Hi... I've got a server built with a slightly strange disk partition layout. It is: Emergency Windows - C, Production Windows - E. Data - D In normal use the server will boot up the Production Windows located on Drive E. Is there a way if the Drive C partition was removed that I could configure the box to boot completely from the E partition?

Unless you are prepared to install from scratch removing c: will only result in a nonbooting system.

Is there any way of copying the required files over to E: to allow it to boot if C were removed?

Its not a matter of files. C:, the first partition contains the master boot record. No c: no boot anything. thousands of registry pointers point to e: but with no c: drive letters would change. There are a bunch of ways to change your setup. Question is why? Old saying, if it isn't broken don't fix it. but if you insist here are some ways of doing it 1. partition software. Merge e: and c: together [only if they are next to each other on the disk] and then do a repair install to fix the registry entries and get it booting properly. 2. clone software. Image e:. Then delete c: and e: [assuming they are next to each other on the disk] then restore the partition image. Then do a repair install. Now if the disk is setup c:, d: then e: you can not merge c and e. At this point your only choice would be to backup your data and redo the install from scratch to your perferred disk setup. If you just wanted to use the space on c: you can always do a junction point http://windowspeople.com/server-200...

I want to throw in another point of view... If the purpose is to minimise down-time in case of the E-drive (which is your main disk in this case) crashing then a set-up like yours would work. Like wanderer said, clone the E-drive to the C-drive and let it sit there. Then if E-drive should go down you can simply pull it and start the server up and you're up and running again. Problem is, you need to clone every time you make a change to the server to get the change over to the backup disk. However if the purpose is just to straighten things out then make sure the E-drive is an active partition that contains a boot sector, then you should be able to just pull the C-drive out of there. It won't change the drive letter from E to C though, and you wouldn't want to do that anyhow. What I would do is make a backup of the E-drive, format both C and E drive then install Windows fresh and retake system state from backup. You would then have one drive called C where your Windows is running from, and an unused disk you could put to better use.

These are all partitions on the same drive.

I think this problem is not so difficult. First backup the os and the important files; Boot to partition E and delete the OS on C; "Fixmbr" by win98 installation CD; If you cannot find this CD, you may use other sw, for example, easeus partition master, which is free. It can help you copy the partition or the hard drive, delete partition C, it will update the system information automatically. http://www.partition-tool.com/perso...