Solved Dual hard drive setup

mikekoz

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I just picked up a new HP Envy DV7-7259nr. The laptop has two drive bays and I just added a SSD drive. I installed the drive in the primary hard drive bay, and moved the SATA drive to the secondary one. I made no changes to that drive. I installed Windows 8 using the HP restore disks that I created. I need to create another set, but I will open a separate thread for that. I had some issues with the restore set, but was able to finally get Windows 8 installed on the SSD. The other drive was not connected while I did this. Everything worked fine until I re-connected the SATA drive. Now the laptop is booting from it instead of the SSD. I cannot seem to find any information anywhere on how to make the laptop boot from the primary drive. I thought it would do that by default! There is no options in the BIOS to alter this, so I was looking for something to edit in Win8 to make this happen. I cannot change the drive letter of the boot drive in Disk Manager. I suppose if I just took the second drive out of the system and just formatted it that would work, but I would realy like to keep it as is for the time being. Has anybody else tried to have a setup like this? Any and all help would be appreciated!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
mikekoz said:
I cannot change the drive letter of the boot drive in Disk Manager. I suppose if I just took the second drive out of the system and just formatted it that would work, but I would realy like to keep it as is for the time being. Has anybody else tried to have a setup like this? Any and all help would be appreciated!

Pack the HDD in a box ,& store.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
mikekoz said:
I cannot change the drive letter of the boot drive in Disk Manager. I suppose if I just took the second drive out of the system and just formatted it that would work, but I would realy like to keep it as is for the time being. Has anybody else tried to have a setup like this? Any and all help would be appreciated!

Pack the HDD in a box ,& store.

What do you mean? :think:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Is your BIOS mode UEFI or legacy? Whichever, apparently you are able to get to your BIOS. When there, are you unable to access your boot menu? What happens when you try to access your boot menu using an F-key? Consider trying to boot to the startup options menu (Startup Options Menu - Boot to in Windows 8), and seeing if you can boot to the SSD from there. Also, consider this tutorial: Startup Options - Choose a Default OS to Run at Startup in Windows 8.


Thanks, but that did not resolve the issue! BIOS is set to UEFI, but can be changed to legacy. The legacy option shows the internal hard drive as a boot option. UEFI does not, and lists HP Boot Manager as the first choice. Neither one shows the second drive. PC Settings in Win8 does not see the other drive as an another OS to boot from. Hitting F9 at startup also does not give me the option to choose drives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Deactivate the active partition on the second drive. You may need the bootable CD of Partition Wizard for that - unless you can boot into your SSD system somehow. Or do it on another system. Take the HDD out and attach it with a caddy via USB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Deactivate the active partition on the second drive. You may need the bootable CD of Partition Wizard for that - unless you can boot into your SSD system somehow. Or do it on another system. Take the HDD out and attach it with a caddy via USB.

There is no active partition with UEFI/GPT setup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Deactivate the active partition on the second drive. You may need the bootable CD of Partition Wizard for that - unless you can boot into your SSD system somehow. Or do it on another system. Take the HDD out and attach it with a caddy via USB.

There is no active partition with UEFI/GPT setup.
But can't he change it to legacy.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Deactivate the active partition on the second drive. You may need the bootable CD of Partition Wizard for that - unless you can boot into your SSD system somehow. Or do it on another system. Take the HDD out and attach it with a caddy via USB.

There is no active partition with UEFI/GPT setup.
But can't he change it to legacy.

That would be a clean install, not using the HP Recovery Patition or Disc's, & a BIOS reset,
or wiping the HDD drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Hmm, can't win I guess. This EFI is going to give a lot of problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Is your BIOS mode UEFI or legacy? Whichever, apparently you are able to get to your BIOS. When there, are you unable to access your boot menu? What happens when you try to access your boot menu using an F-key? Consider trying to boot to the startup options menu (Startup Options Menu - Boot to in Windows 8), and seeing if you can boot to the SSD from there. Also, consider this tutorial: Startup Options - Choose a Default OS to Run at Startup in Windows 8.
Thanks, but that did not resolve the issue! BIOS is set to UEFI, but can be changed to legacy. The legacy option shows the internal hard drive as a boot option. UEFI does not, and lists HP Boot Manager as the first choice. Neither one shows the second drive. PC Settings in Win8 does not see the other drive as an another OS to boot from. Hitting F9 at startup also does not give me the option to choose drives.
Sorry, no help from me. I now see the problem. theog's the man!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
Thank you everybody! Looks like my solution is to remove the drive, format it, then reinstall it. No big deal I guess since I have everything on the drive backed up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I kind of like the idea of storing it. Get another for data or whatever. And, hang on to the original. Who knows? You might be glad you have it when push comes to shove. You are welcome for my feeble support. Good luck on however you decide to proceed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
This has been really frustrating. I have never had this much trouble just installing a second hard drive. I formatted the original drive but kept the recovery partition and the EFI partition. Put it back in the laptop and it would not boot. It would keep trying to auto repair itself. I just ran the restore utility again, but I have no clue what drive it is installing the OS to.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Dude, either change the boot priority or format the entire drive.

