Can't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive


  1. Balajits
    Posts : 18
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Can't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive


    Hi friends. I am a new member. Thanks for accepting me into the Forum.
    Yesterday, my HP G61 laptop's HDD finally crashed. I was getting unmountable boot volume error about a year ago, which I fixed by clean installing Win 10. It was ok till yesterday, when the system stopped booting. Error 301 and 303. Disk tests were ok till 56% then stopped.
    What I did, I removed the HDD in my Samsung netbook NC110 (which I was using sparingly), and installed it in the HP G61 laptop. The netbook was running on Win 10 32 bit. The HP was on Win 10 64 bit.
    I wanted to upgrade the system to 64 bit version, hence created a bootable media usb from Microsoft website. After installing the HDD in the HP laptop, I booted the system using the USB. The entire process went through, or that's what I guess happened. The system started working, with a little bit of tweaking with the display resolution.
    But, the Windows version remains to be 1803, whereas the previous version had the latest, the 32 bit version also stays. And, the USB has become part of the system. If I remove the USB, the windows doesn't boot. There is no option to "Eject" the USB.
    Apart form this, the system seems to be working fine. I have very limited usage of the laptop, checking mails, and online shopping.
    How do I bring the system back to normal working condition, and install the 64 bit version?
    Can someone please help me out?Can't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive-disk-management.jpg
    Last edited by Balajits; 01 May 2021 at 10:44. Reason: For adding image
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  3. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #2

    Please post an image of disk management. Make sure to widen all the data columns so we can see all of the info there:
    How to Post a Screenshot of Disk Management
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  4. Balajits
    Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    NavyLCDR said:
    Please post an image of disk management. Make sure to widen all the data columns so we can see all of the info there:
    How to Post a Screenshot of Disk Management
    Thank you for responding to my issue sir. I sent you a personal message too. I am new to the Forum, and have limited knowledge how the forum works.
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  6. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #4

    My guess is that you did not actually boot from the USB flash drive. Just inserting the flash drive and booting the computer will not guarantee the computer will boot from it. You have to enter BIOS and either set the USB flash drive as the first boot device in the boot priority list or, better yet, there should be a function key (usually F8 or F12) that you press when you first turn the computer on to get into a boot override menu that lists bootable devices and then you can select the USB flash drive to boot from.

    Please see here for instructions on doing a clean install:
    Clean Install Windows 10

    EDIT: HP laptops looks like the Escape (ESC) key is the one you want.
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  7. Balajits
    Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    Thanks a ton for telling me to try a clean installation. Actually, that was what i was trying to do after I had swapped the HDD. I did change the BIOS settings. But I guess they were ambiguous to me. I had selected "USB Diskette on key/USB hard drive" option as the first boot. The USB that I had created as installation media which changed to the boot media could have because of this selection . Pls see the screenshot. This time around, I used another USB, and selected "USB CD/DVD ROM drive" as the first boot. Everything worked fine and my laptop has got a renewed life. Thanks a lot. Much appreciated for your time. Thanks again. Regards. BalajiCan't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive-whatsapp-image-2021-05-01-23.18.11-1-.jpeg

    - - - Updated - - -

    Can't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive-post-clean-installation.jpg

    Can I claim the 16.22 GB OEM Partition, which is shown as healthy?
    This partition doesn't show up under This PC in File Explorer.
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  8. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #6

    Yes, you can delete the OEM partition if you want to.
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  9. Balajits
    Posts : 18
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #7

    Can't boot into main drive after installing Windows on another drive-oem-partition.jpg
    I tried deleting it. But not getting the option. When I right click on the partition, I only get the HELP option and nothing else.
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  10. AddRAM
    Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #8

    MiniTool Partition Wizard | Best partition magic alternative for Windows PC and Server
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