Windows won't boot unless I use a different drive

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
  1.    #11

    If it booted when in Disk0 slot it may have stopped booting because when you moved it it was no longer set as first HD to boot. Check now in BIOS setup Boot order. Look also in the Boot order if there is a listing called EFI boot disk which may come into play here. I would move it back to Disk0 slot either way.

    You have an EFI BIOS as evidenced by your 100mb EFI boot partition which is only issued when an EFI BIOS is present. This normally means you'll need to follow these special steps to correctly install Win7: UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums

    However it is possible to install to an MBR-formatted HD in an EFI BIOS by removing the EFI boot from BIOS Boot order during install. THere may be other special settings to achieve this in your BIOS. Go to the SUpport Downloads webpage for your model BIOS to read the Manual on this now.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #12

    Okay so the EFI partition was made by my BIOS which I'm not using anymore unfortunately my MOBO malfunctioned so I had to send it away to get repaired/replaced. So should I just leave it as it is now, since I can still use my computer, until I get my proper MOBO back?
      My Computer

  3.    #13

    Are you wanting to keep it the way that it is until you receive your EFI mobo back, then reinstall the HD as it was there? If so I wouldn't modify it.

    See if you've formatted the HD with GPT instead of MBR. Click on the box to the left of the HD on Disk Mgmt. map to see what the options are. I don't know why you cannot mark it Active.

    If you confirm it is MBR HD which is likely since it will boot off of the other HD's boot files, and you don't want to preserve it as is to work on the EFI mobo, then we can help you delete 100mb EFI partition and try to construct in it's place the System Reserved boot partition - by marking it Active then running Startup Repair from disk up to 3 separate times to write the System boot files to the Active partition.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #14

    Well if you still have both drives plugged in, (in order to use the computer) The old hard drive is marked active and that`s probably why you can`t mark the new drive active. It can be marked active with the Partition Wizard Bootable cd. I would take the old hard drive out of the loop when you attempt this. But as you say wait til you get your replacement board, read up, make the partition wizard bootable disc, and read up some more, come back and we`ll be glad to help you out.

    http://www.partitionwizard.com/parti...otable-cd.html
      My Computer

  5.    #15

    Each HD should be able to mark at least one of it's partitions Active, but I concur with AddRAM that it's worth trying with PW CD to mark C Active as it sometimes will do what Disk Mgmt won't.

    As long as the HD itself is initialized to be an MBR and not GPT disk then it should work to mark Active so that the System boot files can be written to the Active partition.
      My Computer


  6. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #16

    Pretty easy. Just move the bootmgr from the old drive to C: - a 2 minute operation. Forget the EFI partition. Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD
      My Computer

  7.    #17

    I'd try whs's method first since it's easiest. Just install EasyBCD and move the System boot files if they will move. I'm not sure they will move to a partition which cannot be marked Active, though. But try.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 16
    Windows 7 Professional x64
    Thread Starter
       #18

    So should I try whs' method now or wait till I get my replacement MOBO?
      My Computer


  9. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #19

    Sure go for it. There is nothing to lose. It's no rocket science - 4 clicks total.
      My Computer

  10.    #20

    It's up to you. You an wait for the replacement EFI mobo and try to replace everything exactly as it was, or you can try to make the HD bootable now to use on this system.
      My Computer


 
Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:33.
Find Us