Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and actually don't usually post to forums or anything but I am at my wit's end and everyone here seemed so helpful...so here it goes!

I recently installed a new hard drive on my Dell Dimension E510 desktop. Before I did so, I backed up all the files that I thought I might want on the new drive with Nero 8. Thinking that I could just install the new drive and then restore all my files from the backup disks. The physical installation of the drive went fine, the installation of Windows XP went ok and after that I have had a lot of trouble with drivers but I think I finally got it back to where it’s in a usable state again.

However…now I have another problem that I have no idea how to rectify. My old hard drive was labeled “C” and my new hard drive is labeled “H”. I didn’t think twice about this before because I didn’t think it really made a difference since everything was going to just go to H now. But I put in the backup disks that I created with Nero and they all have drive C as the location and they can’t restore those files because it can’t find a drive C.

I’ve read a lot about the topic and I know there is an easy way to rename drives, but 1) I’m not sure if I can do that if Windows is on the drive I want to rename and 2) I’ve gone to all the trouble of downloading drivers, Anti-virus software etc and if I change the drive letter I’m afraid those won’t work. Also, it seems that somehow redirecting those Nero files or just copying them to the system is out of the question. They just want to go back to where they came from I guess.

So what do you think is my best bet right now? I’m toying with the idea of reformatting the hard drive again, reinstalling windows and somehow intercepting it to name the new drive C where I let it be H before. But that seems like a lot of time to spend on just changing that one little letter.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!!!

PS: I’ll try to keep future posts shorter!

welcome to WTT

When you load xp it's preferable that the new drive is the only hard drive connected or active and that it is on the primary number 1
pata or sata connector

Xp wil let you arrage almost all drive letters but C and A

windows cannot modify the drive letter of your system volume or boot drive

so even if C was available you can't change it from H

don't worry most of us here have done the same thing once upon a time, even if we can't remember that far back

I deleted a 160 gig data partition once when I forgot to disconnect a pata hard drive in a sata system



This post has been edited by DaChew: Apr 9 2008, 11:11 AM

Hmmm...so does that mean that the only way to fix this is to re-format the drive and install xp again + all the drivers?

You might try disconnecting all other drives but an optical, and I mean those durn card reader ones also

make sure the system boot drive is connected like i said earlier to a primary controller

run windows as a repair disk

Hi DaChew,

I agree with your earlier post...... (and how did you know I had been there and done that before?)

I'm also as skeptical as you are about the outcome of disconnecting all other drives save an optical and H, then hoping XP Repair installation would rename H: to C:. I just don't think so.

And, ScrumpyPat

Even if your were successful in getting things running with H:\ as your Root Drive, there are untold thousands of problems that could crop up in the future with such an arrangement. For instance, some applications, and some components of Windows that later get installed or added as updates/patches will "insist" upon locating themselves on the Drive labeled C:\ no matter what it is actually functioning as. Thus your OS and applications executables and extensions could get spread all over the place.

Best Regards

Doug unfortunatly is right about ALOT of programs insisting on being located on the "C:\" So It probably would be in your best intrest to reformat and start over

Okay guys, I think you've convinced me...I'm going to re-format the drive again and this time try to pick the right letter

....Just so I'm able to watch out for it...at what point do I pick the drive letter? I don't remember choosing H this time around.....


...and do you have any other tips for reformatting / installing windows that might be helpful? I've heard that I should choose NTFS if it asks me but that's about all I know!


Thanks for all your help so far!!

Turn off the machine and discharge the static.
Open the Tower Case and physically "unplug" the cable that attaches the smart-card reader to the MotherBoard.
Remove the plug from the MotherBoard and just leave the drive unit in place.

Yes, format in NTFS.
You will be offered the choice of "Do you want to install to the selected Drive C:\"

If it were me, I'd get a little more creative and Remove the Partitions.
Then create a Partition from the unpartitioned space for C:\ <-- maybe about 20-25gb for Windows and security apps only.
Then create a Partition from the remaining unpartitioned space <-- for other apps and saving Docs/images/etc

Then Format and install on C:\
Don't worry about Formatting D:\
You can do that from Windows Explorer after Windows is installed.

Here is a brief listing of sequence of steps necessary when installing Operating System (XP and earlier)

Reinstall in the following order:

• Operating System
• SP2 if not included on prior installation CD
• DirectX 9.0c
• ChipSet Drivers
• Firewall
• AntiVirus
• MS Updates (critical Updates and patches)
• AntiSpyware
• Hosts File

• JAVA Runtime Environment 6.05
• optionally Adobe FlashPlayer and Adobe Shockwave (for all selected browsers)
• Then peripheral and application files.

After all the above, turn off machine, discharge any static and plug in the cluster of smart cards.
They will be assigned "later" letters appropriate so that your Root remains C:\ and your Opticals are D and E
The second Hard Drive Partition may be assigned a "later" letter, but that's no biggie.

Best Regards

directx9c came with sp2 but here it is reinstalling a newer version of it right now

I never can figure out what MS has done?

thanks Doug, it's a lot faster with everything in dxdiag

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to thank you all for your help. I did what you said and installed XP again on the C drive and my backup worked this time, although not as flawlessly as I expected. I am still having issues with my tuner driver so I can't watch tv yet and I've tried all the video drivers on the Dell install disk and the ones recommended for my system on Dell's site, but maybe that's something I'll ask about in a different section of this site.

Thanks again for your help!