Boot conflict while HDD change

[AtheFU]

Hello!

I've a small issue while i've been trying to replace one of three HDDs in my Win7 PC. The HDD which I want to replace is empty and not a the C drive. But it was plugged in during the Windows installation, so I guess there are some kinds of bootfile on it (but I can't find the default 100MB partition on it, just a few system folders).

I get "reboot and select proper boot device, ..." as far as I unplug the hard drive. I checked the BIOS and this hard drive is not listed in any boot relevant menu.

Can you tell me if the problem can be solved by cloning the HDD with an Acronis Tool, or will it still exist after the replacement
I also heard that unplugging the D and E drive, and start from the Win CD could be an option, if I use the repairing tools, but i can't comprehend that.

Thanks!

 

[usasma]

Sorry for the delay in responding to this.
An Acronis clone won't fix anything - it just copies what's there

You can try repairing the boot stuff using Startup Repair, or you can try a repair install (each without the hard drive being connected).
Or you can just reinstall Windows (without the drive installed) and it'll work that way.

 

[AtheFU]

An Acronis clone won't fix anything - it just copies what's there

Why? If there are bootfiles on the drive which i want to replace, Acronis should clone these Files too, or not?

You can try repairing the boot stuff using Startup Repair, or you can try a repair install (each without the hard drive being connected).
Or you can just reinstall Windows (without the drive installed) and it'll work that way.

I don't want to get use of the last option, you say there is a possibility with the repair tools from the Windows CD while other drives are disconnected?

[EDIT]: Just for the record, the system is still running, as long as I stay away from any hard drive changes.

 

[usasma]

It appears that I misunderstood. My replies were based on the assumption that you were going to remove the hard drive and not replace it.

There are boot files on the hard drive that you're trying to replace.
If you replace it with a cloned copy, that should work.
If you remove the drive and don't replace it - it won't work.

The Startup Repair thing was also if you removed the drive and didn't replace it.

 

[AtheFU]

Okay, thanks!

It worked so far with the data drive in the first PC.

I have an other one where a have to clone the system drive but I don't think there wont be any problems, if you agree with that you can mark this thread as solved. I will post something if there are any issues.

 

[usasma]

Just FYI - I had this issue years ago on an XP machine with an IDE drive and a SATA drive.
During setup I told the system I wanted to boot from the SATA (it was a 10,000 rpm Raptor).

After setting up the machine I discovered that the boot started on the IDE drive and then turned over things to the SATA. It appeared that Windows preferred it's boot files to be on the IDE drive!
The only way I could fix this (back then) was to remove the IDE drive and install with only the SATA drive connected. Afterwards I was able to connect the IDE drive without issues.