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Thread ID: 49899 2004-10-04 09:14:00 Changing boot drive DavidW (532) Press F1
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278171 2004-10-04 09:14:00 I use Win98 SE and have two hard drives. This came about after a crash and I had Compulink copy everthing from my old C drive to a new disk (D) and install the operating system to the D drive. I kept the C drive just in case .
The new configuration now runs smoothly and I would like to delete everything (format?) off the C drive. Then I would like to change the drive letters so the boot drive is C.
Is this possible ? Without having to reinstall all the programmes. I have Partition Magic if this is any help. Thanks for your replies David
DavidW (532)
278172 2004-10-04 09:30:00 I don't find your post very clear - as far as I know with WIndows 9x the boot drive has to be c: (the first primary partition on the first drive) unless you use a third party boot loader.

So as far as I can see, your boot drive is already c: on the new drive and the old drive is d:


..... or am I missing something? Why are you wanting to make the change?
JohnD (509)
278173 2004-10-04 09:57:00 I am pretty sure the boot drive is the D drive. I disabled the C drive in Device manager and it booted but it had trouble finding some of my programmes. I want to take out the C drive and use it in another computer. Perhaps I should try and disconnect the C drive and see what happens! David DavidW (532)
278174 2004-10-04 10:30:00 > as far as I know with WIndows 9x the boot drive has to be c: (the first primary partition on the first drive)

I've heard that too, but I have run Win98 on D: before.

Some of your programs however, will have been installed onto the C: drive.

Try disconnecting the C drive, so that the D: drive becomes the C: drive.

Then the programs will be able to find themselves.
george12 (7)
278175 2004-10-04 11:11:00 As far as I know win 98 will only boot off a primary drive not a secondary drive (as per drive juimpers & BIOS detection) in which case windows should automatically renumber the primary boot or system drive as C:, unless something or a tweak is interveaning .

Check out both drives for system files, blowed if I can't remember what the boot files are for 98, it's boot . ini + NTLDR and a couple of other in win2k and XP which probably won't help you . Might pay to ask the shop that did the work for you .

Cheers Murray P
Murray P (44)
278176 2004-10-04 22:20:00 For XP MS Knowledge Base Article 223188 covers your query, suggest go into Knowledge Base and hunt for similar article in Win 98.
223188 is headed "How to Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows"
Had same result when I added a Western Digital Hard Drive and found in their FAQs a Article "Drive letter assignments unexpectly change in Windows 2000/XP" which advised use above MS Article. Curiously in my case the CD ROM drive remained as D, the master was E and the slave C which were changed to give Master C, slave E
FrankS (257)
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