XP PRO allocated drive F:

  • Thread starter Thread starter ATK
  • Start date Start date
A

ATK

Long story.
I wanted to use 2 x 120 GB disks in a RAID mirror. Having set them up with
XP PRO on one of them I discovered the MB chip would NOT support a mirror
disk which included a working operating system without creating the system
from scratch during the mirror creation.
I then decided I would accept a mirror system (logical partitions) without
XP. However, since I didn't want to start from scratch I tried to copy XP to
an 80GB physical hard disk (using PartitionMagic 8) which I intended to use
for that purpose. This was unsuccessful and I tried another hard disk with
like result.
Eventually I applied the XP setup disks to the 80GB disk and this was
successful.
I have removed all the XP systems from physical disks, but on booting I am
provide with 3 options i.e. XP, XP#1 and XP#2 although only XP works.
My problem now is that although there is only one system present it is
labelled "F" which is more than a nuisance.
XP PRO's Disk Management will not allow me to change the drive letter
because it is the system drive.
How can I get the drive letter back to C: please?
PS
PM8 would seem to allow the change but I am afraid to invoke it. I have
entered a change from F to C and the PM screen shows:
"Warning.
This partition contains the Windows directory. If you change this drive
letter, your system might not boot.
Continue with drive letter change?
Yes/No"
Anyone any views please?
 
In
Anyone any views please?
Click to expand...

Well... If I'm reading you correctly you could just change the drive but
that wouldn't boot. I'm pretty sure that you're going to want to leave it as
drive F: for the time being unless someone else has a bright idea. What you
can do is this:

Press the WinKey + Pause Break > click advanced > click startup and recovery
click the edit button > edit out any boot options you don't want > close
Click to expand...
that and save > click okay a couple of times and it should then only boot to
the drive in question. Just changing the drive letter may cause system
failures. Most software, any coded by anyone with attention to detail, will
use %WinDir% instead of C: drive so that it will all just work fine. I'd go
ahead and leave it as F: if I were you but that's entirely up to you.
Changing it means that you run the risk of installing again and I've never
had any luck doing so in the past though other people may have.

Galen
--

"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me
the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am
in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial
stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for
mental exaltation." -- Sherlock Holmes
 
First off - I am not RAID savvy, nor have I ever used PM8.

That said, is this what you want?
The 80GB as a O/S drive not connected to the RAID setup. The two 120 GB
connect via RAID somehow or another for your user app's and/or data.

Is the original O/S setup on the 120GB disk still intact and not modified?

r.
 
No RAID implications and I have removed both disks which I will be using for
RAID, so I have only one disk attached.
Using the "WinKey + Pause Break > click advanced > click startup and
recovery click the edit button > edit out any boot options you don't want
Click to expand...
close that and save" suggestion I edited out one of the options and then
went straight to F:\boot.ini and edited out the other extra one. This worked
OK and has resulted in removing them as options during booting. However the
system disk is still F: and the XP Disk Management will not allow a change.
It has been mentioned to me that it is straightforward to copy the system on
to another partition on the same physical disk without problem. Is there a
chance that such a copy would then be allocated C:.
I am new to XP, and this is the first time I have not had a C: drive which
is important to me in terms of how I have worked with partition letters over
some years across 3 computers.
IMPORTANT. When I finally installed my current system it failed the
activation procedure, but when I pressed the "retry" key (without making any
changes) it was OK. However, when I next rebooted, the old XP was still
present on another physical disk and the system booted to this and an
activating warning appeared. As stated, I have now deleted all but the
current XP, but it is obvious XP is keeping a note somewhere about what has
been happening and I am now wondering if all will be righted when the
activation period has elapsed on the now non-existing XP systems.
Does anyone know how/where XP keeps this (and other) information?
Many thanks for interest expressed.
 
If the original 120 GB is still intact, clone it using Ghost 9.0 onto the
80GB (as long as the 120 GB does not contain any more than 80 GB of used
space). Then setup your RAID with the two 120's. Done.

r.
 
Hi.
Unfortunately (?) I removed XP from other hard disks, hoping that with only
one version I would have no problems. It looks as if I am stuck with the
situation of F: as system.
What I find strange is that it is obvious that with the widespread use of
this Operating System, my situation must have occurred many hundreds of
time.
Is there a Moderator for this NG?
 
OUTCOME.
I decided to take a risk with PartitionMagic and change the drive letter,
but it went awry.
Eventually I re-installed XP over the top and there was no problem and the
system was allocated C:. It only took about 90 mins.
While the outcome is OK, I still wish I understood more about this.
Many thanks to respondents.
 
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