repair windows 7

My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

On Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:03:10 +0000, Stewart wrote:

I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install. I want it to repair
drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone advise? Thank you

Yes. Yes.
Read he
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...stem-recovery-
options-in-Windows-7



--
Oh, bugger!

?Hi, Stewart.

You've left out some important details, such as: What kinds of problems?

When you say "2 drives" and "the other disk", do you mean 2 physical disks,
or 2 partitions on a single HDD?

How did you install WinXP and Win7? Which one was first? Which physical
disk/partition holds each one?

Yes, you should be able to boot from the Win7 DVD and tell Setup to Repair
the startup files - but that really depends on the answers to the questions
above. It also depends on what you want your dual-boot system to look like
afterwards.

Are you familiar with Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)? Which partitions on
which HDD does it identify as System and Boot in WinXP; which ones in Win7?
Both OSes should show the same physical partition as System; each should
show a different volume as Boot.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

Sorry, I did not want to bother people with too much information but I can
see that was a mistake.
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D. Normally C is windows 7
and D is windows XP, but this depends on which one I am running, if I select
XP then it is labeled as the C drive and vice versa.
When running windows XP everything works, that is all the usb ports,
external hard drive and so on.
When I run windows 7 the external hard drive is shown as connected but said
to have no contents (empty) so that is no use as a back up unless I copy
across from C to D and then transfer from D to the external hard drive.
Likewise the memory sticks I have, all work in XP but often not recognized
by windows 7 or again said to be empty.
The scanner works fully in XP but in windows 7 seems to have lost its OCR
facility.
Windows 7 does not work with homegroup so I cannot link it to my laptop.
Windows 7 upgrades have come in but when WLM 2011 is installed the computer
almost grinds to a halt so I have had to go back to WLM 2009.
As I said, none of these are serious, just annoyances. I have run windows 7
repair from the harddrive but not yet from the installation disk, that is
what I was wondering; if using that disk to do a repair, not an install
would help sort the problems.
Thanks again



"R. C. White" wrote in message
ecom...
?Hi, Stewart.

You've left out some important details, such as: What kinds of problems?

When you say "2 drives" and "the other disk", do you mean 2 physical
disks, or 2 partitions on a single HDD?

How did you install WinXP and Win7? Which one was first? Which physical
disk/partition holds each one?

Yes, you should be able to boot from the Win7 DVD and tell Setup to Repair
the startup files - but that really depends on the answers to the
questions above. It also depends on what you want your dual-boot system
to look like afterwards.

Are you familiar with Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)? Which partitions on
which HDD does it identify as System and Boot in WinXP; which ones in
Win7? Both OSes should show the same physical partition as System; each
should show a different volume as Boot.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

?Hi, Stewart.

Thanks for the additional details. They confirmed a few of my suspicions -
but raised other points. See my comments inline...

"Stewart" wrote in message ...

Sorry, I did not want to bother people with too much information but I can
see that was a mistake.

As one regular here often says, there is no such thing as TMI when asking
for help in a newsgroup. (I'm not sure that's ALWAYS true, but it's a good
rule of thumb.)


I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

Here is a source of confusion - and it's not your fault or mine. The term
"drive" is ambiguous because it means different things in different
contexts. As you can see in Disk Management, "drive" letters actually refer
to volumes or partitions, not to a full physical disk drive. "Drive C:" is
never a physical disk, but only a partition on a physical disk, even if it
is the only partition and includes all the space on that disk. And, as you
see, the letters are like shifting sands; they depend on which OS is running
at the time. It helps a LOT to give each partition a Name or Label, such as
"WinXP" or "Win7 x64"; this label will be written to the disk and will not
shift when you reboot into the other OS. To reduce the confusion a little,
I try to always specify "physical disk" or HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and
"volume" or "partition". Note that Disk Management refers to physical disks
as "Disk 0", using numbers, not letters.


Normally C is windows 7 and D is windows XP, but this depends on which one
I am running, if I select XP then it is labeled as the C drive and vice
versa.

Yes, this is what I meant earlier. Win7 and WinXP each maintain their own
set of drive letters, and neither can see the other's set. EXCEPT during
installation. All the drive letters can be managed by Disk Management
EXCEPT for the System and Boot volumes; these can be changed only by running
Setup.exe again - by re-installing Windows.

