Change Windows Boot Drive Letter
It happens to all us would be system admins at one stage or another. You install Windows 2000 or Windows XP on a machine, and for some reason (you didn’t check the BIOS, or you have some strange device like a ZIP drive connected), the Windows boot drive, is not C: It’s something else, like D: or E: even. How can you rectify this problem?
- Disconnect any strange devices, check your BIOS settings, and reformat.
- Do a little registry editing. See the link below (both of them):
Within the second link, be sure to follow section 3, under the Resolution section. Your values might be slightly different (especially if you are using Windows XP or Windows 2003), but the idea is the same, correct the drive letter.
Once you have made your changes, reboot, and voila! You can log on to your system, and your Windows drive, is now called C:
NOTE: You will more then likely need to re-install any programs you already had installed. In fact, performing a Windows Repair may very well be in order.
Most people would probably just format and start over, but there are plenty of people who have reasons to use the steps above. There are many things and reasons for the driver letter allocated to your Windows drive or partition, to be something other then C:, and if you really need your system working again, ASAP, and if you don’t have the time to reformat, re-install your software, re-install your drivers, configure your PC to your liking and then finally get back to work, perhaps this is just the guide for you!
If this gets more then 10 diggs, I’ll create a full blown fail safe and fool proof guide. I might even make it a PDF!
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