How to Change a Boot Drive

Microsoft Windows Vista/XP allows you to easily change the boot drive using the System Configuration Utility. The System Configuration Utility holds the settings of your computer that are used by the operating system during startup. This includes: the default disk partition from which to boot, the device drivers to load, and the startup programs and services to load.

Instructions

Change the Boot Drive on Windows Vista

1. Click on "Start," type "msconfig" in the search box, then press "Enter."

2. Click on the "Boot" tab of the System Configuration dialog box.

3. Click to select the partition that you want to make bootable from the displayed list, then click on the "Set as default" button.

4. Click on the "Apply" button then click on "OK."

Change the Boot Drive on Windows XP

1. Click on "Start," then click on "Run."

2. Type "msconfig" in the Run dialog box, then click on "OK."

3. Click on the "BOOT.INI" tab of the System Configuration Utility dialog box that opens.

4. Click to select the partition that you want to make bootable from the displayed list, then click on the "Set as Default" button.

5. Click on the "Apply" button then click on "OK."

References

• "Microsoft Windows Vista Inside Out"; Ed Bott, Carl Siechert, and Craig Stinson; 2007

Resources

• Microsoft: Use System Configuration utility to fix configuration errors in Vista