Changing Drives Letter Names ( Hard Drive E: to C:)

[frank]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Help!!

I recently tried changing the
letter name of my Hard Drive from E: to C: (which should be the default
letter for the Hard Drive). When ever I try to do that, I receive the
following error message: "windows cannot modify the drive letter of your
system volume or boot volume".

Any suggestions anyone?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

"Frank" <Frank@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EC8733F2-4C15-4C7B-B746-990BF288041C@microsoft.com...
> Help!!
>
> I recently tried changing the
> letter name of my Hard Drive from E: to C: (which should be the default
> letter for the Hard Drive). When ever I try to do that, I receive the
> following error message: "windows cannot modify the drive letter of your
> system volume or boot volume".
>
> Any suggestions anyone?

If you have any storage devices (that are formatted) connected when you
install Windows your system drive may not end up being the C: drive. This is
a cosmetic issue and not a problem. The only way to change it is to
disconnect any storage devices other than the boot drive, delete all
partitions on that drive, do a clean install of Windows. You will loose all
your data and programs, make sure you have backups. You cannot use an image
backup as the registry will still point to the old drive E:. It is probably
not worth all the work for a cosmetic issue.

Kerry

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Drive Letters Change Unexpectedly When You Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;326683&Product=winxp

You'll have to physically disconnect whatever drive is shown as the current C: drive,
perform a "clean install", then reconnect that drive.

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

Note: If you are unable to activate Windows XP again via the internet,
then select the option to "activate by telephone".



--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Frank" wrote:


| Help!!
|
| I recently tried changing the
| letter name of my Hard Drive from E: to C: (which should be the default
| letter for the Hard Drive). When ever I try to do that, I receive the
| following error message: "windows cannot modify the drive letter of your
| system volume or boot volume".
|
| Any suggestions anyone?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Kerry Brown wrote:
> "Frank" <Frank@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:EC8733F2-4C15-4C7B-B746-990BF288041C@microsoft.com...
>
>>Help!!
>>
>> I recently tried changing the
>>letter name of my Hard Drive from E: to C: (which should be the default
>>letter for the Hard Drive). When ever I try to do that, I receive the
>>following error message: "windows cannot modify the drive letter of your
>>system volume or boot volume".
>>
>>Any suggestions anyone?
>
>
> If you have any storage devices (that are formatted) connected when you
> install Windows your system drive may not end up being the C: drive. This is
> a cosmetic issue and not a problem. The only way to change it is to
> disconnect any storage devices other than the boot drive, delete all
> partitions on that drive, do a clean install of Windows. You will loose all
> your data and programs, make sure you have backups. You cannot use an image
> backup as the registry will still point to the old drive E:. It is probably
> not worth all the work for a cosmetic issue.
>
> Kerry
>
>
alternatively, i've had some success doing this with partition magic, it
does include a program that will change the values in the registry and
config files to point to the correct drive letter. if you have the
program you may want to give it a try before doing a new install.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

"Jamon" <yo_0009@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:426925B1.4010009@yahoo.com...
> Kerry Brown wrote:
>> "Frank" <Frank@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:EC8733F2-4C15-4C7B-B746-990BF288041C@microsoft.com...
>>
>>>Help!!
>>>
>>> I recently tried changing the
>>>letter name of my Hard Drive from E: to C: (which should be the default
>>>letter for the Hard Drive). When ever I try to do that, I receive the
>>>following error message: "windows cannot modify the drive letter of your
>>>system volume or boot volume".
>>>
>>>Any suggestions anyone?
>>
>>
>> If you have any storage devices (that are formatted) connected when you
>> install Windows your system drive may not end up being the C: drive. This
>> is a cosmetic issue and not a problem. The only way to change it is to
>> disconnect any storage devices other than the boot drive, delete all
>> partitions on that drive, do a clean install of Windows. You will loose
>> all your data and programs, make sure you have backups. You cannot use an
>> image backup as the registry will still point to the old drive E:. It is
>> probably not worth all the work for a cosmetic issue.
>>
>> Kerry
> alternatively, i've had some success doing this with partition magic, it
> does include a program that will change the values in the registry and
> config files to point to the correct drive letter. if you have the program
> you may want to give it a try before doing a new install.

I have tried that with Partition Magic and it didn't work 100%. Some
programs had to be reinstalled and even then I still had some problems. The
worst that could happen is you'd have to do a clean install anyway. Make
sure you have your data backed up before using any programs that alter
partitions.

Kerry