I did something very stupid with Windows

xtreemchaos · Aug 9, 2022

your pathways are getting confused bud as am i

.

lexluthermiester · Aug 9, 2022

CallandorWoT said:
Does this mean all clean installs should be done in GPT format not MBR? Just wondering, cause I get confused still when I install Linux Mint sometimes.

No. Master Boot Records still exist on GPT formatted drives, they're just configured in a different way.

However, resetting the MBR for ANY drive an OS is to be installed onto is a very important step.

mclaren85 · Aug 9, 2022

Shrek said:
hard drive many of the programs would no longer run

That is because some programs are being required to have regedit entries to launch. (The entries are created while the program is being installed) Also, some other softwares are need to have Visual c++ runtime packages which you can find as a bundle on techpowerup frontpage

And please don't forget to rename the old HDD as "C" again.

Shrek · Aug 9, 2022

I forgot to thank everyone here for NOT telling me how stupid I was.

It seemed like a good idea at the time ;-)

lexluthermiester · Aug 9, 2022

Shrek said:
I forgot to thank everyone here for NOT telling me how stupid I was.

It seemed like a good idea at the time ;-)

It's a mistake many have made... No worries!

Bill_Bright · Aug 9, 2022

Lenne said:
Just my 2 cents; I always disconnect every other than the destination drive when I'm installing windows, just to make sure that things like that doesn't happen.

^^^This^^^ I don't necessarily disconnect "all" other drives, but if other drives are bootable - regardless the OS, I make sure they are disconnected.

lexluthermiester said:
It's a mistake many have made... No worries!

Yeah, it seems everyone forgot to tell you how stup... err... how we all have made stupid mistakes before!

That said, to be a stupid mistake, IMO, it would have to be something you knew, or should have known better about - but did it anyway out of laziness, or carelessness.

So not sure this can be considered a stupid mistake - more a learning experience. That said, respect for coming forward and admitting how stupi... err... how you learned something new and shared that with the rest of us!

bonehead123 · Aug 9, 2022

"You don't know what you don't know until you realize that you didn't know that you didn't know it" hahahah !

But as others have already said, disconnecting all secondary drives when installing W10 or 11 will save you many hours of hair pulling and sanity questioning....

Shrek · Aug 9, 2022

Just to be clear; I did install on each drive separately (with the other drive disconnected)

Keullo-e · Aug 9, 2022

Bill_Bright said:
^^^This^^^ I don't necessarily disconnect "all" other drives, but if other drives are bootable - regardless the OS, I make sure they are disconnected.

Well, in my case, it's a 1min operation, I'll just open the right side panel, unplug all but the system SSD and turn off the external HDD. And as I practically use the same time for cable management as I use building the (air-cooled) system, so there isn't a Cable Octopus's ambush waiting. :laugh:

mclaren85 said:
That is because some programs are being required to have regedit entries to launch. (The entries are created while the program is being installed) Also, some other softwares are need to have Visual c++ runtime packages which you can find as a bundle on techpowerup frontpage
And please don't forget to rename the old HDD as "C" again.

That's so damn handy, I hate when I'll install Windows offline, then some software starts whining about those as it can't connect to the Internet. I'll always install the basic stuff before plugging the RJ45 cable/connecting to my WLAN.

SomeOne99h · Aug 9, 2022

I simply go to BIOS and disable the one that I don't want an OS installer to mess around or me mistakenly do something wrong. I just did it few days ago, trying to install Nobara Project (A modified Feodra Linux for general OS usage and gaming) on my WDC Black 930 GiB WD1003FZEX HDD while the SATA port of my Samsun 860 EVO 1 TB is disabled which holds Windows 10.

80-watt Hamster · Aug 9, 2022

Shrek said:
I seem to recall doing stuff like this on a Mac without any issues.

That's in part because Mac doesn't have the registry or use lettered drives. MacOS has run on Unix-like filesystem as of OSX, so everything's all in the same tree; none of this DOS-legacy A:, B:, C: crud. You boot an operating system, all it cares about is that it sees the files it needs in the right places; it's (mostly) a matter of mounting the relevant drives at the right point in the file tree.

chrcoluk · Aug 9, 2022

Dr. Dro said:
For some reason unknown to me, Windows attempts to install the bootloader on the drive that has the largest amount of space to spare, and this is not necessarily the system partition. You can avoid this problem by using shift+F10 during the initial setup stage to invoke the command prompt, running diskpart and bringing other disks offline for the initial stage of setup, for example:

Code:

diskpart list disk select disk 1 offline disk exit

and then proceeding with setup normally. Good luck!

Nice tip, I was going to mention its advised to use the installer only with the intended target disk connected, but your method is far more conveniant no need to disconnect drives physically.

agent_x007 · Aug 9, 2022

Shrek said:
Just to be clear; I did install on each drive separately (with the other drive disconnected)

If you really did this^ (ie. SATA/Power disconnected), and Windows after installation on SSD still booted from Hard drive instead of SSD (after you placed SSD as first order on boot), then BIOS booting just failed to do it's job (for some reason).
I'm guessing those are all SATA drives and AHCI mode is enabled in BIOS ?

