Windows 10: MBR has moved from C:

Discus and support MBR has moved from C: in Windows 10 Support to solve the problem; I found out by chance that my system files have moved from my C: drive to a small 2.5 inch HDD that i salvaged from an old laptop and used as a backup... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Support' started by RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018.

  1. MBR has moved from C:


    I found out by chance that my system files have moved from my C: drive to a small 2.5 inch HDD that i salvaged from an old laptop and used as a backup drive.

    Here's a screen shot of Disk Management if it helps.


    MBR has moved from C: [​IMG]


    How do I restore my system and MBR to C: on Disk 0 and my E: to Disk 1 with just my backup on it?

    Regards
    Les



    :)
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018
    #1
  2. tjmoes Win User

    Win10 Installed 32-bit not 64-bit?

    that was a good link but it seems if i delete the partition it turns out its the recovery partition that has the mbr and if i change to the c-drv part. as active partive windows wont start its looking for the mbr
     
    tjmoes, Mar 18, 2018
    #2
  3. 'System Reserve' has appeared on my non-OS (secondary) hard drive after Windows 10 installation. How to delete?

    Hi Elliot -

    To move the Bootmgr to C, download and install
    EasyBCD (click Download - no Name or Email required)
    .

    1) Choose BCD Backup/Repair Tab.

    2) Select Change boot drive

    3) Click button to Perform Action

    MBR has moved from C: [​IMG]

    In the popup confirm the New Boot Drive says C, click OK.

    MBR has moved from C: [​IMG]

    Reboot PC, confirm in Disk Mgmt that C is now marked System Active Boot. You can now delete System Reserved in Disk Mgmt, repartition the drive as a data drive. Since Windows can only recognize 2tb in the MBR disk format, I would convert the data drive
    to GPT before creating your data partitions.
    Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk
     
    Greg Carmack - Windows MVP, Mar 18, 2018
    #3
  4. lx07 Win User

    MBR has moved from C:

    Your mbr hasn't moved - on BIOS PCs the MBR is just the first track on the disk. You are booting disk 1 rather than disk 0 which really isn't a problem. This is because your BIOS has disk 1 higher in it's list than disk 0.

    Your issue is you are seeing disk 1 (partition "Expansion Drive") as system.

    Easiest thing to do would be to mark this partition as inactive in diskpart:

    • select disk 1
    • select partition 1
    • inactive

    Then reboot.

    Make sure you have some sort of bootable Windows (installation USB for example) before you start. If you do you can boot from that and correct any mistakes.

    Alternatively you could check BIOS and make sure disk0 is top of the list. In either case you don't want more than one active partition.
     
  5. Bree New Member
    A Recovery Drive is another example. You can make that yourself...

    Create Recovery Drive in Windows 10
     
  6. Thanks both of you, just need to pluck up courage now!
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018
    #6
  7. Bree New Member
    Do come back to this thread and ask further questions if you have any doubts about how to proceed.
     
  8. MBR has moved from C:

    Just tried booting from C: but get the BSOD with error code 0xc000000e!

    Macrium Reflect tells me there is an MBR 1 on Disk 0 and an MBR 2 on Disk 1, could the Disk 0 one be corrupted?


    MBR has moved from C: [​IMG]


    Can I copy the system files from the Expansion drive to the C: drive without losing my Progs and data on C: ?
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018
    #8
  9. Plankton Win User
    Question: Does both HDD's have a OS on them? I only ask because you stated that you salvaged the 2nd drive from a laptop. In your last post you state that you now have 2 MBRs, one on each disk which to me indicates that each HDD has a OS on it. That being said, did you format the drive (wipe it clean) before using it in your current system?
     
    Plankton, Mar 18, 2018
    #9
  10. The disk I salvaged has been formatted several times since it was installed.
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018
    #10
  11. lx07 Win User
    You don't need to copy anything. Mark disk 1 (called disk 2 in Macrium as it starts counting from one not zero for some reason) inactive and then restart.

    "System" just means "this is the volume I booted from". There is no data there to copy - your boot files are already on C.

    Occasionally you need to edit mbr (track 0) but at this point you don't.

    Just to test disconnect drive 1 and see if it still boots.

    If it does we are back to post #2 - change your boot order or make disk 1 (in the Windows not Macrium sense) inactive. It will then boot fine from disk 0 without copying anything. Probably.

    Please understand though that "the mbr" is the data contained in track zero of "a mbr" partitioned disk containing code telling your BIOS what to boot. This is not the same as mbr (as opposed to gpt) partitioning. One is a verb and the other a noun *Smile
     
  12. SIW2 Win User
    There seems to be a problem with the bcd store. It should be on Disk 0 part 2. ( E)

    Try running startup repair from booted recovery/installation media.

    That is normal. Each initialized disk will have an mbr ( on uefi systems it is called a protective mbr ).
     
  13. MBR has moved from C:

    I have tried in Windows Disk management and in Macrium to mark Disk 1 as inactive but it does not appear as an option.

    If I physically disconnect that disk 1, I get the BSOD.

    If I disconnect the C: drive it can't find Windows.
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 18, 2018
    #13
  14. lx07 Win User
    Use diskpart as in post #2 - that will let you mark disk 1 inactive.

    try "bcdboot C:\Windows /s C:" from command prompt - that should rebuild boot entry for you specifying C as your system partition.

    See Repair Windows BCD

    EDIT:
    I'm not sure about that - the boot files are on C - E is not currently used for anything as far as I can see. If system will boot with system being C and disk 1 inactive then E can be moved/deleted. At the moment E is doing nothing...

    I could be wrong and perhaps "bcdboot C:\Windows /s E:" would be another option to try if the first doesn't work.
     
  15. I can't understand why Disk 0 shows Drive E: and Drive C:

    Disk 1 Shows Expansion Drive which is the same 2.5" disk as E: how did these get separated?

    If I disconnect the cables on E: I get the BSOD.
    If I disconnect the cables on C: it goes through the startup but can't find Windows

    The C: drive does not appear to have system files on it and is not marked as active.

    The E: drive is not empty it has 1.11GB of data on it and the "Expansion Drive" (same 2.5" disk as E) has 383.3GB of what appears to be system files on it and is also marked as active.

    The BIOS also shows the 2.5" disk (E) as being the first boot disk.
     
    RatherBeFishing, Mar 19, 2018
    #15
Thema:

MBR has moved from C:

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