Which volume?
Which volume?
Hey everyone, yesterday I performed a fresh setup of Windows 10 on an SSD in my system, and I’ll call it the 'SSD install' going forward. Everything worked smoothly, drivers loaded properly while it was running, except for a minor issue. My original Windows installation remains on the WD Green HDD, which I’ll refer to as the 'HDD install'. When starting up, a light blue screen appears with an option to choose which volume to boot from—listing 'Volume 1' as SSD install and 'Volume 3' as HDD install. Through some testing, I realized that 'Volume 1' actually points to the SSD installation, while 'Volume 3' points to the HDD. I dug deeper into the BIOS settings and noticed only one drive appears in the boot order. There’s no way to change the boot order; I have to pick between 'P2 - WD HDD' or 'P1 - Kingston SSD'. The system keeps saying I’m booting from the HDD, even though the speed data contradicts that. I don’t want to disconnect the HDD since it holds 1TB of valuable data, and I prefer keeping my old Windows setup as a backup. How can I skip this selection screen? Thanks, Rhys
The bootloader handled the process. When configuring the new Windows on the SSD, the setup identified the previous installation. At startup, both options were available. There are methods to adjust this. However, during my last Windows 10 setup, Windows 10 reacted negatively. The solution was disconnecting the old drive before installing the new one. Once the installation completed successfully, you could reconnect it.
Would you like me to format your SSD and perform a clean installation this time, leaving the HDD disconnected? - It doesn’t matter how much time or effort it takes; I have all evening after work to focus on getting it right. I just want everything to function smoothly. Could you also assist with another issue?... - When trying to reach my old user profile on the HDD after installing the new SSD, it’s locked because I’m not an administrator. I click the continue button in the prompt, but nothing happens—no progress.
I believe the fast startup times were due to the SSD installation, making the drive boot significantly quicker than with the old HDD over the past three years.
If you don’t want that behavior, you should start fresh. For retrieving the old user profile, it uses a completely different SID. The administrator from the previous system isn’t the one managing the new one. If the “do it as admin” option fails, you must take control of the folder in advanced security settings.
Select the folder you wish to access, go to its properties, click the security tab, use the advanced button at the bottom right, select the owner, click change, choose the user currently logged in, confirm with OK, then place the hook at the bottom and click OK. Later, you can add your user to the full access list again. Recursively repeat the steps. If everything appears except hidden folders and files, ensure they are not deactivated in the settings.
Yes, it would generally be fine. Using the same Microsoft account for both installations lets you activate Windows quickly without changing credentials. Just ensure the accounts are linked properly and have the necessary permissions.