Cleanest way how to change Windows system partition letter?

[ruthan]

Hello,
what is cleanest way how to change Windows 2000 / XP system partition driver letter back to C? I usually because of it hiding or removing other partition, when i making multiboot systems, but sometimes i had no time / mood  / tools for it,.. Is there some good tool to fix it?

  I dunno how mych Windows are clever to it, i help have someone some hardcoded pathes etc? System which i want to now fix, are almost clean install, so there would be problems, with other installed problems.

[jaclaz]

Here it is:

MSFN links translated (see converter in my signature):

https://msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=90495

https://msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=112610

 

You'll need Wayback Machine for most of the other ones, particularly those in this post:

READ ATTENTIVELY this:

before anything else.

 

jaclaz

[ruthan]

Thanks, i checked all the links, but its lots of manual work, i did it the past through some simple procedure, i dont remember details system was still stable and errors where only minotr.

  There has to be some tool for it, maybe some Paragon tools. I thing that i also so something like it in some version of Partition magic, but im not sure if it would be possible from boot cd.

  I remember that i was fixing patches with Registry desktop because there is replace all possibility and there also has to be some tool to just search and replace all string in all files some.. if you will just search for X: and replace it with C:

[jaclaz]

4 hours ago, ruthan said:

Thanks, i checked all the links, but its lots of manual work, i did it the past through some simple procedure, i dont remember details system was still stable and errors where only minotr.

  There has to be some tool for it, maybe some Paragon tools. I thing that i also so something like it in some version of Partition magic, but im not sure if it would be possible from boot cd.

  I remember that i was fixing patches with Registry desktop because there is replace all possibility and there also has to be some tool to just search and replace all string in all files some.. if you will just search for X: and replace it with C:

Sure, there is some manual labour, but hardly "lots":
1) change a couple keys in the Registry
2) run a tool to change occurrences of <old drive letter> with <new drive letter> in the Registry
3) run a tool to change occurrences of <old drive letter> with <new drive letter> in links and other "settings" files

Time needed:

#1 5 minutes
#2 5 - 10 minutes
#3 15-60 minutes (this depends whether you want to check what you are doing or you just change everything with COA2 (or similar) and depending on how "complex" is your install, a freshly installed system it will take no time, a system installed since years with tens or hundreds of programs installed and with thoudands of files will take time)

jaclaz

[ruthan]

Well im not robot, so lots of oportunities to make mistake, even if wouldnt be lazy to lowlevel things.. there has to be some tool to do all of it at once, or at least change letter and enable log in to.. registry keys and some other text files, i can fix by the hand.

 I just checked Paragon it has such option, but at least old version (im doing it on retro PIII machine) not working well, i cant boot.. and it freeze at log screen or right it after, so there has to be something else.

   Otherwise i would rather make reinstall. Is there some proven tool to hide partitions? im not have Linux yet on this machine (grub has that virtual replacing partition numbers) So i would need to hidden some partitions before install to make new install C, or i would have to install all in virtual machine and copy installation.

[jaclaz]

2 hours ago, ruthan said:

Well im not robot, so lots of oportunities to make mistake, even if wouldnt be lazy to lowlevel things.. there has to be some tool to do all of it at once, or at least change letter and enable log in to.. registry keys and some other text files, i can fix by the hand.

 I just checked Paragon it has such option, but at least old version (im doing it on retro PIII machine) not working well, i cant boot.. and it freeze at log screen or right it after, so there has to be something else.

   Otherwise i would rather make reinstall. Is there some proven tool to hide partitions? im not have Linux yet on this machine (grub has that virtual replacing partition numbers) So i would need to hidden some partitions before install to make new install C, or i would have to install all in virtual machine and copy installation.

Sure, there is (your words) the Paragon *whatever*, only problem it doesn't work (still your words), maybe robots can make the same (or more) errors than humans.

And of course there are tools to hide partitions (your mission, should you accept it, is to change a single byte on a single sector on disk), but no robots, manually you can use grubdos just fine, but it is a lot of work, downloading it, learning its basics, typing one or more commands without making errors.