Are they on the same controller ?
Or maybe you didn't connected it to the same SATA port (which will cause boot order issues, always check it after connecting OS drive in such way) ?

bug · Aug 9, 2022

SomeOne99h said:
I simply go to BIOS and disable the one that I don't want an OS installer to mess around or me mistakenly do something wrong. I just did it few days ago, trying to install Nobara Project (A modified Feodra Linux for general OS usage and gaming) on my WDC Black 930 GiB WD1003FZEX HDD while the SATA port of my Samsun 860 EVO 1 TB is disabled which holds Windows 10.

That's smart, but if you have several drives from the same manufacturer, it's sometimes hard to tell them apart from their short description in BIOS.

Keullo-e · Aug 9, 2022

Personally I'd just do this the easiest way instead of scratching your head for ages. Backup everything important from that HDD and just delete all the partitions from it. Games have cloud saves etc., just download them again.

Shrek · Aug 9, 2022

My plan was to keep the original hard drive untouched so I could reverse the process without effort if I so wished.

I also have a software license that I lose if I reformat the drive.

lexluthermiester · Aug 10, 2022

Lenne said:
Just my 2 cents; I always disconnect every other than the destination drive when I'm installing windows, just to make sure that things like that doesn't happen.

Seems I missed this post and HELL YES! This is absolutely the correct action to take while installing an OS(Windows or otherwise).

Lenne said:
Games have cloud saves etc., just download them again.

Not everyone uses those. However...

Lenne said:
Backup everything important from that HDD and just delete all the partitions from it.

... when one does this properly, cloud saves are not needed.

bug · Aug 10, 2022

lexluthermiester said:
Seems I missed this post and HELL YES! This is absolutely the correct action to take while installing an OS(Windows or otherwise).

Linux has no problem with other boot loaders. But that is precisely why I disconnect my Windows drive anyway: GRUB will correctly detect Windows and add it to the boot options, however, if I have just told the system I want to boot from the Linux drive, I really do not want to boot Windows. So I still prefer each drive booting its own OS.

lexluthermiester · Aug 10, 2022

bug said:
Linux has no problem with other boot loaders.

Not always true. I've seen Linux and BSD installers cause problems as well. However, they do generally cause fewer problems. It's best to disconnect/disable all but the drive being installed to.

bug · Aug 10, 2022

lexluthermiester said:
Not always true. I've seen Linux and BSD installers cause problems as well. However, they do generally cause fewer problems. It's best to disconnect/disable all but the drive being installed to.

Yeah, I meant it has the capability to respect other boot loaders. As with any functionality, it can, of course, be bugged.

Keullo-e · Aug 10, 2022

lexluthermiester said:
Seems I missed this post and HELL YES! This is absolutely the correct action to take while installing an OS(Windows or otherwise).

No everyone uses those. However...

... when one does this properly, cloud saves are not needed.

Well, I have to admit that cloud saves aren't always a 100% sure thing. I'm still looking at you, Final Fantasy V... (had everything on max level etc. but my save just disappeared one day).

lexluthermiester · Aug 10, 2022

Lenne said:
I'm still looking at you, Final Fantasy V... (had everything on max level etc. but my save just disappeared one day).

That sucks.

Keullo-e · Aug 10, 2022

lexluthermiester said:
That sucks.

Well, at least I got most of the achievements. Need to get back to that point though, as there are two superbosses left which I didn't beat.

pryinglynx.digital · Aug 11, 2022

MarsM4N said:
You want to open the desktop from a OS you didn't start from? I don't think that's even possible (password protection & windows file ownership rules).
Same applies to files in the personal documents folder.

Windows security isn't remotely that good for localized data. When it's on the drive, and exists in file structure you can access it from any external boot, including other windows OS volumes (even in VMs).
Same thing with windows logins, defeated in literally seconds for local accounts. Your biometric scans, pins, or passwords don't matter. If someone has access to your machine physically, or even your SAM file remotely.

People were shocked and amazed I could blow away passwords on ext-4/ntfs volumes/accounts, it was like they'd been lied to lol.

xtreemchaos · Aug 11, 2022

Lenne said:
had everything on max level etc

thats a nightmare, i feel for you. steam lost about 300hr of skyrim vr last year of my play i was gutted but started a new playthrough and soon forgot about it well sorta its still in the back of my mind.

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I did something very stupid with Windows

xtreemchaos

lexluthermiester

mclaren85

Shrek

lexluthermiester

Bill_Bright

bonehead123

Shrek

Keullo-e

S.T.A.R.S.

SomeOne99h

80-watt Hamster

chrcoluk

agent_x007

bug

Keullo-e

S.T.A.R.S.

Shrek

lexluthermiester

bug

lexluthermiester

bug

Keullo-e

S.T.A.R.S.

lexluthermiester

Keullo-e

S.T.A.R.S.

pryinglynx.digital

New Member

xtreemchaos

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