SSD Install Problem

Jerald7 · 25 Aug 2011

I have an SSD installation question. I am installing a new SSD in an HP Pavilion Dv3-2157cl laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium currently installed on the hard drive. I put the SSD in a HDD Dock (USB), then used EseUS "Partition Clone" and cloned the main partition of drive C to the SSD (I didn't use "Disk Clone" because I didn't want to put the "Restore" partition on the SSD). All worked well, the SSD is designated as drive "F." I removed the hard drive, put in the SSD, but the computer doesn't recognize it. I guess it is due to the SSD being drive "F" - so how do I change the SSD to drive "C" so the computer will recognize it?

I went into the BIOS, but didn't find any way to change the drive letter for the boot disk. The only option I see in this HP BIOS version F.11 (9/4/2009) is just to boot from the hard drive, CD, etc.

Please Help!

Thank You...

seth500 · 25 Aug 2011

Is the partition set to active?

Jerald7 · 25 Aug 2011

Yes, the SSD is drive "F," NTFS, the Status is (Active, Primary Partition)

Jerald7 · 25 Aug 2011

I suppose this is the problem. The SSD status is "Active, Primary Partition" instead of status of "Sytem, Boot, Page File, Active" - as my drive "C" is. I removed the SSD from the PC and reinstalled the hard drive, since it would not boot up with the SSD. I currently have the SSD in an external HDD Dock (USB). the PC recognizes and reads the SSD fine in the external Dock, but does not recognize it as a boot disk, when installed.

If this is the problem, how do I change the status of the SSD to "System, Boot"? Does it matter if it is designated as drive "F"?

seth500 · 26 Aug 2011

Many times it is just simpler to reinstall windows instead of changing drive letters. The registry refers to the system partition as F: probably a million times in the registry. In order for your computer to boot after changing drive letters every one of them would have to be changed to C: Reinstall would be best...with the drive already installed in the computer and following some of the tutorials on this site for a clean install of W7.

SSD - Install and Transfer the Operating System

Follow that guide and you'll be on your way with the current image that you already have..

karlsnooks · 26 Aug 2011

Gerald,
Make a system repair disc.

Disconnect the old disk.

Connect the ssd.

Boot up from the System Repair disc.

Go to a command prompt.

Use following commands:
Diskpart
List disk
select disk 0 (should be the ssd)
detail disk (to make sure it is the ssd)
list partition
select partition 1
detail partition (to make sure you have the correct partition)
do you see Type: 07

If not then,
SET ID = 07 OVERRIDE
exit
exit

reboot your computer

CREATE A SYSTEM REPAIR DISC

START | type System Repair | Enter key | Create Disc button

GO TO A COMMAND PROMPT USING A SYSTEM REPAIR DISC

1) Insert System Repair Disc into optical reader.
2) Shutdown computer.
3) Boot up computer from the System Repair Disc
If your computer doesn’t boot from the optical drive, then
Immediately after pushing your Power ON button,
start tapping the F2 key to get to the BIOS to change the boot order

On some computers, Immediately after pushing the Power ON button, start tapping the F12 key and choose CD/DVD to change the boot order only for this time.
4) Wait while a mini-version of Windows is loaded and finally the SYSTEM RECOVERY OPTIONS dialog appears.
5) NEXT | SYSTEM RECOVERY OPTIONS dialog
will search your system for installed versions of Windows.
6) select the Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows radio button |
7) NEXT | Choose Command Prompt

Run desired commands and type EXIT when finished.
Remove the System Repair Disc.
Shutdown computer.
Power on computer.

On most computers you can boot to the cd by immediatedly after turning on the computer tapping on the F12 key and then choosing cd/dvd from the menu..

Jerald7 · 26 Aug 2011

Thanks Karl for your reply. I followed your instructions exactly, I issued the commands, everything looked like it was right, the SSD is drive 0, partition 1 is Type 07, the partition shows Volume 1, drive letter C. I then exited, rebooted - but still will not boot up. The only thing it does when trying to boot, is to show the "Press Escape" to access BIOS or boot options. It will not do anything past this.

karlsnooks · 26 Aug 2011

Jerald,
This is probably because the Master Boot Record (MBR) is missing.

Is the partition marked as active?

When you created the partition was it created as a primary partition?

Now let's see if I can find the links to the excellent tutorials here on "repairing/recovering" when this info is missing.

In any case you will need either a win 7 dvd or a system repair disc to boot from. I recommend the system repair disc.

Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times

Jerald7 · 26 Aug 2011

Karl,
Yes, the partition is marked as active. Also, yes the partition was created as a primary partition. I booted from the system repair disk several times, each time running the "Startup Repair," then rebooting between each. The system recovery does find Windows 7 located on drive C, each time I boot up the system recovery disk. If it sees it as such, it looks like it would boot up from it, but it will not. The hard drive light never even flickers when trying to boot up, so evidently it never tries to access it. It could be the MBR.

karlsnooks · 26 Aug 2011

Jerald,
We've got some tutorials on this and I've asked that those who are fond of them to point you to the correct ones.

they may even be here before this gets there.