Help with changing active partition

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

  1. Posts : 1,524
    Win10 Pro
       #1

    Help with changing active partition


    Several months ago I upgraded my SSD to a new larger one (Disk 0) and kept the smaller one for storage (Disk 3). I did a clean install of Win 10 on the new SSD (Disk 0) that I had previously formatted. When I did the clean install, I neglected to delete the partition ending up without a MSR partition. When I installed the AU it created a Reserved Partition, all good. However, I noted that the old SSD (Disk 3) is still marked as active. I’m assuming that Disk 0 should be the active partition? Am I correct and if so what’s the best way to do this? Thanks for your help.
    Help with changing active partition-active.png
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #2

    Read this thread that was posted a few months back. It discusses your problem, and it may give you some idea's. :)
    2 active system disks. Systembackup requires 1,5TB-storage ? - Windows 10 Forums
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 164
    Pro x64 Desktop v1607 14393.51, Home x64 Laptop v1607 14393.51
       #3

    Hi sofine409,

    Let me just give you some food for thought until one of our experts steps in and give you a final "step by step" solution. Now, for the record, I have two drives with active partitions as well but one is an external drive. I also have a different partition structure as shown below:

    Help with changing active partition-screenshot-50-.png

    My C drive has an active partition (even though it is not shown as such) and my Z drive also has an active partition. I'm not sure how it got that way because I cleaned the drive using diskpart and then created a simple NTFS volume and there it was.

    Anyway, I would first disconnect that Disk #3 to make sure you can boot OK and then, if so, you might consider using Diskpart to mark the drive inactive; however, I'm not sure what that might do to any existing contents (if anything). FYI, I have no trouble using my external drive (marked as active) to save backup images or copy data to it so I'm leaving mine alone. It may be best to wait for a GURU but I just wanted to give you my uneducated opinion. Good luck!

    aardvark
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2,075
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    SoFine409 said:
    Several months ago I upgraded my SSD to a new larger one (Disk 0) and kept the smaller one for storage (Disk 3). I did a clean install of Win 10 on the new SSD (Disk 0) that I had previously formatted. When I did the clean install, I neglected to delete the partition ending up without a MSR partition. When I installed the AU it created a Reserved Partition, all good. However, I noted that the old SSD (Disk 3) is still marked as active. I’m assuming that Disk 0 should be the active partition? Am I correct and if so what’s the best way to do this? Thanks for your help.
    Help with changing active partition-active.png
    If you look carefully at your screen shot, Disk 0 does say active. Oddly, looking in my disk management window....mine does not say active. Mmmm. I wonder if UEFI has anything to do with it. Right clicking the drive; the option to mark drive as active is grayed out.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,524
    Win10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Hi aardvark and OldMike65, Thanks for your responses.
    I had a little trouble unplugging the original mSSD (Disk 3) to test if Disk 0 could boot on its own. After some searching and head scratching, I finally realized that the mSSD (Disk 3) was part of the original hybrid Seagate drive that Dell installed in the PC (XPS 8700). When I disconnected everything except Disk 0, I was able to boot up with no problems. That's a good thing. The other good thing is that I have absolutely nothing stored on the old mSSD (Disk 3) so it looks like using Diskpart should be OK. Here is what I plan to do, please tell me if it looks ok?
    Open a CMD window.
    DISKPART
    LIST DISK
    SELECT Disk 3 (the disk with 238 GB)
    LIST PARTITION
    SELECT Partition 1
    INACTIVE
    EXIT
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 145
    Windows 10 home 64x
       #6

    Delete / Format Disk 3 then take it out

    restart windows it should not be that hard
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #7

    SoFine409 said:
    Hi aardvark and OldMike65, Thanks for your responses.
    I had a little trouble unplugging the original mSSD (Disk 3) to test if Disk 0 could boot on its own. After some searching and head scratching, I finally realized that the mSSD (Disk 3) was part of the original hybrid Seagate drive that Dell installed in the PC (XPS 8700). When I disconnected everything except Disk 0, I was able to boot up with no problems. That's a good thing. The other good thing is that I have absolutely nothing stored on the old mSSD (Disk 3) so it looks like using Diskpart should be OK. Here is what I plan to do, please tell me if it looks ok?
    Open a CMD window.
    DISKPART
    LIST DISK
    SELECT Disk 3 (the disk with 238 GB)
    LIST PARTITION
    SELECT Partition 1
    INACTIVE
    EXIT
    Sounds like your doing everything correctly SoFine409. Try those commands you posted, then let us know what happened.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 1,524
    Win10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #8

    OldMike65 said:
    Sounds like your doing everything correctly SoFine409. Try those commands you posted, then let us know what happened.
    Done. All is well. Thanks aardvark and OldMike65, much appreciated.
    (Old)Bob!
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 164
    Pro x64 Desktop v1607 14393.51, Home x64 Laptop v1607 14393.51
       #9

    SoFine409 said:
    Done. All is well. Thanks aardvark and OldMike65, much appreciated.
    (Old)Bob!
    Perfect! Glad you got it sorted!

    aardvark
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #10

    SoFine409 said:
    Done. All is well. Thanks aardvark and OldMike65, much appreciated.
    (Old)Bob!
    Very good job, glad everything worked out for you...Bob. :)
      My Computers


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 00:54.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums