Ahh, drive letters, help!

[E Man]

Ok, here's the issue:
I just got done building a computer for a friend. The following are the drive connected:

- CD-RW
- Hard Drive
- Zip Drive

The first time I looked in My Computer after installing Win XP, I noticed something odd: The Zip Drive was the C: drive, the CD-RW was the D: (which is normal), and the primary master hard drive was labeled drive E:. This angered me slightly because I know my friend will have a fit if things are not how they normally are (you know, with the HD as drive C. Anyway, in Drive Management, I attempted to change the drive letter of the hard drive, first changing the zip drive's letter to F: . (I thought maybe it would conflict with me trying to change the hard drive to drive C: while the zip was still drive C. Now, when I went to change the hard drive's letter, it of course told me, "Windows cannot modify the drive letter of your system volume or boot volume."

What do I do? I need to get the hard drive's letter changed from E: to C: . In case you're wondering, I tried booting the computer with ONLY the hard drive connected (I disconnected the zip and CD-RW drives) and its letter remained E. The hard drive is on the master connection of the IDE cable and is the only device on that cable.

I would appriciate any help!

Thanks.

[beckx020]

Check single/master/slave jumpers.

Then make sure the hard drive is connected as single to the primary IDE controller. Put the cd and zip drive on the secondary controller. One master, one slave.

[glc]

Reinstall XP from scratch with only the hard drive and CD drive hooked up - then add the other drives.

[jsanchez]

do you have the IDEs connected to the right channels?

[Adam]

Heh...I have the same problem...I just said screw it.

[ZANEY123]

Originally posted by glc Reinstall XP from scratch with only the hard drive and CD drive hooked up - then add the other drives.

I second that. simplist is sometimes best.