Changing the system drive.


  1. Posts : 48
    Windows 7 Ultimate
       #1

    Changing the system drive.


    Please view the attachment.

    I have 3 hard drives on my laptop, i have vista on one, seven on the other and one with no OS on. After buying and installing seven today on a clear hard drive, and transfering everything of vista's hard drive onto my seven one, it was time to format vista.

    Windows will not let me do this because of the dual boot setup, and the vista drive being shown as the system drive (see screenshot) can someone tell me how to change the system drive, so i can format my vista hard drive which isnt needed anymore.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Changing the system drive.-untitled.png  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #2

    lewis said:
    Please view the attachment.

    I have 3 hard drives on my laptop, i have vista on one, seven on the other and one with no OS on. After buying and installing seven today on a clear hard drive, and transfering everything of vista's hard drive onto my seven one, it was time to format vista.

    Windows will not let me do this because of the dual boot setup, and the vista drive being shown as the system drive (see screenshot) can someone tell me how to change the system drive, so i can format my vista hard drive which isnt needed anymore.
    Lewis

    I think you are saying you want to change the dual boot menu, and delete vista am I correct?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 48
    Windows 7 Ultimate
    Thread Starter
       #3

    zigzag3143 said:
    lewis said:
    Please view the attachment.

    I have 3 hard drives on my laptop, i have vista on one, seven on the other and one with no OS on. After buying and installing seven today on a clear hard drive, and transfering everything of vista's hard drive onto my seven one, it was time to format vista.

    Windows will not let me do this because of the dual boot setup, and the vista drive being shown as the system drive (see screenshot) can someone tell me how to change the system drive, so i can format my vista hard drive which isnt needed anymore.
    Lewis

    I think you are saying you want to change the dual boot menu, and delete vista am I correct?
    Yes, could you briefly explain the process please.
      My Computer

  4.    #4

    Basically you need to pass the active flag from Vista to Windows 7, then reboot and if necessary boot into Win7 installer Repair console to run Startup repair.

    You can also unplug the Vista drive and run Startup repair to get Win7 to boot, then plug in the Vista drive and reformat it.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 28,845
    Win 8 Release candidate 8400
       #5

    lewis said:
    zigzag3143 said:
    lewis said:
    Please view the attachment.

    I have 3 hard drives on my laptop, i have vista on one, seven on the other and one with no OS on. After buying and installing seven today on a clear hard drive, and transfering everything of vista's hard drive onto my seven one, it was time to format vista.

    Windows will not let me do this because of the dual boot setup, and the vista drive being shown as the system drive (see screenshot) can someone tell me how to change the system drive, so i can format my vista hard drive which isnt needed anymore.
    Lewis

    I think you are saying you want to change the dual boot menu, and delete vista am I correct?
    Yes, could you briefly explain the process please.

    I am assuming you have vista as the first partition (on the left). IN that partition are the boot files. They are in the root of the drive and in a hidden folder called boot. Those are going to need to be moved over to the win 7 directory.

    You are going to need to use a tool like BCDedit to change the pointers . Instructions for using BCDedit are here BCDEDIT - How to Use

    DONT REBOOT DURING THIS. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE WIN 7 DVD.

    You move the boot folder and files into the win 7 root.
    then you edit the loader with BCDedit
    When all of the above is done you reboot and it should boot directly into win 7.

    Thats the process. let us know if you need help with any of this

    Ken
    Last edited by zigzag3143; 21 May 2011 at 06:20.
      My Computer


 

  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 18:21.
Find Us