diskpart script did not work as expected, selecting a drive different to that requested

[urbantigerau]

I am building a new PC and using this tool to minimise the bloat/telemetry. In this new machine, for some reason, the 1TB SSD is disk 2 of the 3 storage devices installed. Disk 0 and 1 are magnetic devices used for bulk data storage. I built a diskpart script based on the template shown but changed the disk to 2 so it would point to the SSD, and allowed some space at the end for a later Linux install as follows:

SELECT DISK=2
CLEAN
CONVERT GPT
CREATE PARTITION EFI SIZE=1000
FORMAT QUICK FS=FAT32 LABEL="System"
CREATE PARTITION MSR SIZE=16
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY SIZE=400000
FORMAT QUICK FS=NTFS LABEL="Windows"
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY SIZE=1000
FORMAT QUICK FS=NTFS LABEL="Recovery"
SET ID="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"
GPT ATTRIBUTES=0x8000000000000001

The code worked in terms of the creation of partitions and the size, but it instead selected drive 0 and installed Windows on the first magnetic hard drive. I must be missing something, but I cannot see it.

I note that if I select the option to prevent the creation of 8.3 files, I receive an error regarding drive letter assignment. The generator tells me I must assign the letter W to the Windows partition. Forcing assignment of drive letters in this way does not suit my workflows, so I have left the ability to create 8.3 files and the diskpart script then does not flag an error. I can't see how these matters are related or the need to force letter assignment. As I noted, the script runs but selects disk 0 and the Windows drive becomes C: as usual.

I must have something wrong and if that can be identified, I would be most appreciative.

Regards,

[cschneegans]

The drive letter assignment in the diskpart script is only in effect for the Windows PE stage. A constant drive letter is necessary for running the following commands like dism.exe or fsutil.exe, and the letter W: is chosen to avoid collisions when there are already other volumes present that would automatically be assigned drive letters from the beginning of the alphabet such as C: or D: by Windows Setup. Once Windows boots for the first time, the Windows volume is always assigned the C: letter.

Your diskpart script looks fine. You could add LIST DISK commands before and after the SELECT DISK=2 line to verify the SELECT command works as expected. Pay close attention to the active disk, which is denoted by a * character. Note that the diskpart output is printed to the console when you select the Generate a .cmd script… setting, which is ideal for debugging. When you select the Let Windows Setup (setup.exe) handle the Windows PE stage as usual setting, the diskpart output is written to the X:\diskpart.log log file.