If you want both OSes to use the same lineup, then boot into WinXP, use Disk
Management to assign the letters YOU want to use for each partition,
including the one where you plan to install Win7. For example, if you plan
to install Win7 on the first partition of the second HDD, then decide which
drive letter you want Win7 to use and assign that letter. Drive S:, for
Seven? (Drive letters need not be in sequence.) Go ahead and assign
(semi-)permanent letters to each of your other "drives", too: USB flash
drives, CD/DVD drives, etc. After you've assigned these letters, while
still in WinXP, insert the Win7 DVD into the drive and run Setup.exe from
there. Setup will be able to see and respect the letters that WinXP has
assigned; just tell Setup to install Win7 on Drive S: - and it will. When
you reboot into Win7, it will see its own Boot Volume as Drive S:; Drive C:
will still be the System Partition - and will still have WinXP installed on
it. (WinXP will see it as the Boot Volume and will protect it; Win7 will
see it as "just another volume" will happily delete all or part of it if you
order that.)

But many users are uncomfortable having any drive other than Drive C: as the
Boot Volume. If we install Win7 by BOOTING from the DVD, Win7 Setup has no
idea which letters WinXP has already assigned, so it starts from scratch.
It assigns C: to whichever partition we choose (first partition on second
HDD?). Then it assigns the next letter (D to the System Partition - which
is still the first partition on the first HDD, and which still holds your
WinXP installation.

Users may be confused seeing S:\Program Files, but Windows is perfectly
happy with that. ;^}


When running windows XP everything works, that is all the usb ports,
external hard drive and so on. When I run windows 7 the external hard
drive is shown as connected but said to have no contents (empty) so that
is no use as a back up unless I copy across from C to D and then transfer
from D to the external hard drive.

I use 4 internal HDDs, optical drives, USB flash drives, etc., but have
never used an external hard drive, so my advice might not be the best you
can get on this part. USB PORTS would be handled by Device Manager, rather
than Disk Management; after the ports are installed and operating properly,
Disk Management should be able to handle letter assignments, partition
creation and formatting, etc., for devices plugged into these ports, just as
on your internal HDDs.


Likewise the memory sticks I have, all work in XP but often not
recognized by windows 7 or again said to be empty.

Memory sticks? Do you mean DRAM DIMMs? That's a whole new category of
hardware. USB flash drives, SD memory cards, etc., are managed by Disk
Management, but not memory. What do you see when you run Disk Management?


The scanner works fully in XP but in windows 7 seems to have lost its OCR
facility.

What make and model scanner? Do you have the proper Win7 drivers installed?
Which OCR facility does WinXP use?


Windows 7 does not work with homegroup so I cannot link it to my laptop.

Strange. Homegroup works only with Win7; does your laptop have Win7
installed?


Windows 7 upgrades have come in but when WLM 2011 is installed the
computer almost grinds to a halt so I have had to go back to WLM 2009.

As it says in my Sig, I'm now using the latest WLM 2011 and Win7 SP1 RC.
But I've used just about every combination of Win7 and WLM since it was
still in beta in 2006 with no such problems. Not sure what you mean by
"Windows 7 upgrades". Do you mean Windows Updates?


As I said, none of these are serious, just annoyances. I have run windows
7 repair from the harddrive but not yet from the installation disk, that
is what I was wondering; if using that disk to do a repair, not an install
would help sort the problems.

I doubt that an OS Repair would solve the problems you've described. You
may need to first rethink how you want your WinXP/Win7 dual boot system
organized. Then you might want to re-install Win7. Either (a) boot from
the Win7 DVD, with BOTH HDDs connected, to let Setup assign C: to the Win7
Boot Volume, or (b) boot into WinXP, assign the letters you want, then run
Win7 Setup from there, telling it to install on the "Drive X:" of your
choice.

If you clearly tell us (a) where you are, and (c) where you want to end up,
we can probably help you figure out (b) how to get from (a) to (c). ;)


Thanks again

You're welcome, Stewart. Let us know how things work out for you.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"R. C. White" wrote in message
ecom...
?Hi, Stewart.

You've left out some important details, such as: What kinds of problems?

