is the <Del>
key; on some it is <F10>; on others it is something else. You'll have to
read your computer manual - NOT Windows documentation - to see how to get
into that utility for YOUR computer.)

In the BIOS utility (NOT in Windows!) find the page to set the boot device
sequence. Be sure that your Hitachi HDD is set to boot before the WDC HDD.
At this point, you don't really care which is Disk 0; most computers will be
quite happy to boot from Disk 1 IF that's the way you set the BIOS. (If you
do care, you'll have to swap cables to be sure that the Hitachi is connected
to the first SATA connector on your motherboard.)

Once the BIOS is set to boot from the Hitachi, even with the WDC plugged in,
go ahead and reboot into Vista. Check in Disk Management to be sure that no
volume on the WDC have either System or Boot status. Now you can do
anything you want with the WDC HDD. My suggestion is to delete all the
partitions on it and create new ones from scratch. If you don't, the
lingering FORMER system volume and WinXP boot volume will just be sources of
continuing confusion and distraction.

Recap:
1. Verify that you can boot with ONLY the Hitachi connected.
2. Set the BIOS to boot from the Hitachi, even when the WDC is connected.
3. Boot from the Hitachi into Vista and wipe the WDC clean.
4. Do whatever you like with the nice, clean WDC. ;<)
5. Report back here so we know how it all worked out for you.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Bill Daggett]

Hi, Bob.

<Sigh>...A mindset is a very hard thing to break. :^{

First, please throw away Partition Master and any other third-party
utilities. YOU DON'T NEED THEM and they just create distractions. Disk
Management will do all that you need to do.

No it won't. You can NOT be serious.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bill.

I'm serious.

What does Bob need that Disk Management will not do?

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Bill Daggett]

Hi, Bill.

I'm serious.

What does Bob need that Disk Management will not do?

RC

Maybe Bob doesn't need all that third-party partition managers can do
(I actually didn't go back and read all the posts), but I've seen
countless posts in these groups about being unable to shrink a
partition beyond a particular point due to the presence of an
"unmovable" file, and that to accomplish that task a third-party
product is required.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bill.

That's a valid point - for some users. But Bob doesn't need that for this
project.

He just needs to delete the system partition on his WDC HDD - and he can't
do that if he has just booted from that partition. So he must boot from his
Hitachi HDD. Then he can delete ALL the partitions on the WDC - or whatever
else he wants to do with that HDD.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Boblink]

Hi guys, I think that I mentioned a few days ago that I am currently unable
to OPEN the system so I am going to put this on hold for a few weeks and
wanted to advise y'all that I WAS able to reformat and merge the 125Mb "Old C
Drive" and now have a completely FREE 500GB HDD now how I was able to do this
is another question.
I went to Disk Manager and clicked on the "D" Drive (i.e. Old C Drive) as I
had done dozens of times before but this time when I selected Format, it
executed. The only thing that I can think of is that the changes that I made
to BIOS must have taken place although the Disk identifications didn't not
appear that they did but the bottom line is that my HDD are now set the way
that I want to be and would like to thank EVERYONE for ALL your help.
Bob