Two Active Partitions - No errors yet, but is this a problem?

whs · 26 Mar 2015

OK, Brian may be right. I missed the 'system' part. But is it easy to fix. Do this:

Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD

LaurieD227 · 26 Mar 2015

I feel certain this wasn't like this when I first got the machine.

I added Norton, Malwarebytes, and my Windows Updates, and later I added Quicken and MS Office (plus updates) and created my data partitions. Finally, I did a System Image using Windows Backup/Restore.

Somewhere, somehow in that process the System files got added or moved to my E partition. I have no clue how.

If I need to try to undo this I'd rather do so sooner than later, since I haven't moved all my data from my old laptop yet.

AddRAM · 26 Mar 2015

Exactly what I said already, you pull disk 0 first and see if windows boots, if it does then you can put Disk 0 back in and mark it inactive.

The OP doesn`t care one way or the other, so once again, unless you know what you`re doing, leave it alone.

If the ssd boots own it`s own you move it to sata port 0, put the data drive wherever and you`re done.

If you have the machine open you might as well fix it right.

LaurieD227 · 26 Mar 2015

AddRAM said:

That is a windows flag, not what we consider the system flag.

That shot has nothing to do with what we are discussing.

Yep, I know. I had added that shot in response to Wolfgang's post.

It was afterwards that I saw the "System" phrase in the description of E and realized what you were seeing.

And it's "her" screen shots not "his"

- I need a smiley with different features, darn it!

gregrocker · 26 Mar 2015

In addition to moving the Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD I would convert the preceding Primary partitions to Logical using How to set partition as Primary or Logical with Partition Wizard

The System drive gets derailed to a preceding primary partition when you run Startup Repairs or reinstall. For this reason it's best to have the OS drive in first position.

AddRAM · 26 Mar 2015

Greg it`s a laptop, there are no cables, aren`t you paying attention

LaurieD227 · 26 Mar 2015

paul1149 said:

Sounds like a simple error of some kind when you repartitioned the 1TB HDD. It should be harmless. You could make it inactive or disconnect the drive and see if the machine still boots. The way I see it, the boot files are on the SSD, so there shouldn't be any problem.

What might be interesting is to check the boot device order in BIOS. Possibly the machine is looking for boot files in E, not finding them, and then defaulting to the actual Windows install on C. Not a big deal - you might be losing .5s in boot time. But if you ever go multiboot it will matter which drive has priority.

I have seen the boot order in BIOS. What it looks like to me is that it first looks for the DVD drive, then the HDD, and then defaults to the C drive. That's how it came.

I'm thinking I may do a backup or at least create a restore point, and then see if I can use Wolfgang's post to move the system files to C. Afterwards, if necessary I can undo and redo my partitions, and maybe this time use Partition Wizard rather than Disk Management to do so.

I'd like to keep the separation of system files on C and data files on the spinning drive a clean separation.

whs · 26 Mar 2015

That's the way to go.. But if that boot order (CD/DVD, HDD, SSD) has been there from day1, then the bootmgr was on the HDD from day1. If you copy it to C as per my tutorial, that should be OK then. I would then change the boot order and set the SSD as #2.

AddRAM · 26 Mar 2015

You are totally confused, windows files are on C and your data is on the hard drive it will stay there, don`t worry about that.

Before you do anything, just pull Disk 0 and see if windows boots, if it does, you won`t have to do anything but put the SSD on Sata Port 0 and you`ll be fine

If that works you don`t have to re partition your data drive, it will be fine and the system files magically disappear after you mark it inactive :)

When fixed right your boot order in the bios should be...

1st DVD drive
2nd SSD
3rd disabled
4th disabled
5th disabled.

LaurieD227 · 26 Mar 2015

gregrocker said:

In addition to moving the Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD - Windows 7 Forums
I would swap the data cables so that C drive becomes DISK0 so that this can't happen again.

Make sure the WIn7 drive remains first to boot in BIOS setup.

The System drive gets derailed to a preceding primary partition when you run Startup Repairs or reinstall. For this reason it's best to have the OS drive in first position.

Do the System files get moved to the earliest primary partition when you run SFC or CHKDSK?

I did run those, because I wanted to be sure I hadn't caused any errors while I was adding all my updates

(I had an earlier thread where the pending 200+ Windows updates that needed to be applied to this machine when I first got it caused a cascade of errors that even some of the experts on this board hadn't seen, and I wound up having the factory reimage my machine for me rather than try to unscramble them.)

I guess I could check to see what it would take to make my SSD drive become Drive 0 - I'm sure I cannot physically move it within the laptop case, and I can't see myself trying to mess around disconnecting cables and so forth. I have swapped out hard drives in past laptops, so I guess I could pull the HDD out if necessary.