WinXP is not recognized as C:

S

shedrock

Guest
Hi,

I am new here and I am looking for some assistance. I am using Win7 which was installed first. I then installed WinXP and used EasyBCD 2.0 Beta to auto configure etc. The thing is that when WinXP boots up it is says it is on J: which is correct but I want it to show as C:. Is there a way to achieve this?

I also forgot to mention that I am using just one HD which is partitioned.

Thanks
Shedrock
 
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Hi Shedrock, welcome to NST.
Sorry, you can't change the drive letter of the system once it's installed.
Also, don't go installing apps on XP if it can see W7 as C:\.
Several will put files on C:, even if you say to install to J:, (Adobe is notably guilty), and you'll end up messing with those same apps installed on W7, with unpredictable consequences for both systems.
Use this MS registry hack (in XP) to prevent XP from seeing W7.
This will prevent the above mentioned problem and also protect your W7 restore points from corruption every time XP is booted.
If it works (you won't be able to access files or folders on W7 from XP explorer), you're fine.
Unfortunately it doesn't always work on all configurations.
In that case investigate our solution HnS.
 
Thanks for the info Terry. Would it be better to install both OS's on separate hard drives? I am going to purchase a new HD tomorrow and it will be for XP.

Do you think it will see the XP (on a new HD) as the C drive?

Thanks
Shedrock
 
Yes, If you install XP to a clean HDD, with the other HDD disconnected temporarily, you'll have both systems seeing themselves as C: when booted, and the other as notC:.
Reconnect W7 and put it back 1st in the BIOS boot sequence when the XP install has finished, then use EasyBCD 2.0 to add an XP entry and let it auto-configure.
Your XP HDD won't be altered, the boot files will be copied to W7, meaning that if your W7 disk ever goes u/s, you'll always be able to boot XP by simply removing the W7 disk.

The problem of XP destroying W7 restore points won't go away though. You'll still need to hide W7 from XP for that reason alone, unless you don't use W7 backup or restore facilities.
 
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ok, thank you very much. I shall give it a try tomorrow. I am quite sure I will be back here. lol

Thanks again
Shedrock

Addendum:

Sorry to bug you again Terry, but I just read over your response and I was not clear on the following:
The problem of XP destroying W7 restore points won't go away though. You'll still need to hide W7 from XP for that reason alone, unless you don't use W7 backup or restore facilities.
Click to expand...
I do intend on using the win7 backup and restore facilities. Do you mean I would have to remove the HD with XP installed before I can do a backup or restore? I am a bit lost, sorry for my ignorance here.

Thanks
Shedrock
 
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XP, Vista, and W7 all use hidden folders to store system restore points. They have the same name on all systems.
Unfortunately they're not the same contents.
Vista and W7 use shadow copies to effect both backup and system restore, and are written to be backward compatible with XP format. They won't damage XP.
XP is not forward compatible.
If it sees a Vista or W7 restore folder it says "Oh dear ! That doesn't look right, I'd better fix it"
It then resets it to XP format, destroying all the restore points and backups it contains.
When you next boot V/W7 it will set it back to the proper format, but all its restore history is irretrievably lost.
This happens every time you boot XP.
The only solution is never to let XP see a newer OS.
If it can't see the restore folder it can't corrupt it.

The MS hack puts the Vista/W7 drive offline in the registry, and if it works for you, the problem is resolved. Try it and see. If you can't access the contents of V/W7 drives from explorer in XP, then your restore points will be fine.

Unfortunately for some (my system for example), the hack doesn't always work (we've never worked out exactly what governs success or failure).
In that case you can use another NeoSmart app, HnS, which will hide/unhide the entire longhorn partition(s) at boot, as appropriate to your boot menu choice, so that XP is unaware of the existence of the other system(s).
 
Hi Terry,

I followed the instruction and I installed XP on a new HD and then ran EasyBCD 2.0 Beta - Build 53 from Vista but when I get the boot menu and select XP it comes up with a message saying it can't find the NTLDR. I am stuck.

Thanks
Shedrock
 
Use the latest build, delete the XP entry, add it again and let it autoconfigure.
 
I just copied the ntdetect and ntldr files to both C: drives because I had no clue which one to copy it to and it boots fine now to whichever one I choose. I just have to try the Vista HnS Beta Build 61 now and see what happens.

Update: I just installed the Reg patch and now the D: drive which is Win7 shows up as empty in Windows Explorer so I am assuming that the application worked??

Thanks
Shedrock
 
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That sounds fine.
The acid test of course, set a W7 point with a unique name, boot XP, boot W7, Is the point still there ?
The latest build btw is 64 at present.
 
Can you be a bit more specific Terry. How would I go about doing this? Where exactly in win7 can I set this up to give it a unique name?

Shedrock

Addendum:

I created a unique restore point and then booted into XP and then back to Win7 and it was still there. I guess it is working for me.

Thanks Terry for all your help. :smile:

Shedrock
 
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Hi Terry,

My whole setup seems to be running just great. However, I just wanted to ask you if with my current setup of Win7 and XP if it is possible for me to partition my 1TB HD that contains XP. Would this cause any problems as far as booting with both systems. I am just a bit paranoid to try it.

Thanks for any assistance you can offer me on this.

Shedrock
 
XP doesn't have "shrink" capability in Disk Management, but you can use W7 to shrink the XP partition down to whatever size you want, then partition the space you've created with up to a further 3 primary partitions. If you want more than 3 extra, you can create 2 primaries and an extended, then create as many logical disks inside the extended as you can find a use for.
You could do the same on your W7 disk too if you wanted.
None of it should affect your boot. (until you start installing more OSs into your new partitions of course)
 
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