When you say "2 drives" and "the other disk", do you mean 2 physical
disks, or 2 partitions on a single HDD?

How did you install WinXP and Win7? Which one was first? Which physical
disk/partition holds each one?

Yes, you should be able to boot from the Win7 DVD and tell Setup to Repair
the startup files - but that really depends on the answers to the
questions above. It also depends on what you want your dual-boot system
to look like afterwards.

Are you familiar with Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)? Which partitions on
which HDD does it identify as System and Boot in WinXP; which ones in
Win7? Both OSes should show the same physical partition as System; each
should show a different volume as Boot.

RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

On 12/14/2010 05:11 PM, Stewart wrote:
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

The mistake you made was installing the second OS with the first OS'
hard drive still connected to the motherboard. Once both are installed,
reconnect the first hard drive and use the BIOS pop up to select which
drive to boot to. In the BIOS you can set with hard drive to boot to as
default. I have Linux Mint on one drive, Win 7 on another and Win XP on
a third. When I'm in Win 7, it thinks it has the C drive. When I'm in
XP, XP thinks it has the C drive. Linux Mint doesn't give a **** who has
the C drive.

--
Alias

To be quite clear I have 2 distinct drives, a western diigtal running
windows 7 and a maxtor running windows XP.
When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but if I
select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in turn
becomes drive C.
In both cases I can still access the other hard drive whatever operating
system is running.
I am sorry I used the term upgrades when I should have said updates and
again the "memory sticks" are flash drives, all 4gb
Thanks again.


"Alias" wrote in message
...
On 12/14/2010 05:11 PM, Stewart wrote:
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

The mistake you made was installing the second OS with the first OS' hard
drive still connected to the motherboard. Once both are installed,
reconnect the first hard drive and use the BIOS pop up to select which
drive to boot to. In the BIOS you can set with hard drive to boot to as
default. I have Linux Mint on one drive, Win 7 on another and Win XP on a
third. When I'm in Win 7, it thinks it has the C drive. When I'm in XP, XP
thinks it has the C drive. Linux Mint doesn't give a **** who has the C
drive.

--
Alias

?Hi, Stewart.

Thanks for that clarification.

So you have two physical drives, each with a single partition covering that
whole disk. And it appears that you installed Win7 by booting from the Win7
DVD, so that Win7 assigned the letter C: to its own Boot Volume: the
partition covering all of Disk 1 (the second HDD).

WinXP sees the partition on Disk 0 as Drive C:, and it acts as both the
System Partition and the WinXP Boot Volume. And it refers to the partition
on Disk 1 as Drive D:? Or some other letter? You can change this to any
available letter by using Disk Management.

Win7 sees the partition on Disk 1 as Drive C:; this is Win7's Boot Volume.
The partition on Disk 0 is now seen as Drive D:; this is still the System
Partition. You cannot change either of these in Disk Management. To change
them, you would need to install Win7 again, after booting into WinXP.

When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but if
I select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in turn
becomes drive C.

Good! That is how Win7 is supposed to work in a multiboot system. ;) It
can confuse humans, but Windows is happy.

Now you can concentrate on the other problems. You still haven't told us
about your scanner and its drivers, or about your laptop and Homegroup.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

To be quite clear I have 2 distinct drives, a western diigtal running
windows 7 and a maxtor running windows XP.
When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but if I
select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in turn
becomes drive C.
In both cases I can still access the other hard drive whatever operating
system is running.
I am sorry I used the term upgrades when I should have said updates and
again the "memory sticks" are flash drives, all 4gb
Thanks again.


"Alias" wrote in message
...
On 12/14/2010 05:11 PM, Stewart wrote:
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

The mistake you made was installing the second OS with the first OS' hard
drive still connected to the motherboard. Once both are installed,
reconnect the first hard drive and use the BIOS pop up to select which
drive to boot to. In the BIOS you can set with hard drive to boot to as
default. I have Linux Mint on one drive, Win 7 on another and Win XP on a
third. When I'm in Win 7, it thinks it has the C drive. When I'm in XP, XP
thinks it has the C drive. Linux Mint doesn't give a **** who has the C
drive.

