Installed Windows on a new M.2 while current Windows M.2 was connected. Now it's a mess.

Hi Crimson. I'm Greg, awarded MVP for eleven years, Volunteer Moderator, and Independent Advisor here to help you until this is resolved.

If you want to complain to Microsoft use the Feedback Hub app in Start Menu where developers are tasked to process consumer feedback. But Microsoft will not even see it here because this is a tech forums where we are mostly volunteers trying to help solve your problems.

If you leave another Windows drive plugged in when installing Windows it thinks you want to create a Dual or Multi Boot and will merely update the Boot files on the oldest drive. This is the way it has always been, no matter what the operating system. I warn about it in my Clean Install tutorial here that has been used by millions without problems: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

If you want me to try to help you sort it out then please post a screenshot of Disk Management, which I read like a doctor reads X-rays. Follow the steps here so I can see everything needed to advise you: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/foru...

Most likely you'll need to build a System Reserved partition on the new drive if you don't want to reinstall properly with the other drives unplugged. That's never easy and depends upon whether you have the modern UEFI BIOS or Legacy BIOS.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post resolved your problem, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

Thank you for at least offering the help. I was not aware they don't even look at this and I do not direct any of my anger towards any volunteers on here that help. Definitely not your fault for their laziness. 

I've been trying what I can to at least get the PC to run by installing a new copy of windows on another working drive. Thankfully I have quite a few to work with right now. Originally I had a full back up of the original install that would have let me get all my files and export settings. But in this whole process when I tried to format the drive I thought was old it actually had me format the one I had the backup on. Seems sometimes it lists the drives from 0-6 other times it lists them 1-7.

I'll list the drives below. But if there's anyway to even just take the data from the old windows and make it work with a new install even if it means I still have to do some work to reinstall stuff that's fine. I just don't want to lose anything from it.

Below is the drives I have. 

Disk 0 - 2 TB SSD - Backup of the install missing the boot and recovery partitions.

Disk 1 - 1 TB SSD - New install of windows that has nothing. Just there to be able to use the PC.

Disk 2 - Ignore, storage for games.

Disk 3 - Ignore, more storage.

Disk 4 - Empty 500 GB M.2

Disk 5 - Empty 1 TB M.2

Disk 6 - 1 TB M.2 - Windows drive that's missing the boot and recovery partitions. Just the data with nothing else.

Also, if I need to unplug drives I can. The only ones I was trying not to have to unplug was the 2x 1 TB M.2 drives as they're screwed into the mother board. All other drives can be gotten to easily as I have an Evolv X PC Tower and it has hinged glass doors on both sides.

Hi again -

Did you actually install to Disk 6 so that you get a Dual Boot menu and can choose to start into it successfully?

If not and that's your target drive for WIndows install I would power down and pull the data cables on all other drives, do a Clean Install to Disk 6 following the gold standard Clean Install in this link which compiles the best possible Install of Windows which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

You could also clone the old install over to the new driver using the best free software Macrium Reflect explained here:
http://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/29/the-best-way-t...
http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/C...

After cloning unplug the old Windows to see if the clone will start. If not use the Macrium boot stick it will create for you to correct the boot as shown here:
https://kb.macrium.com/KnowledgebaseArticle5016...
https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/...

Hope having all options helps.

So originally I had Windows on Disk 5. I was having a nightmare of issues with blue screens and chose to completely reinstall from scratch on a brand new drive. At that time both drives were working and I spent a few days moving everything from one install to the other. Once it was working I wanted to remove the old install (which was backed up until the formatting issue happened) so the drive would be clean. After using the command prompt to wipe the drive using a Windows USB at boot, it then started all my issues. I no longer had a working install of Windows. 

So basically, Disk 5 had the boot files and Disk 6 had the data files. Now I have only Disk 6 with data files and then I just installed Windows again on Disk 1 so I could at least use the PC.

I actually already use Macrium. I used it to back up Disk 6 to Disk 0 before I started messing with things just incase something else went wrong.

So the goal is to have full working Windows on Disk 6 without deleting all the files.

I have a back up so willing to try things. I can remove everything except for Disk 6 and Disk 5 (which is blank and I did not give a letter to so it won't register). So I can try running a Windows install, but won't that need the drive cleaned off and I lose everything on it?

I also don't think that the free version of that software has the ability to Fix Windows Boot Problems. Seems that's only in the paid version. So not sure how to proceed with this.

