Modifying Disk 0, Disk 1 order...

  • Thread starter Thread starter mjs
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mjs

I have 3 drives.

In the BIOS, they are ordered properly. The boot is first (First SATA
Master), then the docs (2nd SATA Master), then the misc (3rd SATA Master).

However, Windows sees them in a different order, even BEFORE Windows is
officially installed (the Windows installer that prompts me for while drive
to install in recognizes the Misc (3rd) drive as the first... then the
boot... then the docs.

Once Windows is installed, same thing. Misc is Disk 0, Boot is Disk 1, Docs
is Disk 2.

I want Boot first, then Docs, then Misc. Just like the Bios sees them.

How do I do that? At what level is this done?
 
set the jumpers on the hard drives to boot disk- master, second drive slave,
third drive cable select.

are you trying to make a raid set? what difference does it make the order it
sees it in as long as you are booting to the boot drive. you can change the
drive letters latter.
 
If you are installing win, then simply disconnect the others leaving only
the one you want as C.
After install connect, the next hd, reboot and connect the last
 
As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the original problem surfaced BEFORE
the fresh WinXP install. There were two existing drives (including a boot as
the 1st drive Windows saw) and when I plugged in the 3rd drive, it
identified it as Drive 0, listing it BEFORE the boot drive in the disk
manager.

There is no doubt in my mind that installing the OS with the drive
disconnected, and then reconnecting it, would yield the exact same results.
 
If you install win with only a single hd that hd will be identified as Disk0
The next HD will be shown as Disk1
What the bios shows is immaterial
 
Right, until I install this 3rd drive and it becomes the new Disk 0.

At the risk of repeating myself, please note that the new (3rd) drive was
nowhere near this computer during the PREVIOUS OS install. The boot drive
was also the first drive listed in Disk Management... until I added the new
drive, which was immediately recognized as Disk 0, pushing the existing two
drives down 1 peg each.

What it is about the drive -- or the other 2 drives -- that would cause
this, is a mystery.
 
I have 3 drives.

In the BIOS, they are ordered properly. The boot is first (First SATA
Master), then the docs (2nd SATA Master), then the misc (3rd SATA Master).

However, Windows sees them in a different order, even BEFORE Windows is
officially installed (the Windows installer that prompts me for while drive
to install in recognizes the Misc (3rd) drive as the first... then the
boot... then the docs.

Once Windows is installed, same thing. Misc is Disk 0, Boot is Disk 1, Docs
is Disk 2.

I want Boot first, then Docs, then Misc. Just like the Bios sees them.

How do I do that? At what level is this done?
Click to expand...

What motherboard do you have?

Based on my observations I would say that the order of the disks in
Disk Management is the same as the order of the disks shown in Windows
setup, which is the same as the detected order of the disks shown
during BIOS POST. IDE drives are ordered before SATA drives.

If you want the disks to appear in a certain order in Disk Management
you have to connect them to the appropriate connector on the
motherboard.
 
mjs said:
I have 3 drives.

In the BIOS, they are ordered properly. The boot is first (First SATA
Master), then the docs (2nd SATA Master), then the misc (3rd SATA Master).

However, Windows sees them in a different order, even BEFORE Windows is
officially installed (the Windows installer that prompts me for while drive
to install in recognizes the Misc (3rd) drive as the first... then the
boot... then the docs.

Once Windows is installed, same thing. Misc is Disk 0, Boot is Disk 1, Docs
is Disk 2.

I want Boot first, then Docs, then Misc. Just like the Bios sees them.

How do I do that? At what level is this done?
Click to expand...


If you install with only *one* drive connected then you should get what
you want but ...

It always amazes me me that people care what drive letter Windows
decides to use or how it organizes the physical drives installed in the
comp. Beyond recognizing and making use of all the drives it makes no
difference folks. There are numerous ways of renaming drives and/or
partitions to human readable titles.

If software gives you a problem about no/or wrongly located C: drive
then that is a clear sign that the software is poorly written and not
worth using.

Yes, I do have a partition which Windows tags as the C: drive of the two
drives and many partitions on this comp. It follows that since it is
*the one and only active partition* it houses Window's boot files but
none of the three OS's still existing on this comp resides in C:, they
are on E:, J: and N:.

Oh my ... after 4.5 years of use should I reinstall?

John
 
Go to start then control panel. next click administrative tools then
computer management , disk management . Then right click on any partition
or disk and choose " Change drive letters or paths. I usually set my optical
drives to the last available drive letters first then rearrange other
partitions and drives how I want. After that I reset my cd and dvd drives to
the next available letters. To get the order you want you may have to change
some drive letters to an open drive letter then set a drive to letter that
was used and then reset drive to new letter. Be sure to do as system restore
before you do any of this and leave drives in bios how they are so that
correct boot sequence will occur.
 
John said:
mjs wrote:
Click to expand...
If software gives you a problem about no/or wrongly located C: drive
then that is a clear sign that the software is poorly written and not
worth using.
Click to expand...

It doesn't necessarily mean that the software was completely poorly
written. It might be older software and it may have been written at a
time when standards were different. I assure you if you had a $25,000
piece of software that performed almost flawlessly but insisted on
having a drive C: you would make sure it has its drive C:!

Some folks might also use little batch files that they made over the
years and these files might make hard references to drive letters.
Other things, like complex spreadsheets may be linked to other files on
specific drive letters, data and links within spreadsheets don't use
variables like %windir% or %systemroot%. Although one can change these
hard links using "Search and Replace" functions, it is sometimes much
easier and less prone to errors to have the operating system apply drive
letters in a consistent and expected manner rather than changing links
in a multitude of files.

Finally, humans are creatures of habit. If you think that is a
negligible factor go in the kitchen and move the pots and pans around
then see what the wife (or husband, if he's the cook) says! Or go in
the garage and move the tools around and see what hubby has to say about
that! Otherwise, yes, you are absolutely right, it doesn't matter much
what drive the operating system is installed on.

John
 
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