--
Alias

Stewart wrote:
My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

I just installed MSDOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1 in a virtual machine. Runs
just great with VMware Player.

--
LSMFT

Simple job, assist the assistant of the physicist.

"R. C. White" wrote in message
ecom...
?Hi, Stewart.

You've left out some important details, such as: What kinds of problems?

When you say "2 drives" and "the other disk", do you mean 2 physical
disks, or 2 partitions on a single HDD?

How did you install WinXP and Win7? Which one was first? Which physical
disk/partition holds each one?

Yes, you should be able to boot from the Win7 DVD and tell Setup to Repair
the startup files - but that really depends on the answers to the
questions above. It also depends on what you want your dual-boot system
to look like afterwards.

Are you familiar with Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc)? Which partitions on
which HDD does it identify as System and Boot in WinXP; which ones in
Win7? Both OSes should show the same physical partition as System; each
should show a different volume as Boot.

Why does dual booting have to be such a total MESS.
None of this should matter and it's a total pain in the ass that it does.

NOTE: I am not the OP and I don't need a reply.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

On 14 Dec 2010, "Brian Gregory [UK]" wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Why does dual booting have to be such a total MESS.
None of this should matter and it's a total pain in the ass that
it does.

That's why I would never bother doing a dual-boot. It can be a fun
intellectual exercise, but it's too high-maintenance and prone to
failure. I'd rather just set up two separate computers, or possibly
swap physical hard disks, each with its own OS.

"LSMFT" wrote in message
...
Stewart wrote:
My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

I just installed MSDOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1 in a virtual machine. Runs
just great with VMware Player.

--
LSMFT

Simple job, assist the assistant of the physicist.

LOL. That's delightful.
You did put the mouse command in the autoexec.bat file I hope.
I used to lose the mouse continuously in DOS 5, ending up using keyboard
strokes 'til I figured out how to manually reinstall the files in the
config.sys
--
Jan Alter

Jan Alter wrote:
wrote in message
...
Stewart wrote:
My desktop has 2 drives, the one using XP works everything perfectly but
there are problems with the other disk running windows 7.
I can live with the problems but would prefer to repair my windows 7
operating system.
I would like to know if it is possible to load the windows 7 disk and
instruct it to do a repair instead of an install.
I want it to repair drive C and leave drive D (XP) alone. Can anyone
advise?
Thank you

I just installed MSDOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1 in a virtual machine. Runs
just great with VMware Player.

--
LSMFT

Simple job, assist the assistant of the physicist.

LOL. That's delightful.
You did put the mouse command in the autoexec.bat file I hope.
I used to lose the mouse continuously in DOS 5, ending up using keyboard
strokes 'til I figured out how to manually reinstall the files in the
config.sys

The mouse works fine without the msdos mouse driver. Must be the VM that
is managing it.

--
LSMFT

Simple job, assist the assistant of the physicist.

Thanks again for the information but I am sorry to say that it is a bit deep
for me.
My set up is a desktop that is 5 years old but has been upgraded over the
years with more ram, new fan etc.; it always had a Maxtor hard drive and
that has had windows XP since day one and still does. I have been calling
that the D drive but as mentioned that changes when I select "earlier
version".
In spring this year I fitted an extra hard drive, a Western Digital and
installed Windows 7 in it. It is the drive I use virtually all the time. I
just use the Maxtor drive for my camcorder (software installed in it), for
OCR scanning and as a back up. My reason for keeping this drive was that I
was not sure that windows 7, 32 bit, would work all my hardware and software
programs.
I also have a new Acer laptop running windows 7 32 bit. and a Seagate
external hard drive for back up.
All the hardware, usb ports etc work perfectly with windows XP so I am
confident that my problems are not hardware related.
Under different newsgroups I asked for help with my homegroup -
alt.networking.wireless under ref IpV6 as the homegroup would no longer work
between the desktop and the laptop. I won't go into the detail again but
basically I get a message that IpV6 in not enabled yet it is shown as such.
I also went into alt.windows.livemail.desktop to see if I could get an
answer as to why WLM 2011 would not work but again have had no success.
All these malfunctions are nuisances but I can live with them.
I did post this set of questions to see if I could use the windows 7 dvd
and do a repair. I have tried the repair function in the computer but it
has not changed anything.
To transfer files now from the desktop to the laptop or vice versa the
procedure I have to use is cumbersome - I copy say a folder from the Western
Digital drive to the Maxtor, then to the Seagate external drive and from
there to the laptop.
Now even when I input photos or docs to the Western digital then when it
accesses the Seagate it recognizes that a folder is there but states it is
empty - yet it is the same folder and same contents as were put in that
drive and then transferred via the Maxtor.
I hope that I can try the Windows 7 DVD to do a repair but worry lest
loading it will result in a complete re-install - I do not want that.
Is it safe to load the DVD and select a repair from it?
Thanks again

