Computer Only Boots If Both Hard-Drives Are Connected At Same Time

TK928

Member
When I first installed the EasyBCD, I made the mistake of selecting my C Drive, then clicked no in the menu when it displayed. I realized I made the mistake when I tried to boot just from my Win.7 HD. The computer's Win.7 will not boot unless I have the Vista HD also connected to the motherboard.

I clicked F10 to enter settings(Boot) with just the Win.7 connected. There is not a W7 even listed. The only choice to boot from is the Vista HD. I did the same with both HD's and both are displayed as to which device to boot from. But I am concerned that if I make the W7 the first boot, it will never boot up again even if the Vista is connected.

I tried different solutions such as uninstalling the EasyBCD software. And restoring computer to before I made those changes.

My question is, how can I get it back to just booting from W7 without the Visa HD connected?

I would appreciate any ideas or solutions.

Thank you in advance.
 
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When you have the drives connected you should be able to access the contents of the other hard drive. You may need to wait while Windows gives you permission (assuming you are logged in as an Administrator-level user). Access EasyBCD.exe in Program Files (x86) from there and the program will open in Vista. Alternatively, create a shortcut on the Vista desktop to the EasyBCD in the other drive, then double-click that. EasyBCD is unique in that regard in that it can be opened across OS boundaries. You should be able to alter the settings to what they should be. Let us know how it goes.
That's my 2-cents-worth but I'll accede to the experts here - hope they see this soon.
@Terry60 @mqudsi
 
Hello and Thank You for replying and your help.

When I first realized that I made the mistake, I uninstalled the EasyBCD application and also restored the computer to before I installed it. I thought if I just delete and restore it, the new settings and boot configuration would no longer exist, but obviously it still did.

In my computer folder, the Vista HD is not even listed(View Snapshot), but it is showing in computer management. So I am unable to do what you suggested above.

Just recently, I installed the EasyBCD software again to see if the settings would display the boot configuration and it appears they are still set. (I am enclosing snapshots, about 650MB).

Can someone take a look to see if I can make any changes, so I can boot Only from the W7 HD without needing to also have the Vista HD connected?

I am concerned if I try to get it to boot from the W7 HD only, I would cause it to not boot at all.

Thank You again in advance.
 

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What kind of Win 7. Home Premium, or ? and is it x86 (32-bit) or x64-64-bit? I may be able to help you out with an OS download from my Cloud Storage but I will private message you with that rather than publish it here.
That way you can either burn a bootable DVD or make a bootable USB drive.
 
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Win.7 Pro 64-bit

Could there just possibly be a way to solve this problem using the EasyBCD program I just installed again? Or changing the boot order by pressing F10 at start up, going to settings then make changes? But, as I mentioned above, I am concerned to changing the boot order from the Vista HD to only the W7 HD. I am afraid it might never boot up again, but not really sure if this would happen?

But it still would be nice to have a bootable Disk or USB, since it was not included when I bought the HD on eBay.

Thank you so much Peter for your ongoing help.:yum:
 
Only if you had backed up the BCD prior to all this happening and you know where that backup is stored. Then you could do that using EasyBCD.
Win 7 Pro - I assume you mean Ultimate perhaps? I'll send it via private message.
 
I stand corrected...there was a Windows 7 Professional. I apologise.
I'm afraid I can't help you there as I simply haven't got a copy.
That disc I sent should be able to repair the Startup files though. You may need to run it a few times.
 
If you want to move the boot details from the Vista drive to the W7 drive
Changing the Boot Partition
I'm not sure exactly what to do? I am enclosing snapshots settings of the EasyBCD.
Maybe you can guide me through the steps to get it to boot from W7?
I am concerned that if I change it to the W7, that maybe I will not be able to boot the computer at all?
Thank you so much for your time and help.
 

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The process is non-destructive.
It won't alter your Vista boot in any way so you can always resume the stutus quo.
It copies stuff to the new location you choose.
Just follow the instructions in the link and then alter your BIOS to boot from the new location.
In the unlikely event of having a problem, just put the BIOS back to boot from the original (Vista) location and you're back to square one.
Once you can successfully boot from W7, you can do whatever you want with the Vista partition.
You'll know you are successful when Disk Management shows your W7 drive as "system"

Disk Management flags have the following meanings

"boot" = "this is the system you're running"
"system" = "this is where I found the boot files for the currently running system"
"active" (on the first HDD in the BIOS boot sequence) = "this is where I started the search for the boot files"
"active" (on subsequent HDDs in the BIOS boot sequence) ="this is where I will look if I don't find something in the MBR on the first HDD"
 
The process is non-destructive.
It won't alter your Vista boot in any way so you can always resume the stutus quo.
It copies stuff to the new location you choose.
Just follow the instructions in the link and then alter your BIOS to boot from the new location.
In the unlikely event of having a problem, just put the BIOS back to boot from the original (Vista) location and you're back to square one.
Once you can successfully boot from W7, you can do whatever you want with the Vista partition.
You'll know you are successful when Disk Management shows your W7 drive as "system"

Disk Management flags have the following meanings

"boot" = "this is the system you're running"
"system" = "this is where I found the boot files for the currently running system"
"active" (on the first HDD in the BIOS boot sequence) = "this is where I started the search for the boot files"
"active" (on subsequent HDDs in the BIOS boot sequence) ="this is where I will look if I don't find something in the MBR on the first HDD"


Hi Terry.
I thank you so much for your help in this matter. I just got around in trying to fix the problem I caused.
I am not sure if I just messed up again! I clicked on the BCD Backup then checked the "Change Boot Drive", To C: which is the W7 showing in my Computer Management then clicked "Perform Action", figuring it would then boot from the W7 instead of the Vista OS. After it performed this action, I clicked on the "Edit Boot Menu". Now the W7 is not even listed as it was before I just "Changed Boot Drive" in BCD Management Options.

If W7 was still showing in the Edit Boot Menu, I would then change the BIOS to also boot from the W7 hard-drive as you told me to.

But now, the only 2 Menu Options displaying is MS Windows which were there along with the W7, but the W7 is not even showing now!

Now I am concerned if I reboot it will Not boot up, even from the Vista Hard-drive. So I am not going to reboot or shut down computer until I know it will be safe to do so.

I am enclosing some snapshots.

Thank you so much in advance.

I could once again use your recommendations

Tom
 

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It tells you in the link that if you're copying the boot files to a different physical drive, then nothing will happen until you switch the boot drive in the BIOS. You are still booting from the original unchanged location. That is shown by the "system" flag in your post.

EasyBCD is showing you the contents of the "live" BCD (on the HP drive)
When you change the BIOS and boot, you'll be booting from C and it will show as "system"

You can use EasyBCD to view (and edit) the contents of any available BCD.
It defaults to the "live" but using EasyBCD > Files option you can navigate to the copy you just made (\boot folder on C) or to the one you messed up (on E).

Why don't you post details of what's in each one (View settings - detailed mode)
 
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