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Im trying to install Windows 7 to a harddrive. For some technical reasons, I CANNOT physically disconnect Drive 0 or set it to boot from Drive 1.

When I install Windows 7, and select Drive 1 as install target, it installs its 100MB system boot partition to Drive 0, which is the installation source - and "b0rks" that so I have to fix it later.

How can I bypass this behaviour and force the windows 7 installer to install both the boot partition and Windows 7 - to Drive 1?

NOTE: I CANNOT disable, remove or disconnect Drive 0. Its the installation source.

I need to set some configuration somewhere forcing Windows 7 setup to treat Drive 1 as the "primary boot drive". After sucessful install, I will remove the Drive 0 from system, so it now boot Drive 1.

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  • I can honestly say, i don't have a clue what you're talking about, i can confirm that windows does partition 100 MB of system reserved space when it installs
    – Outdated Computer Tech
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 19:28
  • Can you define what is drive 0 and what is drive 1? Are you trying to avoid having windows 7 installing the 100MB reserve space?
    – Outdated Computer Tech
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 19:29
  • User is booting from a disk 'Drive 0'. This disk contains the installation material. Windows Installer is writing its boot record to this drive which is causing issues.
    – Daniel Widrick
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 19:50
  • Sickest: No. The 100MB partition is written to the wrong drive. When you install Windows 7, it ask you where you want to install Windows 7. I select Drive 1. Then it stubbornly writes the 100MB system partition to Drive 0, and then inställs the rest of files on Drive 1. What I want to do, is to pretend Drive 0 does not exist at all as installation target, so BOTH the 100MB partition AND the W7 files are written to Drive 1.
    – sebastian nielsen
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:12
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    Have you tried swapping their SATA cables over? Setting the empty drive as the first option, then booting from the media drive?
    – Michael Frank
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:21

2 Answers 2

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As Long as you dont care for a super elegant solution...

  1. Install windows xp on the drive with another computer.
  2. Pop the drive into the problem computer and hope to boot XP (We used to do this all the time... as kids...)
  3. upgrade to Windows 7
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  • The problem is that the motherboard wont proceed to drive 0 after failed from booting the empty drive 1. So the installation medium (drive 0) has to be set as first in boot order. Basically, I have one SATA drive with Windows 7 installer on it, and one SATA where Windows 7 should be installed on. I select Drive 1 in setup screen, and Windows Setup stubbornly still writes the boot partition to Drive 0.
    – sebastian nielsen
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:07
  • If you can get it to install at all, you could use a linux live cd to recover the mbr to the correct disk: robert.penz.name/221/… . If it wont install at all, you may be out of luck..
    – Daniel Widrick
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:21
  • It does install correctly. But the boot partition is written to Disk 0, destroying the install medium, (so the install medium has to be copied from the W7 DVD again) and the Windows 7 files is written to Disk 1. I could use a Live CD to move the 100MB boot partition from Disk 0 to Disk 1, but then I would overwrite the beginning of the Windows 7 installation. So the best would be if I could get it right for the first time by changing some configuration or file in the install medium. Install medium is writable, and I have the possibility to mount the boot.Wim and install.Wim files.
    – sebastian nielsen
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:23
  • The above link should work for your purposes. While it may not be overly elegant... it should work.
    – Daniel Widrick
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:26
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    Manually partition Disk 1?
    – Daniel Widrick
    Commented Feb 25, 2014 at 20:27
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Use dism or imagex to install Windows 7. It is not difficult !

Then use bcdboot command to add loader for this installation to boot menu if Windows 7/8 is on first disk (you call it drive 0).

If you have Linux on first disk run grub-install to create dual-boot menu.

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