One more thing: I've installed PW and tried to turn it into a basic disk (just to see what it says), but this error comes up: pw cannot convert any dynamic volume type except the simple or mirrored volume.
The hdd isn't seen as having three partitions as I had split it, but as one Logical partition of 931GB :/
Ok, I've realised that the reason why the 'foreign' label appeared was because I plugged the hdds one at a time and not both concomitantly. So I've plugged them both and I've imported the other hdd (i had the option there in disk manangement) by pointing it to the respective one and it worked; that is, the drives have been identified.
The problem now is that there is a lot of GB to transfer (more than 400) and the other hdd (belonging to the computer where I've done all this) doesn't have enough space - it's got only 200.
So my problem now is that if I unplug the 500GB hdd, the 1TB would stop being seen - again. I just want to install a new win 7 on my 500GB and conserve the data that I have on my 1TB hdd. And if I make any changes to the partition table on the 500GB I'm afraid that the data on my 1TB hdd would stop being accessible.
So any other suggestions?
Is the pw really safe? Should I try using it now, that the drivers are identified?
I would copy out your data first to be sure. Buy an external HD, use a third HD formatted NTFS Primary, export to another network computer, or Windows Sky Drive which allows 25gb storage with each Windows Live ID.
Yes, PW is safe for conversion from simple Dynamic disk to Basic. But I've never seen it used on mirrored HD's before which is why the suggestion to back up your data first - which is always best practice anyway.
Have you tried to repair Win7? You need to make sure the 100mb System Reserved partition remains marked Active then run Startup Repair from the DVD Repair console or Repair CD up to 3 separate times.
Partition - Mark as Active - Windows 7 Forums
Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times - Windows 7 Forums
No, i haven't, because during installation - or during the first steps before installations - i've formatted that partition (which was not mirrored) in order to be able to install it - I thought that was the reason why windows wouldn't install. I didn't have important data on my system partition.
All right then, I'll try to copy out all my important data before I do any major changes to my hdds.
Moreover, can you suggest any practical ways to backup my data regularly?
I've found synctoy which good, but rather basic. Maybe a schedule-based backup program? And not Nero. Or whatever other methods that you can suggest would be appreciated.
Windows built-in Backup is ok. Save a Win7 backup image and file backup regularly and you can reimage HD or it's replacement in 20 minutes, have access to all files.
Backup programs use more disk space than I like, so I save a backup image and drag active User folders to my external periodically as it's simpler and foolproof.
I've saved the most important data on the third hdd and turned the 500GB hdd into basic with PW and it worked fine. No data was lost.
Glad it worked for you.
Can you install now to the old Win7 partition you formatted? Use the booted DVD Custom>Drive Options to delete 100mb SysReserved and Win7 partition, then create a New partition there, format and install. The installer will not issue the 100mb boot partition if other partitions remain on the HD.
I have deleted the entire 500GB hdd and then recovered my data. So it worked that way. Anyway, the 100MB partition is not always necessary, sometimes it works without it. In this case, windows didn't warn me about creating a new partition, so it copied all the necessary files on the win 7 partition.
If you'll post back a screenshot of your full Disk Mgmt drive map with listings, with window maximized, we can look it over for you to see if any potential problems exist. Label your partitions in each one's Properties box at top. Use Snipping Tool in Start Menu.
On the Win7 partition it says: System, Boot, Page File, Active, Crash Dump, Primary Partition.
The reason why it says active partition on the Disk0 is because windows automatically wrote the MBR on the Disk0 without asking, because that was the first Disk. Meanwhile, I've solved this and fixed the startup by connecting only Disk1 so that I may boot independently. Otherwise, there's no problem, I believe.
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