I


"R. C. White" wrote in message
...
?Hi, Stewart.

Thanks for that clarification.

So you have two physical drives, each with a single partition covering
that whole disk. And it appears that you installed Win7 by booting from
the Win7 DVD, so that Win7 assigned the letter C: to its own Boot Volume:
the partition covering all of Disk 1 (the second HDD).

WinXP sees the partition on Disk 0 as Drive C:, and it acts as both the
System Partition and the WinXP Boot Volume. And it refers to the
partition on Disk 1 as Drive D:? Or some other letter? You can change
this to any available letter by using Disk Management.

Win7 sees the partition on Disk 1 as Drive C:; this is Win7's Boot Volume.
The partition on Disk 0 is now seen as Drive D:; this is still the System
Partition. You cannot change either of these in Disk Management. To
change them, you would need to install Win7 again, after booting into
WinXP.

When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but
if I select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in
turn becomes drive C.

Good! That is how Win7 is supposed to work in a multiboot system. ;)
It can confuse humans, but Windows is happy.

Now you can concentrate on the other problems. You still haven't told us
about your scanner and its drivers, or about your laptop and Homegroup.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

To be quite clear I have 2 distinct drives, a western diigtal running
windows 7 and a maxtor running windows XP.
When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but if
I
select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in turn
becomes drive C.
In both cases I can still access the other hard drive whatever operating
system is running.
I am sorry I used the term upgrades when I should have said updates and
again the "memory sticks" are flash drives, all 4gb
Thanks again.


"Alias" wrote in message
...
On 12/14/2010 05:11 PM, Stewart wrote:
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

The mistake you made was installing the second OS with the first OS' hard
drive still connected to the motherboard. Once both are installed,
reconnect the first hard drive and use the BIOS pop up to select which
drive to boot to. In the BIOS you can set with hard drive to boot to as
default. I have Linux Mint on one drive, Win 7 on another and Win XP on a
third. When I'm in Win 7, it thinks it has the C drive. When I'm in XP,
XP thinks it has the C drive. Linux Mint doesn't give a **** who has the
C drive.

--
Alias

?Hi, Stewart.

Somehow that reminds me of the old joke about the little boy who said, as he
watched the motorist swim out of his submerged car, "But it was only
belly-deep on Grandma's ducks!"

Sorry this is going to turn into a book, repeating much of what you probably
already know, but...

As I said in an earlier message, "The term 'drive' is ambiguous because it
means different things in different contexts." We can cut down the
confusion a little by always referring to the whole physical disk drive as a
"disk" or "hard disk drive", and to the software-created divisions of the
space on the disk as "partitions". But a "drive" letter can also be
assigned to a logical drive in an extended partition - or to a partition on
a USB flash drive or an optical drive or a SD card or other device. So we
often use the more-generic term "volume" to refer to any of these "drives".
Note that we can't format a DISK or assign it a letter; we must create a
"volume" on that disk and format the volume - and assign a letter to the
volume. Even if there is only a single partition that covers the whole
disk, the "drive" letter refers to the partition, not to the disk.

If you are not familiar with Disk Management, please click Start, type
diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter (and furnish Administrator credentials). Wait
while it detects your hardware and displays information about it. Then
study what it shows. The Help file is almost too informative, and applies
to both DM and the full MMC (Microsoft Management Console), of which DM is
just one part. It is arranged as a hypertext reference, not a tutorial, so
we can't just read it from cover to cover. But this Help file explains more
than most users will ever learn about hard disk drives. Since it first
appeared in Windows 2000, over 10 years ago, DM is THE tool for managing
hard disks (and optical drives, USB flash drives, and just about anything
else that can be assigned a "drive" letter). The version in Win7 is
improved from WinXP, but their displays are practically identical.

