[mhanabata]

PLEASE SUPPLY RELEVANT INFORMATION:
Operating System Version:Windows xp Dell Dimension 8200
Problem Application Name & Version:n/a
Problem Hardware Make & Model:250 MB Iomega Zip built in drive and Maxtor 6LO80L4
Error Messages:none


I reinstalled windows xp.Everything worked fine.I encountered difficulties in installing one new program.When I called technical support I was advised to right click on my computer to look at various drives.I saw that my zip drive was C and my hard drive was E(both work fine)Should I be concerned about it?Can this result in any future problems?Any suggestions what I should do will be appreciated

[Admin]

Hi,

Does the system boot up from the ZIP drive? If so, and you remove the ZIP disk, does the system boot up. If not, then your system is dependent of that zip disk which is not good!

Can you post the contents of c:\boot.ini in your next reply?
Is this file on the ZIP disk?

[mhanabata]

Thank you for your answer. When I typed E:\boot.ini a screen came with the following information:boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect
 
When I typed C:\boot.ini the messsage appeared  "please insert disk into drive C"
So far everything seems to be working well but I received contradictory advice from 2 different Dell technicians. One told me that this switch of names has no undesirable consequences and the second one stated that I should format the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP

[Admin]

Hi,

Well you're booting off the C: drive which is your ZIP drive.

Did you try removing your ZIP disk and rebooting, does it fail? If so, you will need to fix unless you're comfortable depending on this ZIP disk as a boot drive! If the ZIP disk goes bad or is overwritten you will not be able to boot Windows anymore, not a good thing. If Windows doesn't boot up without the ZIP disk, I would disconnect the ZIP drive, re-install Windows so that it is the C: drive and then configure the ZIP drive later as the next available drive letter.

[mhanabata]

I can reboot my computer without having a disk inserted in my zip drive.Could I therefore assume that nothing has to be done other than remembering that my hard drive is now "E" rather than "C" and my zip drive is "C" rather than "E"?

[Admin]

Hi,

As long as the WinXP drive (E:) remains the E: drive you will be fine. My only concern is that if down the road a new drive is added or the ZIP drive is removed, and the drive letters change, you will not be able to boot up Windows. If this is a new installation, then maybe it is worth the time to set it right. I would disconnect the ZIP drive, re-install Windows so that it is the C: drive and then configure the ZIP drive later as the next available drive letter.

But its your call! If you're comfortable with keeping it that way, then you should be fine unless the drive letter are changed as mentioned above.

[mhanabata]

Thank you very much for your suggestions

[Admin]

Glad to help!