how to split dual boot on 2 seperate hard drives.

Darylt

Member
Hello all - newby to this site today.

I currently have windows Xp on one hard drive and windows 7 on another set up on dual boot (this was set up with the use of EasyBCD). I wish for both disks/operating systems to work and boot up totally independent of each other. It is also important that both hard drives cannot ‘see’ each other as operating systems - therefore I assume that they will have their own independent ‘boot’ files? I trust that I will then have to change boot order in Bios to go from one operating system to the other. The reason that I wish to remove dual boot is to overcome the following issues:
  • Creating a system image within windows 7 – when I try to create a system image using windows 7 imaging software (part of operating system package), the software wishes to create an image of both C drive (windows 7) and D drive (xp drive). I assume this is due to windows 7 being dependant on xp to start (boot files etc).
  • System restore – System restore points (in windows 7) are deleted by Windows XP in a dual boot configuration. This is a known issue by Microsoft.

Can anyone help by providing step by step instruction to produce the above?

Thank you
Daryl
 
Hi Daryl, welcome to NST.
You can get over the 1st problem by using EasyBCD 2.0 latest build / Diagnostics / change boot drive.
Point it at the W7 partition and it will make W7 "system" if the boot files are currently on XP.
Then put the W7 HDD first in the BIOS boot sequence, and add an XP entry to the new BCD, letting it auto-configure.

Boot XP, apply this registry hack, and check that you can no longer access files on the W7 disk through explorer.
If the hack works for you (it doesn't in all cases, but seems to for everyone else but me), then that removes your second problem too.
If you're one of the few for whom the hack is unsuccessful, then you can use HnS to hide W7 from XP. (It doesn't matter if W7 can see XP)
 
Thank you Terry - I currently have easybcd version 1.7.2 installed on windows 7. do I need to uninstall this before installing version 2?

Daryl
 
Terry, firstly, I am very grateful for your help:smile:. I have been thinking further about your solution and would rather have both operating systems as independent separate drives that are not part of a dual boot configuration or cannot see each other as ‘operating systems’ i.e. they can only be accessed by changing boot sequence in BIOS and both would have their own independent boot files etc. Please note as mentioned earlier I have 2 separated hard drives on the computer (1 x Win 7 and 1 Win XP).

I only installed dual boot just in case something did not go right with my windows 7 64 bit installation. I am unlikely to need access again to win XP but wish to keep (separately) for now. Ultimately , in the next 2-3 months when I am sure that windows 7 is stable and working fine it is my intention to delete the windows XP drive, reformat and use as additional storage space on my computer. Therefore, to avoid changing registry entries etc. is it possible for me to achieve as outlined in above paragraph?

Thank you again,

Daryl
 
OK do as previously described, but don't add an XP entry to the W7 BCD. Apply the mirror of the XP hack to W7 so that W7 can't see the XP drive.
I'm not sure whether the change boot drive function removes the old BCD or just creates the new.(its a very new facility)
Do you own an XP CD or was it pre-installed ?
If you have one, you can "repair install" XP (with W7 temporarily disconnected) and it will put the NTLDR boot process back on the XP HDD.
If EasyBCD doesn't remove the old boot files from XP (Guru will need to confirm/deny), then you should be able to boot XP (with W7 disconnected) and then use EasyBCD manage bootloader / uninstall Vista bootloader to put XP's NTLDR back.
 
Thank you Terry -
"Apply the mirror of the XP hack to W7 so that W7 can't see the XP drive" - Is this essential as I assume both hard drives will now have independent boot files? I was hoping to use some of the space on the xp drive for storage.

"If EasyBCD doesn't remove the old boot files from XP (Guru will need to confirm/deny), then you should be able to boot XP (with W7 disconnected) and then use EasyBCD manage bootloader / uninstall Vista bootloader to put XP's NTLDR back". - Will Guru be able to confirm?

My 2 hard drives are identical i.e. same make model etc. How can i physically tell which one has xp on and which one has win 7 on - so that i remove the right one from the machine?

Much appreciated.

Daryl
 
Sorry you said earlier you didn't want either system to see the other.
I told you W7 will not harm XP, so there's no need to hide it if you want to use space on it.
You won't be able to put Vista apps on it though, only data.
Vista apps need to be hidden from XP along with the Vista OS, so obviously they cannot live on the XP partition.
You can of course shrink XP and put other partition(s) on the XP HDD which can be hidden from XP itself.
I'm waiting for a reply from CG, but time-zone differences mean that will be tomorrow at the earliest.

