Solve System Reserved Partition on Wrong Drive: Everything You Should Know
System Reserved partition on the wrong drive occurs when the system partition and the system reserved partition are not on the same disk. Why would the system reserved a partition on the wrong drive? In this article, we will explain this error in detail and give a solution to the problem. Before we start, let's understand what a system-reserved partition is.
What Is a System Reserved Partition
The reserved system partition stores boot files. A Microsoft system reserved partition is created when the Legacy BIOS and MBR partitioning scheme are used; an EFI system partition is formed when the UEFI BIOS and GPT partitioning scheme are used.
These two are reserved system partitions because they both have the boot files needed to load Windows. The absence of this partition prevents your computer from starting.
Summarizing, there are two parts:
- Boot Manager and Boot Configuration Data
- The startup files used for BitLocker Drive Encryption
Why Is the System Reserved Partition on the Wrong Drive
When Windows is installed on a blank disc, it creates a unique partition called the System Reserved partition. The Boot Configuration Database, Boot Manager Code, Windows Recovery Environment, and startup items that BitLocker requires are all stored on the System Reserved drive.
The System Reserved partition does not have a drive letter. Thus you can only see it via Disk Management or another similar program. The system partition and the system reserved partition in a computer share the same disk (usually the C: drive).
However, some users discover that after installing the system, the system partition and the reserved system partition are on different disks. The installation process accidentally creates this when the PC has several hard drives. So how do you handle a Windows System Reserved partition on the incorrect drive? Read on to find out.
How to Fix System Reserved Partition on Wrong Drive
You can always move the System Reserved partition to another drive. Given below are different methods on how to do so.
Fix 1. Move System Reserved Partition via Qiling Disk Master
Fix 2. Move System Reserved Partition via Disk Management
Fix 1. Move System Reserved Partition via Qiling Disk Master
Qiling Disk Master is a professional disk management software that can perform all types of operations possible with disks. It can create, replicate, clone, delete, and move partitions.
You can use the partition management program Qiling Disk Master to move the System Reserved partition to the same disk as the system drive. With the Clone feature of this software, you can quickly move the system reserved partition to another drive.
Download it and follow the steps below to use it1
Step 1. Select "Clone" from the left menu. Click "Clone Partition" and "Next".
Step 2. Select the source partition and click "Next".
Step 3. Choose your the target partition and click "Next "to continue.
- If you clone partition to the existing partition, you should transfer or back up data before cloning to prevent it being overwritten.
- Check warning message and confirm "Yes".
Step 4. Click Start and wait for the clone to complete.
Fix 2. Move System Reserved Partition via Disk Management
It is also possible to copy the system's reserved partition to the system drive to replace the old partition. However, you will need to do everything manually, which comes with risks. So it's best to take precautionary measures in case something goes wrong.
Please create a system repair disk first to avoid operation failures because the system-reserved partition via Disk Management contains files for the system's booting. Also, ensure you have a backup of all the essential data on the PC. You can quickly move the cloud and restore them.
Step 1. Open Disk Management:
Press the Windows key + R to open Run and type diskmgmt.msc into the Open box, and press OK to open the Disk Management window.
Step 2. Create New Simple Volume:
Next, locate the disk on which you want to place the System Reserved partition. Look for a block Unallocated and right-click on it, and select the New Simple Volume option.
Note: If there isn't any free space, you can create some by deleting or decreasing the size of an existing partition by right-clicking on the drive you want to shrink and choosing the Shrink volume option.
On the new window, type the value in the box for the option—Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB and press Shrink.
Step 3. Open New Simple Volume Wizard:
After clicking on New Simple Volume will open the window New Simple Volume Wizard. Click the Next button.
Step 4. Assign Drive Letter
Click the "Next" button once more and choose and assign a new drive letter by clicking on the drop-down menu. Click the "Next" button again and then click the "Finish" button to create a New Volume.
Step 5. Transfer the files to Boot
Transfer all data from the previous System Reserved partition to the brand-new partition. Boot folder, bootmgr, and BOOTSECT.BAK should all be present. Make the new System Reserved partition bootable after removing the drive letter.
Step 6. On disc 1, delete the drive letter from the system-reserved partition. Assign the newly created partition as System Reserved.
Step 7. Delete your new System Reserved partition's drive letter and mark it active.
Step 8. Restart the PC
Restart Your System: Next, check whether your computer can boot up by restarting it. You can safely delete the old System Reserved partition if it boots appropriately; if not, you can run Startup Repair using the Windows system repair disk you have prepared.
Conclusion
With the two techniques described in this article, you can transfer the System Reserved partition to the drive you desire if you discover it is on the incorrect drive. You can resolve the problem by copying the system-reserved partition on the system drive and erasing the original partition.
Remember to create a system repair disk first to avoid operation failures or as the reserved partition contains files for the system's booting. Even though having the System Reserved Partition on the wrong drive is a typical problem, we advise against deleting the initially reserved partition because doing so might lead to further confusion.
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Leave your thoughts in the comments section and share the article with your friends if you found it helpful!
FAQ of System Reserved Partition on Wrong Drive
If you have further questions about System Reserved Partition on Wrong Drive, check out the frequently asked questions and their answers given below:
1. Can you move the system-reserved partition to another drive?
Yes, you can. With Backup and Restore, you can move the system-reserved partition to another disk. To relocate the system-reserved partition to a separate drive, use System Backup and System Restore.
2. Why is the system reserved on a different drive?
If the system-reserved partition is missing, your computer will not boot because it includes boot files that are necessary to launch Windows. Thus, you must relocate the system-reserved partition to another disk to avoid this situation.
3. How do I move the system-reserved partition to a different partition?
You may quickly copy and move the system-reserved partition to another drive or disk with Qiling Disk Master Free.
Step 1. Copy files from another place, or even delete them.
Step 2. Launch Qiling Disk Master.
Step 3. Click "Clone Partition" and copy larger HDDs to smaller SSDs, clone SD cards, copy hard drives, etc.
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