HDD Swap Issue

R

remixed9989

New Member
I have a computer with a 250gb ( c: ) running Windows XP Pro x64. I just installed a new harddrive ( e: ), formatted it as NTFS, set it as a primary type and installed Windows Vista. I transferred all my files to the new harddrive in the respective Documents folder on the Vista drive.

When I power on my computer it goes to a OS selection screen:

Earlier version of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows Vista

If I choose nothing at all, it will automatically go to the Vista HDD.

How do I format c:?

All attempts fail. It tells me I cannot format a system drive. I decided to try to boot the computer without the C: drive altogether and it wouldn't do anything past the BIOS menu. Why won't the computer boot from the e: system drive on it's own?

- Both HDDs are SATA 3.0gb/s.

PLEASE HELP ME BEFORE I GO CRAZY!!!

Thanks,
Zach
 
Last edited:
you need to go into vista, format the C drive and then change the vista HDD to become the primary boot device.
 
^ That's what I thought. When I attempted to format the c: drive, it wouldn't let me format a "system" drive.

I found a solution. I inserted the Vista software and used it's repair functon to open the command prompt, "format c:" and viola! Then I reinstalled Vista on the c: drive and transferred all of my files back once again. I reinstalled everything, then formatted my e: drive from inside of Windows on the c: drive. Now I can reinstall my audio software back onto the clean drive. I was really trying to avoid going this route, but it seems to be all that worked.

I was actually worried at first, because when I tried to reinstall Vista on the c: drive, after it formatted, I got a BSOD twice in a row trying to initialize Windows. All is well.

As for anybody with a similar issue, good luck.
 
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