The BIOS should tell you which HDD is on which channel, and you should be able to see which one is connected to that socket on the mobo. The HDD serial number printed on the device should also be in the BIOS.
 
Thank you Terry - I will await your/guru response.

Daryl


Addendum:


Hello Terry - I tried to change boot files to windows 7 as outlined in your first reply but got the follwoing error message.

Unhandled exception has occured in you application. If you click continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue. If you click Quit, the application will close immediately.

Object refrence not set to an instance of an object.


Details -

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.
************** Exception Text **************
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at ..œ(Object , EventArgs )
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mevent)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework64/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
EasyBCD
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.76
Win32 Version: 2.0.0.76
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/NeoSmart%20Technologies/EasyBCD/EasyBCD.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSI....0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 8.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSI...0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Runtime.Remoting
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSI..._b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll
----------------------------------------
{70fc5d9e-3dc9-4d07-a468-323323133628}
Assembly Version: 0.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.0.76
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program Files (x86)/NeoSmart Technologies/EasyBCD/EasyBCD.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Configuration
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSI....0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Xml
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
----------------------------------------
NeoSmart.UpdateChecker
Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.0.76
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program Files (x86)/NeoSmart Technologies/EasyBCD/EasyBCD.exe
----------------------------------------
Interop.Microsoft.Feeds.Interop
Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.0.76
CodeBase: file:///C:/Program Files (x86)/NeoSmart Technologies/EasyBCD/EasyBCD.exe
----------------------------------------
Accessibility
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.4927 (NetFXspW7.050727-4900)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Accessibility/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Accessibility.dll
----------------------------------------
************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.
For example:
<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>
When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.




I pressed quit.

Thank you,

Daryl
 
Last edited:
OK Guru tells me that the change boot drive function copies everything from the old drive to the new. It doesn't remove anything from the old drive.
When you ran EasyBCD 2 /Diagnostics / change boot drive did you point it to C:\ for the new location ? (and you did click the button immediately below, not the other one at the bottom of the page ?)
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I did select the C drive (Windows 7), and then OK.

I now intend (if i get over the above issue) to use 1 drive at a time i.e. one will be disconeccted all the time to avoid any inteference.


Daryl
 
Terry - sorry for being a pain. Is there anyway of overcoming the problem outlined in post 9? I cant get any further with splitting dual boot to 2 seperate systems without resetting windows 7 to system drive. my intention now is just to have one drive connected at any given time i.e. if windows 7 is required i will disconnect windows xp drive and vice versa if i require xp. i just wish for both to have their own independent boot files etc

thank you,

Daryl
 
If you disconnect XP, boot the W7 DVD, and let MS fix the boot on the W7 HDD for you ("repair your computer" "startup repair" three times), that will make the W7 disk a standalone OS.

Disconnect W7, boot your XP CD and "repair install" the XP system, and it will put the XP boot back on that HDD.
 
Or better yet: Instead of doing the repair install, access the Recovery Console, and do these commands:

fixboot
fixmbr

That will get the XP HDD booting by itself. The repair install is not necessary in your case (and besides it doesn't touch the MBR).
 
Last edited:
Thank you both for the guidance. How would I enter repair console on xp and can you please provie step by step for fixmbr and fixboot. I have 2 indentical hard drives of which it is difficult to identify which 1 has windows 7 and which 1 has windows xp. any suggestions? I am able to identify that 1 hard drive is on channel 0 and the other on channel 1 - but no reference to which operating system.
 
Last edited:
The Recovery Console can be accessed by booting the XP CD, and pressing "R" at the screen where it says press "R" to repair with the recovery console. Then you just logon on your Windows installation with your admin password, and then type the commands at the prompt.

Do you have a different partition setup across the 2 drives?
 
If you boot the W7 DVD and the wrong HDD is connected, it won't find a W7 system to fix, if it's the right one, it will.
 
Thank you Terry - i have dowloaded and installed free HD tune which identifies serial numbers of Hd. Opened the case, got my torch and mirror out - I have now identifed which disk has which operating system. Are my chances good that your suggestions will work without any problems? again, many thanks for your input.


Daryl
 
You're just using MS provided facilities to put systems back into "out of the box" state.
It's been done a million times before, so you'd need to be singularly unlucky if you were an exception.
Remember though that after you've made each system independent, XP will still mess with the W7 restore points unless you prevent them from being seen. It doesn't matter that you're not dual booting, XP will still "fix" any restore folder visible.
 
Last edited:
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