Shifting System reserved partition to other HDD .!

gregrocker said:

You need to write the System boot files to Win7 partition. Follow these steps:

Mark Win7 partition Active so Repair knows where to write the System boot files: Partition - Mark as Active

Power down, open the case, unplug Disk0, swap its data cable to Disk1 so that it becomes Disk0 and remains set to boot first in BIOS setup.

Now boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or System Repair Disk, run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times to write the System boot files to Win7 partition until it starts on its own and holds the System Active boot flags.

You can now power down to plug back in the other HD to Disk1 to access its data or wipe with Diskpart Clean Command to clear the boot sector to prepare for repartitioning in Disk Mgmt..

Hey hi .!

I did as was told . Marked the C:\ drive on disk 1 as active and the system reserved partition on Disk 0 as inactive .
The shut down , swapped the disk 0 sata cable & connected it to disk 1 , so now disk 1 became disk 0 . Restarted and booted with a usb drive containing Windows 7 ultimate.

It loaded operating system files . And then when it started , i clicked repair my computer . It scanned and found a recovery option . I clicked repair and it now says Windows 7 ultimate ( Recovered) on Drive C :/

Restarted and again booted via usb drive . Now i clicked on startup repair . The first time it said that it has detected an error and repaired ( within like 5-6 seconds ) . Then restarted . Again for the second and third time ran startup repair , but both of these times it said that startup repair could not find any problems . After running 3 startup repairs ,& restarting it still says Error loading the operating system .

I followed all the steps , could you tell what is the problem then .?

FYI : I used a pen drive to boot to the Windows 7 setup , so that partition had to be active . Thus apart from C:/ , the pen drive partition is also active .

Is the Win7 HD set first to boot in BIOS setup?

There are problems sometimes with running repairs from a pen drive. Can you use a System Repair Disk or Win7 DVD Repair console?

Confirm C is set Active: Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)

If all of these fail, plug back in the old HD, set it first to boot in BIOS setup, in Win7 install EasyBCD to move the boot files as suggested by Wolfgang.

gregrocker said:

Is the Win7 HD set first to boot in BIOS setup?

There are problems sometimes with running repairs from a pen drive. Can you use a System Repair Disk or Win7 DVD Repair console?

Confirm C is set Active: Partition - Mark as Active (Method Two)

If all of these fail, plug back in the old HD, set it first to boot in BIOS setup, in Win7 install EasyBCD to move the boot files as suggested by Wolfgang.

Yes Windows 7 HDD is set first to boot .
Okay , I'll try and run it via dvd and revert .

BTW is it normal for the Startup repair to say it did not detect any problems in its 2nd and 3rd runs ( after the 1st run says it has found a problem and repairs it .? ) ?

Hi,

After multiple retries , Startup repair does not work . Every time it says that Setup could not detect a problem .
Could you please tell if there is an alternative .?

Like creating a System reserved partition on the same disk manually and then transferring the contents to the new System reserved partition & then creating links manually .?

Plz assist ...

First double check Win7 HD is set first to boot in BIOS setup. Try booting again.

Next boot into free Partition Wizard bootable CD, confirm Active flag is on Win7 partition, then click on HD # to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply. Reboot. If it fails post back a camera snap of PW drive map showing all listings.

Next plug back in the other HD which contains the System Reserved partition, set it first to boot in BIOS setup (after DVD drive) then if it won't boot remove the Active flag from WIn7 partition using PW CD to rightclick>Modify, then run Startup Repairs again.

When WIn7 starts try using whs's method to move boot files to C using EasyBCD. Remember you'll need to set WIn7 HD first to boot before restarting once you do this for it to boot. See if it then holds the System flag.

If these fail we can construct a System Reserved partition or rescue any files needed to Clean Reinstall. I am around all day today to help you.

If that fails and you are comfortable using the command prompt then you can try:
1) Ensure C: is the only active partition for both HDDs. This should set the active flag in the MBR partition table. It would be best to have the C: partition drive plugged in
2) Go into a command prompt from the system repair DVD or USB
3) enter the following commands
>bootrec /fixmbr
..........This will ensure you have boot code in the 2nd HDD's MBR
>bootrec /fixboot
..........This will give you a bootsector on C: partition
>bootrec /rebuildbcd
..........This will build the BCD (boot configuration data table) on C:
4) Your system should now boot

More information on Bootrec.

gregrocker said:

First double check Win7 HD is set first to boot in BIOS setup. Try booting again.

Next boot into free Partition Wizard bootable CD, confirm Active flag is on Win7 partition, then click on HD # to highlight it, from Disk tab select Rebuild MBR, Apply. Reboot. If it fails post back a camera snap of PW drive map showing all listings.

Next plug back in the other HD which contains the System Reserved partition, set it first to boot in BIOS setup (after DVD drive) then if it won't boot remove the Active flag from WIn7 partition using PW CD to rightclick>Modify, then run Startup Repairs again.

When WIn7 starts try using whs's method to move boot files to C using EasyBCD. Remember you'll need to set WIn7 HD first to boot before restarting once you do this for it to boot. See if it then holds the System flag.

If these fail we can construct a System Reserved partition or rescue any files needed to Clean Reinstall. I am around all day today to help you.

If i just move the bootmgr using Easy BCD , is there a way to manually write the link to the F8 Advanced Boot Options menu for System Recovery Options to work again .?

I don't want to complicate things

Besides , if i just move the bootmgr , only the system recovery options won't be accessible from F8 right .? They can still be accessed from the Windows 7 DVD right .? And rest everything will be fine by using this method .?

And would start up repair from the Windows 7 dvd work in future in case something goes wrong with Windows again .?

Also , i wanna know that i have created the Windows 7 DVD by slip-streaming SP1 using RT7lite . Will the start up repair work from this Windows 7 slip streamed DVD .?