I trust you understand what the boot priority does and that it won't boot from a drive if you tell it not to regardless of whether it's bootable or not?

I get that you want to keep the other partitions so that you can restore later, so why not create an backup image of the drive then format it completely if you simply refuse to loose that data, which shouldn't be too hard to get back if restoration disks are created.

I'm doubtful that changing from UEFI to legacy will affect the boot priority and whoever suggested it clearly hasn't done what you're trying to do before.

I have done exactly what you're trying to do without issue; create a backup of the original drive then format it completely. Easy, simple, works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro Pack x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    JohnOfE Special
    Other Info
    Too many systems and combinations!
Dude, either change the boot priority or format the entire drive.

I trust you understand what the boot priority does and that it won't boot from a drive if you tell it not to regardless of whether it's bootable or not?

I get that you want to keep the other partitions so that you can restore later, so why not create an backup image of the drive then format it completely if you simply refuse to loose that data, which shouldn't be too hard to get back if restoration disks are created.

I'm doubtful that changing from UEFI to legacy will affect the boot priority and whoever suggested it clearly hasn't done what you're trying to do before.

I have done exactly what you're trying to do without issue; create a backup of the original drive then format it completely. Easy, simple, works.


This should be easy and simple as I have done this before with no problems on other systems. I did format the original drive and I have the restore disks, but disk 6 has an issue, and HP will not let me recreate them :mad:. You cannot change the boot priority between the two hard drives, there is no BIOS option for that. Last night I could not get the original OS on it from the restore disks and I gave up. I have a copy of Windows 8 Pro that I had on another PC. That other PC now has 7 back on it. I try to install it, but this new laptop has the OEM serial of Windows 8 Home embedded on the system board and I got an error while trying to install Pro stating that the serial could not be located. I did not realize companies like HP were were doing this, and this really ticks me off. After a Google search, I was able to resolve this. Windows 8 Pro installed fine, but now it will not activate because MS thinks it is still installed on my other laptop (No wonder why people pirate software!). So now I guess I have to contact them to get it activated. This morning, I reconnected the other drive (the original one I formatted) and restarted the laptop. Worked great...until I restarted again, and now it is giving the same error it was before stating a device isn't connected or cannot be accessed (Error code 0xc0000225). Booting from the Windows 8 disk and running the repair option is supposed to fix this but it does not.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I think what I am going to have to do is just blow away every partition on the original drive that I am trying to use as a secondary except for the drive with the restore files on it. Will have to use diskpart to delete the EFI and recovery partition. I will then put the drive back into my new laptop unpartitioned and unformatted and just set it up from there. If you see a mushroom cloud on the horizon this evening towards the eastern part of the US, that will be me destroying my laptop!! :geek:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I have had it with this. Apparently the PC gods do not want me to have this configuration, so I give up. Something that should have taken me 15 minutes has now cost me a few days of enjoying my new laptop. I am just going to stick the original hard drive back in it and use it as it was originally. I am actually pretty disgusted with the way HP and Microsoft have seemingly locked down this system to make it this difficult to reconfigure.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I finally got this resolved by purchasing another drive and just putting the original drive aside as somebody else here suggested. I also had to install my copy of Windows 8 Pro as the restore option would not work. The last time I tried this it worked, but it would not activate. This time it did! I think the problem I had is how the original drive was formatted. I believe the system attempts to boot off of this drive regardless what drive bay it is put in, but when it does not find an OS, you get the error I was experiencing. It probably would have worked if I was able to delete the two hidden volumes on it. I also had to enable legacy boot support so I could install Windows 8 pro from the USB drive I have it on. Thank you to everybody for your help! :thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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