EasyBCD Help with Booting Windows 8.1 & Windows 7 on saperate HDD

TheWolFMaN

Member
Hi I have used EasyBCD before on Windows 8 hard drive and Windows 7 hard drive. All boot up fine before and showed both drives to pick. Now I'm not to sure on what version it was but pretty sure it was the same version. Now i had a problem on my Windows 7 x64 HDD drive and i had to reformat. Now ever since i tried to load both of them they always make a system reserved drive for both. I never had that before was only on 2 Drive to pick and no system reserve before i reformatted. I have lost all data too through this mess because i tried deleting the drive and redoing it but just showed the black screen. So i had to do those cammands to fix it but even if i added a drive still had the system reserve for both on there so it was like showing i had 4 drives and i don't like that.


If someone can help me please

Thank u


I I'm currently running Windows 8.1 x64 now

Also was running iReboot & EasyBCD on my Windows 8 x64 on just one HDD
 
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Windows 7 and 8 will create a 100Mb partition for the boot files without exception on a GPT disk, and unless you take active measures to prevent it on an MBR disk.
On MBR, you can get the boot files into the C partition as long as
a) you don't let setup format its own empty space.
i.e. you must format the entire disk into the partition structure you desire, set the OS target partition active, and point setup at the formatted partition.
b) let setup see an alternative "active" partition on another disk.
If you don't give it the opportunity to do its own thing in a) above, it will search for some other place to put the boot files.
A pre-existing OS, or even a data partition which has been marked active by default, will be used if there is one.

As long as it can't do either of the above, it will put the boot files in with the rest of the OS.

If you install a second OS without removing access to the first, it will automatically dual boot the two by putting the second system as an entry in the BCD of the first.

If you are formatting your disks as GPT on a UEFI system. You cannot prevent setup from creating 3 partitions for W7 and 4 for W8 even by pre-formatting. It will simply reconfigure the space. No problem though, since there is no practical limit to the number of primary partitions under GPT.
Windows and GPT FAQ
 
OK but as i said Before it was was not like that before. So I'm not understanding on why or what was different Terry

If you are formatting your disks as GPT on a UEFI system
I formatted it same as i always do before

Can u please try and help me on fixing this

Thank u










 
If you're formatting as MBR, just follow the rules as I previously stated.
i.e Don't install into unallocated space - format it as a partition first
Set that partition "active"
Don't have any other active partitions on other disks visible.
I can't tell you any more than that.
 
I thought you were asking why the system reserved partitions had appeared; the implication being you didn't want them.
If you are just carrying on as you are, what exactly is the problem you are having with EasyBCD.
It doesn't mind whether the boot files are in C or not.
 
I told u EasyBCD makes system reserved drives. WHY. I have had EasyBCD installed before with out them showing why they showed this coming time beyond me.

SO i state Can u and will u help me to fix this Please. With proper Step by step tutorial or better picture tutorial.

Thank U
 
I told you, the system reserved partitions were made by Microsoft Windows Setup. They are nothing to do with EasyBCD.
If you don't want them EasyBCD cannot get rid of them for you.
It can be used to copy the boot files into the C partitions, but the System Reserved will still be there even if they're not in use, so you won't have gained anything.
Please state exactly what you are trying to achieve.
 
No Terry u are Wrong
I told you, the system reserved partitions were made by Microsoft Windows Setup
They are nothing to do with EasyBCD

They have everything to do with EasyBCD. I used EasyBCD and they made the reserved drives them not from formatting
.
I don't think u understand whats going on here i will try to take screenshots and paste them for u to see. I'm Sorry if i complicated anything

Thank u
 
EasyBCD is not capable of creating partitions.
It only alters the contents of the BCD.
 
"Yes i know i never said it did. But in my case it has believe me."
There, you've said it again.
You have stated throughout that EasyBCD is responsible for the appearance of these partitions.
I am assuring you in the strongest possible terms, It does not create partitions. It did not do what you think.
You might only have become aware of them when you started to use EasyBCD for your dual boot, but they were there from the moment you invoked MS setup, which is what created them, in the manner I described in my original reply.
If you want to get rid of them, you can reinstall in the manner I described or you can use a third party partition manager (MS Disk Management won't reclaim the space for you).
If you don't want to reinstall or take the risk of using a partition manager to move your C disk, then you can just leave them where they are and stop obsessing about them. 99% of W7 and W8 installs all over the planet have that boot partition. It's the MS default since Vista.
Do you have any other problem you want help with ?
 