Yeah, you'd need to move your data off of Disk 6 to reinstall to it but it should be backed up to another drive (you have plenty) anyway. But I understand if you'd prefer not to have to set up the install again. Didn't you see the Dual Boot Menu which would have clued you to the other drive being involved? If not that would be unusual.

Also when you installed to Disk1 later, Disk6 should have been detected to have Windows on it and created a Dual Boot menu again. Did any of this happen?

Since you like to try things, if you are sure that Disk6 had a Windows install upon it, you can try using a bootable partition manager like Easeus or Partition Wizard to shrink F partition from the left by 300mb to create an EFI System partition on it from scratch as shown here:
https://www.prime-expert.com/articles/a20/rebui...
http://woshub.com/how-to-repair-deleted-efi-par...

Another thing you can do is shrink F from the left by around 20gb, boot into the Windows media with all other drives unplugged (except the M2) and choose that space to install a WIndows rescue install upon. It will create a Dual Boot menu with the install on F (which should be C when booted into) and if it will start then it is fixed, you only need to use your partition manager to delete the rescue install partition and resize C over it.

So you have two options to try, one complicated and the other easier. If F is still a viable Windows install then one of those should work to restore it's System partition so it's independently bootable.

Ok, you're going to have to dumb it down just a bit more for me. I'm good with computer stuff and know my way around more than any average user, but not fully following everything.

I did not see anything about a Dual Boot Menu. It ran the install just like normal (done quite a few Windows installs) and nothing pointed to it being like that. I only realized what was going on when I formatted the drive and then realized that it was pulling the boot data from the original drive.

When I booted up Disk 6 didn't even show up as an option to boot. Nothing happened, just went to BIOS and it didn't show up for me in the drive list either. So basically if you compare the contents of Disk 6 to Disk 1... I'm missing the two partitions, but the files are actually identical. Even has a boot folder in the files along with Program Files and all that.

So I guess I should try shrinking F first and then see if I can get Windows Rescue to work? 

Not sure what to all do on that second bit so probably start with that.

Not sure if this helps... but the left is a fresh install of Windows on the C drive. The right side is the files inside Disk 6 (F). The only file missing is the ESD which I'm going to guess is important?

That's strange that you didn't get a Dual Boot menu, because if you install Windows with any other Windows install anywhere on the system it will scan and find it and add it to a Boot menu while only editing the boot files on the first installed Windows drive.

What exactly told you that you had a new install of Windows on Disk6? I'm assuming you know you had a new install since you then set it up and all. But could it have been the install that still exists on Disk 1?

Did you browse into Disk 6 and find the WIndows directory intact? Are there files there that tell you for sure that it was the install you set up before you deleted the old Boot partition?

If so you should be able to start it now by 1) installing EasyBCD to the present Windows install from https://www.techspot.com/downloads/3112-easybcd...  

2) Choose Add New Entry from menu on left,

3) Insert F Drive letter in Drive dropdown, in Name box give it a name you'll recognize on the menu. 

4) Click the green +Add Entry to add F to boot menu, restart PC to Dual Boot menu to see if it starts.

Tutorial for EasyBCD:  http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/EasyBCD+B...

I had a new install of windows on 6 because I loaded up a flash drive with Windows Installer on it. Then I ran the install on Disk 6. It completed and was a fresh install. I then proceeded to update everything and reinstall everything. Then moved all my files over.

The second install that was active when I had Disk 6 working was Disk 5. Disk 5 was the original installation of Windows when I first built the computer. I only did a fresh install in hopes of fixing the blue screens which was due to Norton not Windows it seems.

Disk 1 is a brand new install I just did a little bit ago since I couldn't get the computer to boot at all. I only did that so I could us the computer to work on fixing it. Please ignore that there is an install on Disk 1 as it has nothing to do with Disk 6.

So Disk 6 as it sets right now has files on it but does not seem to have any way to boot. It does not get recognized by the BIOS or by the Windows repair features so it does nothing when I try to fix it other than say it can't be fixed.

I'm getting extremely confused trying to follow all the links you keep sending. You're really not being very clear in a way I can follow to know what it is I need to be doing to fix this. I don't think you're fully following me either.

So just a recap. Disk 6 had all my files to run Windows on it but was using the original install of Windows on Disk 5 (now formatted) to be able to boot and operate. I made a brand new install of Windows with a flash drive installer just a little bit ago on Disk 1 in order to be able to use the PC and access files.