Again, to get to the log in you need to edit two or at the most three registry keys.

jaclaz

[ruthan]

Possibility of choice best thing it the life.. Im donging too many thing on too many platforms, to be obsessed to do everything low level myself. I just want to be user, not admin. For me tool would have higher value and even economy will work better.. tool could be developed by people which actually want to do it low level and can invest more time to cover some corner cases.. and with such tool i would be able to make it next time quicker without re-reading guides and making and searching some my years old flawed notes etc.

[ruthan]

I tried this tutorial:
https://petri.com/change_system_drive_letter_in_windows_xp

- im quite sure that changed rights drive letters, but after boot i got only:
Windows could not start because the following files is misisng or corrupt:
\Windows\System\Config\System i did mess with registry, except change of these letter from live install.. just changed two letters.. True is that this machine is not totally proven, it could have some memory or disk issues, i got 2 strange freezes (but i also completed 2 installs fines) and im using IDE to Sata adapter, memtest was fine, coolers and PSU are overdimmensed, but its 20 years old board.

  I checked how much things was installed, fortunately not too much, so in this case it did reinstall.

   Its too late for now, but should i after such operation change something in boot.ini or is not needed so, problem has to be elsewhere?

[jaclaz]

40 minutes ago, ruthan said:

I tried this tutorial:
https://petri.com/change_system_drive_letter_in_windows_xp

The one that I explicitely said that is the worst bul*****, very good choice.

jaclaz

 

[ruthan]

There was zillion cross links i just open all of them and checked them, i did not read all text around, sadly. It was 2 registry keys solution, as you mention, only wrong one.

[ruthan]

I at least mastered way how to install even new installation as C, on multiboot system with multiple Win partition, its working even with super old machines (Super socket 7) - Minitool Partition manager 4.2 boot cd..

 You only need, use partition hide feature on other partitions before installation and change active disk partition to target one for a moment.. and after installation unhide hidden partitions.. and after that you need add other boot entries too boot.ini on XP partition.. or install XP bootloader on other desired "main" partition. Minitool is also capable to change system partition driver leter for "main" no c partition on the fly, which Windows drive manager refusing to do.

   Before i used for this Paragon HDD tools, but Minitool seems to be more user friendly and compatible.

[we3fan]

Hi ruthan. Is this the program you used: MiniTool Partition Wizard?

[ruthan]

Yeah.

[we3fan]

Thanks, it's a great program.

On a test PC I tried DriveMapper 8.0 (part of PartitionMagic 8.0), WINDOWS was installed on letter E: and I tried to change it to C: with DriveMapper 8.0, it took 5-10 minutes and it was renaming things in Registry and other places, after it finished and PC restarted - boot process stopped on user login screen and pressing Enter didn't do anything so I couldn't go to the Desktop. After I restored the system from a Restore Point the Target in all 2-3 shortcuts on the Desktop was changed from E: to C: . So I guess this program tried but messed things up at the login process.
Maybe there is a version of DriveMapper that can change Windows letter successfully, I am not sure.
Make a Restore Point or System Backup before trying this.

As jaclaz said it is possible to do it manually, but takes time and patience.

[ruthan]

I had similar problems, it was often somehow fixable, but i dont remember details, maybe link to users folder is somewhere hardcoded.. Paragon P2P adjust sometimes, fixed it sometimes not. 

There are also other PC to PC migration tools which are worth to try and the from their definition should keep different drive letters in mind.. 
Laplink Software PCmover Professional
Pcmover exp
EaseUS Pctrans
  They are different modes, something only to get some programs settings from existing installation.. and port them to new one - its better than nothing and incomplete.. but there are also full installation migration options.. and here really not matters if target is again same pc or not. I used at least one of them for complete HW exchange and it worked and i dont remember details..
   If you have quick storage and disk image, its worth to try, because whole main business feature of these should in this feature, for other tools this is only some side feature at the best. Or some lowlevel hacking.