Moving boot volume or system volume

My laptop currently has 2 partitions C: and D:
Somehow, when I had reformatted, XP had ended up on the D: drive and
boot.ini , ntldr, etc.. are on the C: partition.

Being an idiot that I am, I ignored it and continued to use my laptop
for a few months now..

Now that I need to free up a partition, I can't simply format one
partition..
So how do I move my boot volume to the system volume in a case where
formatting isn't an option?

Thanks


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"txnec" wrote in message
...

My laptop currently has 2 partitions C: and D:
Somehow, when I had reformatted, XP had ended up on the D: drive and
boot.ini , ntldr, etc.. are on the C: partition.

Being an idiot that I am, I ignored it and continued to use my laptop
for a few months now..

Now that I need to free up a partition, I can't simply format one
partition..
So how do I move my boot volume to the system volume in a case where
formatting isn't an option?

Thanks





You cannot move your boot volume...
if you have a previous installation on your C: drive that you no longer
use...
you can delete that if you want
you will need to keep
boot.ini
ntdetect.com
ntldr

on your C: drive

you could re-install
windows onto the
c drive, then you can
move all your personal
files from the d over
onto the c.

then you can delete
the unused o.s. from
the d drive.

or

you can buy a partitioning
program like acronis disk
director and shrink the
c drive to whole the
disk data and increase
the d drive to provide
more space and or
create an additional.

-----------

there is a technique that
is best left to the experts,
but it entails archiving
the d drive, then restoring
it to the c.

though the above seems
simple enough, it is complex
and requires lots of additional
tweaking and not worth the
trouble for most users.

--

db·´¯`·...¸)))º


"txnec" wrote in message
...

My laptop currently has 2 partitions C: and D:
Somehow, when I had reformatted, XP had ended up on the D: drive and
boot.ini , ntldr, etc.. are on the C: partition.

Being an idiot that I am, I ignored it and continued to use my laptop
for a few months now..

Now that I need to free up a partition, I can't simply format one
partition..
So how do I move my boot volume to the system volume in a case where
formatting isn't an option?

Thanks


--
txnec
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would it be possible to move boot.ini, ntldr, etc... to the other
partition?


--
txnec
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"txnec" wrote in message
...

would it be possible to move boot.ini, ntldr, etc... to the other
partition?



No!

that's impossible. the "boot" files will always need to be on the active
primary partition...
but anything else on that drive can be deleted

txnec wrote:
would it be possible to move boot.ini, ntldr, etc... to the other
partition?

You can move the files Boot.ini, NTDETECT.COM and ntldr to the other
partition but you will have to reassign the Active partition status to
the other partition and you may have to modify the boot.ini file. These
kinds of changes are safer to do if your computer or laptop has a floppy
drive, a floppy boot diskette can be used to boot your Windows
installation if you get yourself in a pickle while you do the changes.

John

if the d were a separate
disk from the c, then it
might be possible to boot
from the d disk.

some motherboards
allow to boot from
any disk, thus those
boot files would be
required to be on the
d disk.


however, if your c
disk was partitioned
up to include a d partition,
then your system only
option is to boot from
the c disk, thus you can't
move those boot files
onto the d partition.

i suggest simply to
install windows again
but be sure to select
the c.

this is the easiest method
for you and the only cost
you will incur is time and
you will gain knowledge
and experience.

incidentally, when you
reinstall windows, you
can do so with out
formatting your disk again.

--

db·´¯`·...¸)))º


"txnec" wrote in message
...

would it be possible to move boot.ini, ntldr, etc... to the other
partition?


--
txnec
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It's strange how every had got mixed up like this to begin with. Prior
to my last format, my current C: was actually my D: and my current D:
was my C:
So when i formatted my C: and reinstalled windows, it had switched the
partition drive letters around. It copied the boot files to the D:
partition, and renamed it C: and then installed windows on the C:
partition and renamed it D:

That's how i ended up in this spot...

Such a pain in the ass.. I'm trying to install linux without
destroying my usable copy of windows simply because I need to be able
to use all the programs on windows for work, etc.. while i'm still
setting up linux


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You can make *any* primary partition active on the disk and the computer
will boot off that partition. If the OP's D partition is a primary
partition he/she can make it active and boot it instead of the C
partition, it's a rather simple thing to do with NT versions after NT
4.0. Because of the Int-13 BIOS call limitations this may have been
more complicated with the earlier NT versions, the Int-13 limitations
was done away with when Windows 2000 was released.

John

db.·.. ))) ·` .. . wrote:
if the d were a separate
disk from the c, then it
might be possible to boot
from the d disk.

some motherboards
allow to boot from
any disk, thus those
boot files would be
required to be on the
d disk.


however, if your c
disk was partitioned
up to include a d partition,
then your system only
option is to boot from
the c disk, thus you can't
move those boot files
onto the d partition.

i suggest simply to
install windows again
but be sure to select
the c.

this is the easiest method
for you and the only cost
you will incur is time and
you will gain knowledge
and experience.

incidentally, when you
reinstall windows, you
can do so with out
formatting your disk again.

if you do install linux
1) do so on a "separate disk"
and
2) do so on a system that
your employment/wages
do not depend on

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

perhaps, it would be
best to forego linux
until you get windows
down pat.

further, it would be
best to create a methodology
to create disk images
to back up and restore
your data in event of
error or failure.

moreover, you might
as well buy a partitioning
program to help you
manage your disk and
partitions while working
with multiple o.s.'s.



--

db·´¯`·...¸)))º

"txnec" wrote in message
...

It's strange how every had got mixed up like this to begin with. Prior
to my last format, my current C: was actually my D: and my current D:
was my C:
So when i formatted my C: and reinstalled windows, it had switched the
partition drive letters around. It copied the boot files to the D:
partition, and renamed it C: and then installed windows on the C:
partition and renamed it D:

That's how i ended up in this spot...

Such a pain in the ass.. I'm trying to install linux without
destroying my usable copy of windows simply because I need to be able
to use all the programs on windows for work, etc.. while i'm still
setting up linux


--
txnec
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