Changing Vista boot

My Vista disk for some reason keeps messing up when I try to install windows in a computer with a new hard drive. So since my laptop has 2 slots to put HDDs in, I would have my main HDD with Vista that came with my computer, then put in the disk while in windows and have it install to the other hard drive while windows is running. This seemed to be the only way windows would work. Well now when I restart my computer, I get both options of Vista I want to start up in and I can start up in the new vista fine while the other hard drive is in. But when I take out my old vista hdd, it says there is no OS found on the HDD. So I assume it is a boot issue. I then tried having the vista CD in and using the repair feature to repair the start up portion but it could not find any disks with Vista on them. But if I put both hard drives back in and try to run the repair feature, it shows both hardrives.

What I am trying to do is run the new vista harddrive on my other laptop. How can I change the boot some how to make it independent of the other drive. I remember in XP it was so easy to edit the boot menu, now in vista, they removed that edit button.

Why don't you just put the new drive in the laptop and install vista on it normally? Why are you using this complicated procedure with the other computer? Then you wouldn't have all these problems (and perhaps others as well when you go to move the hard drive and find the drivers are incorrect since they installed based on the original computer devices and not the final destination laptop's devices). I simply don't understand why you are using this convoluted procedure when all you need to do is put the new drive in the laptop you want it to be in at the end of it all and install vista on that laptop normally.

If you insist on trying it this way, I recommend you download EasyBCD Download EasyBCD 2.0.2 - NeoSmart Technologies and with that you may be able to resolve the boot problem (though I could be wrong and think that's likely) - which is essentially you have created a dual-boot computer with the boot files only on the primary boot drive. You need to amend things so it is no longer dual-boot and each drive boots separately. I'm not certain if EasyBCD can do this or not - it can fix boot files and remove the dual boot, but I don't know if it can add boot files to the other new drive where they don't exist and it wasn't installed to have them (but it's maybe worth a try if you insist on doing it this way as I can't think of any other way to change and/or add the boot files - and again, I'm not sure they can be added to the new drive that doesn't have anything installed to be modified).

If it can't make the new drive bootable, it may require a clean reinstallation of Vista on the new drive to add the boot information (without the old drive in the system and done from the disk as if it were the only drive - then it won't get confused and setup a dual-boot system and will setup the drive with all the proper boot files and such - but also the drivers for that computer so when you move it to the other laptop it may have problems because of that even if the boot issue is resolved - just something to consider as you do what it sounds like you are attempting here).

I hope this helps but that you will reconsider what you are doing and just put the new drive in the laptop where you eventually want it and install vista normally on that computer to avoid the boot and driver problems you are otherwise facing.

Good luck!