Drive Mapping Problem After Hard Drive Replacement

[rwjs]

I had a local shop replace my hard drive after it failed.

I installed XP and noticed that it was installing on "I:"

I ignored this and continued the build and installed all other S/W.

My PC runs OK but some S/W doesn't run properly and I have trouble installing some Apps. like Adobe Flash.

The repair shop says I have to reinstall XP and to unplug the multimedia card reader and any usb memory sticks before I start the install. They say this will cause the PC to re-map my hard drive as "C:" and the install will go OK. I only have one hard drive, and I also have a CD/DVD drive and a multimedia card reader.

My questions are:
- Do I really have to reinstall XP and other S/W?
- Is there any way of mapping my "I:" drive to be a "C:" drive without a reinstall?
- If I do have to reinstall XP, what do I need to do to map the hard drive as "C:"

 

[huron]

You can rename the drive letter if you go to run: compmgmt.msc. This can cause some problems if that drive letter is a part of the path for any shortcuts/software, as I assume it is for anything you installed.

The worst you can do is try, have it not work, and then have to reinstall.

Good luck.

 

[Ijack]

I don't think you can change the letter of the boot/system drive, can you?

 

[michiganteddybear]

how much you wanna bet he has a card reader, usb connected installed in the system

pretty common problem for xp to assign wrong drive letter if thats there (even without cards in it) when you reload windows..

solution.. unplug the card reader, reformat again, plug card reader back in

edit: after opening my eyes and reading original, they claim card reader in it.. so yes, that is your problem, and the computer store is right. you cannot change the drive letter of the boot/system drive

 

[huron]

I do believe that you will need to reinstall. The worst you can do is try.

I was hoping for you, but if you re-assign the drive letter for the OS drive, it usually will cause all sorts of issues.