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#1
Windows 7 installer sets its own path as C:\ - cannot install to C:\
My Windows 7 installation is many years old, and gone through many hardware changes, software installations and uninstallations, and Windows itself has been getting progressively slower, buggier, and prone to odd crashes and hang ups. I decided to try repairing the installation with my original install disc, but found that my DVD drive is no longer functional. Having used the official ISO from Microsoft to create a bootable USB for my netbook worked swimmingly. For my desktop, not so much.
When booting from USB on my desktop, the Windows 7 installer mounts itself as drive C while detecting my existing Windows installation as being drive D when it is actually and most certainly C. I've tried forcing drive paths from within Windows, changing boot order, switching USB ports, all manner of UEFI options pertaining to USB... and it always sets the installer as C, unable to set the Windows install path to C because C is in use by the installer.
I'm a bit too paranoid to try repairing Windows for fear of it totally screwing everything up with the forced drive path change, and using a drive path other than C for a clean install is, at best, undesirable. Would also prefer not to spend money on a DVD drive that I will in all likelihood use exactly once.
Motherboard (which I'd wager is the culprit) is an embarrassingly flashy ASRock P67 Professional.