Remove HDD and EasyBCD

neo71

Member
Hi guys, hoping someone could help me out

I set up a dual boot a few years ago with the following spec : 2 physical hard drives, the primary one running W7 and the other XP

I now need to recyle the primary drive (W7) which has EasyBCD installed, into a new machine and for the time being keep the secondary drive (XP) installed so the machine just boots to into XP.

I unplugged the W7 drive but the machine wouldnt boot from the XP drive, could some kind soul let me know what i need to do

Thanks in advance
 
Hi, Many thanks for the above

Ive tried what was outlined on the above link but it hasn't worked

All looked good initially, both W7 and XP booted ok. I then unplugged the W7 drive and plugged the sata cable into the drive that has XP installed. The boot menu appeared but I then got the attached error. So for now, i have plugged both drives back.

booterror1.jpg

Ive also attached some pics showing the setup, as a side note, W7 is installed on C: and XP on I: but the drive letter changes once in XP, W7 is still C: but XP is K: This also may be a daft question but do I need to install EasyBCD on XP now

bcd_2.jpg

bcd_3.jpg

bcd_1.jpg
 
Thanks Terry, ive checked that link out and was just about to follow 'method 3' but i stopped because i had a thought, what will happen to shortcuts and installed programs etc, will they still attempt to run from there original destination, ie K: Drive even though they now would be on C: Drive

Im also starting to think it my just be easier to get a new HDD for my new machine and start over :unamused:
 
Have you tried putting the configuration back as it was, booting again, and assigning letters to specific drives rather than letting XP assign them dynamically.
 
The current state of the setup is as follows

When i let the system boot on its own, it boots from C: (W7 the drive i want to remove) and lets me boot into either W7 or XP

If i change the boot order to boot from the XP drive it allows me to boot into W7 but if i select XP im just getting a Black screen. If i plug the XP drive (the one i want to keep) into the primary boot sata plug on the mobo and remove the W7 drive it gives me the error as per my above post.

I tried changing the drive letters in W7 via Disk Management, i went to change C: to D: as D is unused, but it errors with a window headed 'Virtual Disk Manager', the error is 'The parameter is incorrect'. If i try the same in XP i get a message saying ' Windows cannot modify the drive letter of your system volume or boot volume'
 
Boot from the XP drive, select W7 and from W7 use EasyBCD to delete the XP entry and add it again, letting EasyBCD auto-configure it.
Then try booting again and select XP this time.
 
Ive tried the above and still haven't had any success. One thing did change, no black screen. When I booted from the XP drive I could get into XP ok, but when I unplugged the W7 drive I got the original error as above.

I also tried changing the boot drive in EasyBCD tobe the XP drive, it booted fine with both HDDs plugged in but once i unplug the W7 drive and try to get into XP, the same error appears. Thats how ive left the system setup for now
 
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