How do I remove EasyBCD and make both drives bootable (individually)

-dan z-

Member
I was switching from XP to Win7-Pro, and needed dual boot so I could move and test programs while still using the XP operating system for daily use. Well, I completed the move and all my software is now running fine on Win7. EasyBCD certainly made the process a whole lot easier!

So, I did backups using Seagate Disk Manager (Acronis) to removable USB drives. Then I restored the Win-7 disk drive to what used to be the XP disk drive. It wouldn't boot. I tried using just the Win-7 disk drive that had been working fine. It wouldn't boot. Finally I restored the XP system to the original disk drive, and now both boot fine with EasyBCD again.

How do I remove EasyBCD leaving each drive bootable? I want to have just the Win-7 drive in the computer, and have the XP drive available as bootable backup. The Win-7 drive, in other words, needs to boot normally - no dual boot. The XP drive, when installed, should do the same (it does boot when installed as the only drive, but still asks which operating system.)

I do have the WIN7 installation CD, system builder pack, if that might be needed.

-dan z-
 
Removing EasyBCD should not change the bootability of the drives
You should still be able to go to a CMD prompt and editbcd to make any changes needed in each drive.
I'm not quite sure why a dual boot isn't acceptable but, to each his/her own
Keep us posted
 
You don't need to remove EasyBCD (it's not what's booting the system)
You sound like you need it for this purpose however
Changing the Boot Partition - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
Check if when W7 is booted, XP is flagged system
If so follow the instructions in the above link to copy the boot files onto your W7 partition, then when W7 is boot,active and system, you'll be able to remove XP

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"
 
It's not that the dual boot is not acceptable, it's just that I don't need it anymore. I would prefer to remove the drive with the XP opsys from the computer altogether, and just boot straight to the Win-7 opsys. The removed drive, with a USB adapter, will become a backup drive.

Addendum

Terry60 said

Thanks, Terry. I replied to that post earlier but don't see my reply. Maybe I forgot to finalize after previewing. Anyhow, your suggestion was perfect, and easy enough for a dummy like me to follow and execute. So now the Win7 drive is the only drive in my computer, and it boots fine.

Just two further minor problems:
1) Win7 insists that the drive is still drive E, even though it is the only drive in the system.
2) EasyBCD still gives me the choice of booting the old operating system, even though that drive is no longer in the system. Not so much a big deal, as it does default to the correct (only) drive.

Any suggestions on these things?

-dan z-
 
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