DM displays two main panes. By default, the Volume List is at the top; the
Graphical Display at the bottom. Maximize the window so that you are not
working through a keyhole, and widen the Status column so that you can see
all the information. (Sadly, DM won't remember these settings, so you'll
have to do them again each time.)

The Volume list shows one line for each volume. The Status column shows
several labels and each volume may have more than one. Two labels, System
and Boot, are especially important and there will be ONE of each. (In your
WinXP, Drive C: should show both labels.) These labels are
COUNTER-intuitive! As some writers have said, "We BOOT from the SYSTEM
volume and keep the operating SYSTEM files in the BOOT volume." :( Those
terms are rooted in computer antiquity and we can't change them, so we must
learn to live with them. Understanding them is important, even in a
single-boot computer, but especially in a multi-boot situation. Microsoft
explains the terms in KB314470, which was written for WinXP and prior, but
still applies to Vista/Win7 as well:
Definitions for system volume and boot volume
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470/EN-US/

The Graphical View shows a single line for each physical disk drive, and
refers to them by Disk NUMBER, starting with zero, not by "drive" letter.
You should see Disk 0 and Disk 1 in your computer. Each disk line shows
some basic info about that disk in the left column; the rest of the line is
a graphic representation of the space on that disk. Each partition is a
not-to-scale rectangle with a colored bar at the top; see the legend at the
bottom for meanings of the colors. In your case, each Disk probably shows a
single rectangle with a dark blue bar signifying a "Primary Partition".
"Primary" in this context does not mean "first", but that this partition
uses one of the 4 slots available in each disk's partition table. Note that
each volume has a "drive" letter that corresponds to the Volume List above.
Also note that the Boot, System and other labels appear here, too. (Even
before drive letters are assigned, partitions are referred to by numbers,
starting with one on each disk, so you will have a Partition 1 on each
disk.)

In your computer, the Graphical View should change slightly - but
significantly - when you reboot from WinXP to Win7. The Disk numbers will
not change, and the drawings of the volumes won't, either, nor the volume
names. And the same volume - partition 1 on Disk 0 - will still have the
System label. But the Boot label in Win7 will now be on partition 1 on Disk
1. And the letter C: will now be assigned to partition 1 on Disk 1, rather
than to partition 1 on Disk 0. When you are booted into WinXP, partition 1
on Disk 0 will have BOTH the System and Boot labels.


I recommend that you name your disks and your volumes, Stewart. Names don't
have to be fancy or long. You might call your physical disks "Max" and
"WD"; your volumes might be "WinXP" and "Win7". The drive letters C: and D:
will change as you reboot between OSes, and the Boot designation will
change, too, but the names you assign will remain consistent no matter which
OS is in charge.

This subject is not so much deep, as it is wide and muddy. Wide because it
covers so many terms (drive, disk, partition, volume...) and muddy because
those terms get used inconsistently, even by the experts.


Now to some of the specific questions in your post:

Under different newsgroups I asked for help with my homegroup...

Until recently I never had a second computer; I got an Acer netbook last
Spring and created a Homegroup for them (both running Win7), but I'm still a
definite novice with all networking questions, so I'll stay out of this one.

Is it safe to load the DVD and select a repair from it?

Safe? Yes, it should be. But I doubt that it will help with the problems
you've described. It seems kind of like tuning up your engine to fix your
flat tire. Poor analogy, but your problems don't seem related to what that
repair function is for.

To transfer files now from the desktop to the laptop or vice versa the
procedure I have to use is cumbersome - I copy say a folder from the
Western Digital drive to the Maxtor, then to the Seagate external drive
and from there to the laptop.

