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"Windows cannot format the system partition on this drive"
  1. #1



    Newbie
    Join Date : Jun 2008
    Posts : 1
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Local Time: 08:02 AM

    "Windows cannot format the system partition on this drive"

    Can anyone help?

    I have reinstalled Vista today. I have 2 drives and installed Vista on C.

    I want to format D but get the message "Windows cannot format the system partition on this drive".

    Why is the System partition installed on D? Can I move it to C so I can format D?

    I don't really know what all this means - I understand from a quick google search that System & Boot partitions can be on separate drives and this is determined by BIOS.

    In "Disk Management", D is listed as Disk 0 and C is listed as Disk 1 - could that have something to do with it?

    It's not the end of the world if I can't format D but I would like to and I don't like not understanding what is going on!



    I'd be very grateful if someone could help. I don't mind reinstalling if I have to and I could swap the cables on the hard drives if necessary.

    Thanks

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

  2. #2



    Newbie
    Join Date : Jul 2008
    Posts : 1
    vista ultimate
    Local Time: 02:02 AM


     

    Re: "Windows cannot format the system partition on this drive"

    The answer is simple, in "Disk Management" right click on the C drive (the one you want as the system or "active") and set it to the active drive. That should solve the problem.

      My System SpecsSystem Spec

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