ntldr on non-windows HD. Can I delete it?

H

hypnoticstate

Member
There's a file on my D drive called ntldr. I understand that this is a vital part of windows, however this file is on a hard drive which windows ISN'T installed on now. Windows XP used to be on this drive about 2 years ago but when i got a new hard drive back then, i installed windows on that (C) new hard drive (and have since installed Vista on) and removed it from the one which is now D drive.

Since this is not the HD which houses my OS, can i delete ntldr?

UPDATE: and ntdetect.com as well.
 
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Well no responses but i tried it and the answer (i don't know why) is no.

So, i'm going to hold out until October when i get windows 7, removed the old hard drives and do a clean install with only a new C drive connected.

That should make sure i don't have this problem again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.00Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI P7N SLI Platinum (Nvidia Nforce 750i - Intel)
    Memory
    4GB (4x1GB -800Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvida Geforce 250 GTS 1GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
What happens is that when Windows is first installed, it selects the drive to install the boot stuff on (the stuff that has to load before Windows). Then it installs Windows (usually on the same drive, but it doesn't have to be).

Then, when you install an OS on another drive, Windows quite happily decides that it's OK to continue to start the boot from the original drive - then it transfers control to the new installation (on the new drive) to start Windows.

This is particularly vexing when mixing IDE and SATA hard drives. Windows seems to have a preference for booting from IDE drives - even if the SATA are faster. My solution was the same as yours - disconnect the old drive before installing the OS on the new drive.
 

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You can also try to disconnect the D drive and see if your OS boots up. I think it won't.
 

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CyberZeus said:
You can also try to disconnect the D drive and see if your OS boots up. I think it won't.
Click to expand...
It doesn't. I'll just have to wait until october for windows 7
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.00Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI P7N SLI Platinum (Nvidia Nforce 750i - Intel)
    Memory
    4GB (4x1GB -800Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvida Geforce 250 GTS 1GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
usasma said:
What happens is that when Windows is first installed, it selects the drive to install the boot stuff on (the stuff that has to load before Windows). Then it installs Windows (usually on the same drive, but it doesn't have to be).

Then, when you install an OS on another drive, Windows quite happily decides that it's OK to continue to start the boot from the original drive - then it transfers control to the new installation (on the new drive) to start Windows.

This is particularly vexing when mixing IDE and SATA hard drives. Windows seems to have a preference for booting from IDE drives - even if the SATA are faster. My solution was the same as yours - disconnect the old drive before installing the OS on the new drive.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed info. clears a lot up for me. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 3.00Ghz
    Motherboard
    MSI P7N SLI Platinum (Nvidia Nforce 750i - Intel)
    Memory
    4GB (4x1GB -800Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvida Geforce 250 GTS 1GB
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
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