I will show u Terry it does create them because from when i installed Windows thosepartitions Are not Here. Only When i try and Doul boot with both my drives they show up please understand if i use EasyBCD and try and add windows 7 x64 and windows 8.1. I choose the letter of my hard drive Win 7 and win 8.1 then after reboot i see the system reserved drive which where not there when installing Windows. Also before i thought EasyBCD automatically detects both drives do i have to choose a letter from when i did it thought it usually find them automatically.
 
You must dual boot W7 by adding an entry into the W8 BCD. Give it the letter that W8 explorer sees for the W7 partition.
You cannot boot W8 from W7 because of backward compatibility problems with digital signatures between the older boot manager and the newer boot loader.
Concentrate on getting your BCD dual-boot fixed and give up your "System Reserved" obsession. That name, as it implies, is created by the Microsoft system.
I don't know how many times I must say it to convince you.
EasyBCD does not,
cannot,
has no capability of,
is incapable of,
contains no code for,
in no way attempts to,
categorically does not
create partitions.
It's an application which primarily acts as a GUI for the MS BCDedit command line processor and it has additional features to enable use of the BCD to boot OSs which MS doesn't support. It is not a partition manager. It cannot manipulate, create or delete partitions.
If you want that function, you must get a partition manager.
If you are still convinced that you are right and I am wrong, I suggest you take a quick glance at our post counts, and note that I've been here providing support for EasyBCD users for over six years, and think again.
I'm quite happy to continue helping you sort any dual-boot problem you might have, but this is an end to any argument about how EasyBCD works.
If you wish to continue down that fruitless road, you will be doing it alone.
Trolls are not tolerated on this site.
 
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Trolls are not tolerated on this site.
Please don't call me a Troll Terry I I'm just trying to tell u the truth

Although At this point U happened to be right I think. I'm sorry for the confusion if i keep going on about it. I Know the partitions are from Microsoft from the OS.

Here's some videos for u to help me on the problem I'm having so u can see. I'm not very good at wording stuff so i I'm very sorry

Also this is what happens when i boot
OS-Selection.jpgWindows preview tho is (Windows 8.1)
This is just the new Bootloader Right

[video=youtube_share;a12rDIOqbaU]http://youtu.be/a12rDIOqbaU[/video]

Hope u can help me more

Thank u for your support
 
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OK. I can see the source of your confusion.
Disk letters don't exist in the physical world. There's nothing on the device which labels it with a letter. When your PC is turned off, nothing has a letter.
The letters you see are virtual labels attached at boot time by Windows from a map which it keeps in its registry.
lettermap.JPG
All versions of Windows keep their own independent maps, which can be totally different. They will tend to have similarities because of the order in which devices are detected. The main difference you see is that W8 calls itself C and calls W7 F, which is reversed when you boot W7.

If a partition appears in that map but doesn't have a letter associated, then it won't be displayed (and cannot be accessed) by Explorer.
In your case W8 doesn't associate the system reserved partitions with letters, which is why you don't see them, but if you had invoked Disk Manager under W8, you would have seen them there on the SSDs without a letter.

When you dual-booted W7 with EasyBCD, they appeared in Explorer because W7 has letters associated.
It wasn't anything that EasyBCD did, just a consequence of mapping them from a different source.

You can safely imitate the W8 situation on W7 by removing those disk letters in Disk Management and they will no longer be displayed.
 
I'm very sorry Terry i was miss lead and confused, It does not have anything to do with EasyBCD U are most certainly correct. I won't understate u again.
Thank u for your help

SO in this video do i just hit remove like i was about to on the letter on Both. It won't mess nothing up will it i won't get a black screen and mess BootMGR up will I

Ok let me rephrase. When u say
You can safely imitate the W8 situation on W7. Do i just change the letters or hit remove like i was going to do
 
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Yes. Removing the disk letter just means you cannot access the partition from Explorer. It will still be there, and you can always gain access in the future by giving it a letter again, not that you should ever need to do.
 
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