Windows 10: Laptop doesn't boot because OS is on D: drive instead of C: drive

My laptop doesn't boot because OS is on E: drive instead of C: drive






When I try to boot it up (it somehow boots up as windows 8.1 instead of my OS windows 10), it gives a BSoD and shows the error code 0xc000021a. I created a bootable USB drive with windows 10 pro on it, but it shows my OS as windows 8.1 instead of 10, and it doesn't allow me to restore or do a startup repair, because they both fail.

Booting up:




Repair shows windows 8.1 instead of 10:




:)

 

How can I boot from my original drive after installing windows on a second drive?

Laptop ?????

SSD/HDD combo drive ???? and additional HD drive ???

If dual C:\OS SSD and D:\ 2nd partition on same drive ???

added additional HDD

or C:\ OS SSD

and another D:\ or (E:\ depends on your DVD drive letter) HDD

Yes, C:\OS and D:\ new Install can not be C:\OS it will be D:\ or E:\ OS

redo it and then connect both and then set the boot as I mentioned.

If you keep D:\ OS on one drive and boot, some programs will have issues installing or running and same with Windows update may have issues.

 

boot from cloned ssd installed on cd drive

Hi Amar,

1. I tried changing the boot order: booting from cd drive/bay first (where ssd is installed), but it is not booting from SSD and subsequently booting from HHD.

2. It is booting from HHD/C drive and it is perfectly working fine, and I see my SSD as well as D drive.

My objective is to boot from SSD so that my laptop performance is better and leave my HHD as-is for storage use.

I don't want to reinstall OS and all my softwares again; I just want to clone the C drive to D drive and make the D drive as primary drive.

Please let me know if you need any more detail.

Thanks

 

Hi, are you sure your OS is on D:? E: is labelled OS.

And which partition is active? Can you check with a partition manager boot disk?

Run EasyBCD, View settings, and post a screenshot. That will show the boot loader entries.

Has this OS always been on D:? How did it get there? I'd be reluctant to suggest moving it to another partition as I'm pretty sure there will be drive letters embedded in it.

 

Thanks for the reply

Yes, sorry, I meant E:

How do I use/get partition manager boot disk and EasyBCD?

 

Hi, search is a man's best friend... simply search and download.

Try Easeus Partition Manager and create a boot disk. There are many such programs. (freeware & commercial)

Use: either intuitive, or read manual.

EasyBCD - small freeware.
Looks at your boot loader.
(Not tried it from a boot disk, tho...!)
Take control of your boot loader. EasyBCD supercharges your Windows PC, allowing you to dual-boot to your heart's content. Boot anything. Boot both from and into USB drives, ISO images, virtual disks, and more. Boot anywhere. Create bootable USB sticks with repair utilities that you can take with you anywhere. Protect against disaster. Create entries to boot into recovery utilities or safe mode to prepare for a rainy day. Painless editing. Add, rename, remove, configure, and reorder entries at whim. Solve difficult problems. Use EasyBCD to troubleshoot Windows, back up and repair the bootloader, and more. Read more at: Download EasyBCD - MajorGeeks

 

This may be what you will need once we know the partition is ok (Primary, Active)
Restore, Fix, Repair Master Boot Record (MBR) in Windows

Sorry, realised the free version of Easeus Partition Manager does not include the boot CD.
Try
Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Free

Can you describe how you got to this situation?
What makes you certain that E: should contain Win 10?
(Note; to check, see E:\Windows\SystemApps - you should see Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy)

And what makes you think it's booting Win 8.1- when do you see that?

 

Really need a picture of your disk management screen because all those drive letters might be separate partitions on one drive, or different drives/DVDs/USBs. It looks like the computer needs to be set to boot from X: drive which requires the bios to be set to boot from that hard drive first, and the partition that contains X: drive needs to be set as the active partition. Then install EasyBCD on whatever OS it boots into and adjust your bcd settings.

Alternatively, use another computer to make yourself a Macrium Reflect Free rescue disc/USB, boot the laptop from it and use the utility included with it to fix boot problems to set up our boot drive/order again.

 

Hi, this should help you get an idea of which partitions should be active/primary:



That's from Minitool Partition Wizard.

 

I would set X drive as active. Either the 61.93 GB or the 101 MB partition must be the active partition because with MBR type disk you have to boot from a primary partition.

 

Hi,
I have downloaded easybcd now, not sure how to use it, do I install in on a USB stick and boot it up on the broken laptop? Windows 10 OS used to be on C: drive until I used some 3rd party application to try and clean up the system, somehow it is now on E: drive, and C: drive is empty. Can't use minitool partition wizard because I don't have any spare cd's lying around. (I will try to put the iso on a usb stick) *Shock

 

(That's my functional laptop... not peter5223's)

 

1. Let's confirm you have Win 10 on E (probably).

Using your Win 10 Boot CD, go to a command prompt and view E:\Windows\SystemApps as I said above (the drive letter may be different when using the CD). Can you see Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy?

2. You need a bootable USB with Minitool Partition Wizard on it. you may need to use RUFUS to do that.
Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

 

Have you just try to active the E drive ? Under Disk Management go to the E drive and right click on it and select Mark Partition as Active. See if that works

 

I had to do a clean reinstall of the windows system using a the windows bootable media USB thing, but it is now fixed.