Primary boot disc recognized as F in XP

[dhinge]

Hi, wondering if anyone here knows how to change the primary boot disc in Windows XP to C, since it boots up as F. Does this need to be completely reformated, or just re-partitioned? it's in NTSF

[TwoRails]

Did you try going into Disk Management and reassiging the Drive letter?

[crjdriver]

It is possible to change a system drive letter in xp or win2k, however I do not recommend you do so. First of all, when apps are installed they write files to the windows or windows/system32 folder as well as their own folder. If you change the drive letter from F to C, the app will look for it's dll files on F. They are no longer there.
The second reason is that the process is somewhat involved; I will post instructions for changing a system drive.

I am guessing you had either a zip drive, card reader, external type of drive connected when you did the install. XP will assign removable drives letters first then the hd. I would just do a reinstall; disconnecting any type of zip drive. You can connect these after the os is installed.


Here are the instructions for changing a system drive letter in either xp or win2k.

Change the System/Boot Drive Letter
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Make a full system backup of the computer and system state.
Log on as an Administrator.
Start Regedt32.exe.
Go to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

Click MountedDevices.
On the Security menu, click Permissions.
Verify that Administrators have full control. Change this back when you are finished with these steps.
Quit Regedt32.exe, and then start Regedit.exe.
Locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

Find the drive letter you want to change to (new). Look for "\DosDevices\C:".
Right-click \DosDevices\C:, and then click Rename.

Note You must use Regedit instead of Regedt32 to rename this registry key.
Rename it to an unused drive letter "\DosDevices\Z:".

This frees up drive letter C.
Find the drive letter you want changed. Look for "\DosDevices\D:".
Right-click \DosDevices\D:, and then click Rename.
Rename it to the appropriate (new) drive letter "\DosDevices\C:".
Click the value for \DosDevices\Z:, click Rename, and then name it back to "\DosDevices\D:".
Quit Regedit, and then start Regedt32.
Change the permissions back to the previous setting for Administrators (this should probably be Read Only).
Restart the computer.

As you can see it is somewhat involved and most likely will require apps to be reinstalled anyway.

[dhinge]

sweet, you are a badass