Why not just copy to/from a USB flash drive? Plug the USB drive into your
desktop. Copy from the WD to the USB. Then plug the USB into the laptop
and copy from it. USB flash drives are not expensive these days, even for
16 GB or larger models.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

Thanks again for the information but I am sorry to say that it is a bit deep
for me.
My set up is a desktop that is 5 years old but has been upgraded over the
years with more ram, new fan etc.; it always had a Maxtor hard drive and
that has had windows XP since day one and still does. I have been calling
that the D drive but as mentioned that changes when I select "earlier
version".
In spring this year I fitted an extra hard drive, a Western Digital and
installed Windows 7 in it. It is the drive I use virtually all the time. I
just use the Maxtor drive for my camcorder (software installed in it), for
OCR scanning and as a back up. My reason for keeping this drive was that I
was not sure that windows 7, 32 bit, would work all my hardware and software
programs.
I also have a new Acer laptop running windows 7 32 bit. and a Seagate
external hard drive for back up.
All the hardware, usb ports etc work perfectly with windows XP so I am
confident that my problems are not hardware related.
Under different newsgroups I asked for help with my homegroup -
alt.networking.wireless under ref IpV6 as the homegroup would no longer work
between the desktop and the laptop. I won't go into the detail again but
basically I get a message that IpV6 in not enabled yet it is shown as such.
I also went into alt.windows.livemail.desktop to see if I could get an
answer as to why WLM 2011 would not work but again have had no success.
All these malfunctions are nuisances but I can live with them.
I did post this set of questions to see if I could use the windows 7 dvd
and do a repair. I have tried the repair function in the computer but it
has not changed anything.
To transfer files now from the desktop to the laptop or vice versa the
procedure I have to use is cumbersome - I copy say a folder from the Western
Digital drive to the Maxtor, then to the Seagate external drive and from
there to the laptop.
Now even when I input photos or docs to the Western digital then when it
accesses the Seagate it recognizes that a folder is there but states it is
empty - yet it is the same folder and same contents as were put in that
drive and then transferred via the Maxtor.
I hope that I can try the Windows 7 DVD to do a repair but worry lest
loading it will result in a complete re-install - I do not want that.
Is it safe to load the DVD and select a repair from it?
Thanks again

I


"R. C. White" wrote in message
...
?Hi, Stewart.

Thanks for that clarification.

So you have two physical drives, each with a single partition covering
that whole disk. And it appears that you installed Win7 by booting from
the Win7 DVD, so that Win7 assigned the letter C: to its own Boot Volume:
the partition covering all of Disk 1 (the second HDD).

WinXP sees the partition on Disk 0 as Drive C:, and it acts as both the
System Partition and the WinXP Boot Volume. And it refers to the
partition on Disk 1 as Drive D:? Or some other letter? You can change
this to any available letter by using Disk Management.

Win7 sees the partition on Disk 1 as Drive C:; this is Win7's Boot Volume.
The partition on Disk 0 is now seen as Drive D:; this is still the System
Partition. You cannot change either of these in Disk Management. To
change them, you would need to install Win7 again, after booting into
WinXP.

When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but
if I select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in
turn becomes drive C.

Good! That is how Win7 is supposed to work in a multiboot system. ;) It
can confuse humans, but Windows is happy.

Now you can concentrate on the other problems. You still haven't told us
about your scanner and its drivers, or about your laptop and Homegroup.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-9/30/10)
Windows Live Mail Version 2011 (Build 15.4.3504.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64
SP1 RC


"Stewart" wrote in message ...

To be quite clear I have 2 distinct drives, a western diigtal running
windows 7 and a maxtor running windows XP.
When the computer starts it goes to Windows 7 and calls it drive C but if
I
select an "earlier version" then it goes to windows XP and that in turn
becomes drive C.
In both cases I can still access the other hard drive whatever operating
system is running.
I am sorry I used the term upgrades when I should have said updates and
again the "memory sticks" are flash drives, all 4gb
Thanks again.


"Alias" wrote in message
...
On 12/14/2010 05:11 PM, Stewart wrote:
I have 2 separate drives in the computer, C and D.

The mistake you made was installing the second OS with the first OS' hard
drive still connected to the motherboard. Once both are installed,
reconnect the first hard drive and use the BIOS pop up to select which
drive to boot to. In the BIOS you can set with hard drive to boot to as
default. I have Linux Mint on one drive, Win 7 on another and Win XP on a
third. When I'm in Win 7, it thinks it has the C drive. When I'm in XP,
XP thinks it has the C drive. Linux Mint doesn't give a **** who has the
C drive.

--
Alias