I recently installed Windows 7 on a second drive in my system leaving me with a dual boot of Windows 7 and Windows 7. The old installation that was slightly hosed was on the root drive labeled C: and the second installation was on the G: drive, a clean new 250 GB SSD. When I made some boot changes to make the G: the single root drive on the system by removing the old hosed drive the system ran beautifully. Then I ran into one or two problems. The only important problem is that my HP printer software installation fails with a “Fatal Error” (no error number specified). The message says “Invalid Drive: C:.” I have searched HP and the internet and cannot find an answer to the problem that helps me. I can see that somewhere (near the end) in the installation process the installer is not recognizing the G: as the system root but I don’t know how to repair the problem. Since I have not had this problem with about 40 other applications I installed; I have to believe the problem resides in the HP software. I might add that the printer (OJ6450) worked beautifully before the hard drive changes. Any suggestions of a fix will be greatly appreciated
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |
-
Fatal installation error using non C: as root
Home » Forums » AskWoody support » Windows » Windows 7 » Questions: Windows 7 » Fatal installation error using non C: as root
- This topic has 5 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 12 months ago.
AuthorTopicCecil Britton
MemberJune 14, 2014 at 12:18 pm #495189Viewing 3 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
bbearren
AskWoody MVPJune 14, 2014 at 1:26 pm #1456573Have you tried doing a complete uninstall/reinstall of your HP software?
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.We were all once "Average Users". -
Cecil Britton
MemberJune 15, 2014 at 8:22 am #1456631 -
bbearren
AskWoody MVPJune 15, 2014 at 9:17 am #1456635In my dual boots (XP/Windows 7 on one laptop, Windows 7/Windows 8.1 on another laptop, and Windows 7/Windows 8 on my desktop) the booted Windows is always drive C:, and the unbooted Windows is always drive D: in Windows Explorer. When I reboot into the other installation, the booted Windows is always drive C:, and the unbooted Windows is always drive D:.
Is Windows Explorer on your PC showing the Windows drive as C: or G:?
As for HP printer software, on my desktop in Windows 8 it is installed on Drive H:, and in Windows 7 it is installed on drive U:.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.We were all once "Average Users". -
WSF.U.N. downtown
AskWoody LoungerJune 15, 2014 at 10:54 am #1456638If the system drive is G: when booted into it, then the installation process is looking for a fixed drive (C: ) to temporarily store some files being prepared for installation. The solution there is to carve out a small partition and assign the letter C: to it for the software to use during the installation.
If a C: drive already exists then this is NOT the problem.
-
Cecil Britton
Member
-
Viewing 3 reply threads -

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
Microsoft : Edge is better than Chrome
by
Alex5723
1 hour, 11 minutes ago -
The EU launched DNS4EU
by
Alex5723
13 hours, 53 minutes ago -
Cell Phone vs. Traditional Touchtone Phone over POTS
by
280park
4 hours, 14 minutes ago -
Lost access to all my networked drives (shares) listed in My Computer
by
lwerman
19 hours, 20 minutes ago -
Set default size for pasted photo to word
by
Cyn
1 day, 1 hour ago -
Dedoimedo tries 24H2…
by
Cybertooth
13 hours, 28 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 27871 released to Canary
by
joep517
2 days ago -
Windows 11 ad from Campaign Manager in Windows 10
by
Jim McKenna
1 day, 21 hours ago -
Small desktops
by
Susan Bradley
15 hours ago -
Totally disable Bitlocker
by
CWBillow
17 hours, 53 minutes ago -
Phishers extract Millions from HMRC accounts..
by
Microfix
1 day, 21 hours ago -
Windows 10 22H2 Update today (5 June) says up-to-date but last was 2025-04
by
Alan_uk
3 days, 4 hours ago -
Thoughts on Malwarebytes Scam Guard for Mobile?
by
opti1
23 hours, 2 minutes ago -
Mystical Desktop
by
CWBillow
3 days, 7 hours ago -
Meta and Yandex secretly tracked billions of Android users
by
Alex5723
2 days, 12 hours ago -
MS-DEFCON 2: Do you need that update?
by
Susan Bradley
11 minutes ago -
CD/DVD drive is no longer recognized
by
WSCape Sand
3 days, 22 hours ago -
Windows 11 24H2 Default Apps stuck on Edge and Adobe Photoshop
by
MikeBravo
4 days, 1 hour ago -
North Face and Cartier customer data stolen in cyber attacks
by
Alex5723
3 days, 23 hours ago -
What is wrong with simple approach?
by
WSSpoke36
1 day, 21 hours ago -
Microsoft-Backed Builder.ai Set for Bankruptcy After Cash Seized
by
Alex5723
4 days, 11 hours ago -
Location, location, location
by
Susan Bradley
3 days, 1 hour ago -
Cannot get a task to run a restore point
by
CWBillow
4 days, 12 hours ago -
Frustrating search behavior with Outlook
by
MrJimPhelps
4 days, 3 hours ago -
June 2025 Office non-Security Updates
by
PKCano
4 days, 23 hours ago -
Secure Boot Update Fails after KB5058405 Installed
by
SteveIT
1 hour, 42 minutes ago -
Firefox Red Panda Fun Stuff
by
Lars220
4 days, 23 hours ago -
How start headers and page numbers on page 3?
by
Davidhs
5 days, 9 hours ago -
Attack on LexisNexis Risk Solutions exposes data on 300k +
by
Nibbled To Death By Ducks
4 days, 12 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26200.5622 released to DEV
by
joep517
5 days, 18 hours ago
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.