removing a dual boot from W2K & XP

[crp]

anyone here have real life experience in removing an XP os from a dual boot pc which has W2K on it?I want to remove the XP so that a fresh install of it can be done. Is it a straight forward :

1. edit boot.ini and remove XP reference
2. remove the entire XP Windows directory

ADVAthanksNCE

[NICK ADSL UK]

Hi crp yes you just boot into wk2 and on reboot go to the control panel /admin tools/computer management/disk management/ then right click on xp box and then format. Then reboot and reinstall xp this tool Easy BCD 1.7.2 will help you for duel booting and can be found here http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1

[Tushman]

anyone here have real life experience in removing an XP os from a dual boot pc which has W2K on it?I want to remove the XP so that a fresh install of it can be done. Is it a straight forward :

1. edit boot.ini and remove XP reference
2. remove the entire XP Windows directory

ADVAthanksNCE

I've done it plenty of times in Win2K/XP and Win98/XP. As Nick mentioned, you can simply format the partition that WinXP is installed on. The boot.ini file is unnecessary if you're no longer going to dual boot. You can simply delete it.

[crp]

they are actually on the same partition, but it does sound like deleting the XP directory = formatting HD

[Tushman]

they are actually on the same partition, but it does sound like deleting the XP directory = formatting HD

Formatting the HDD will take out the W2K operating system - better not do that unless you plan on doing another clean install of W2K. Putting 2 operating systems on the same partition is never a good idea to begin with. Boot up to W2K, open up a command prompt and use the "del tree" command to get rid of the Windows directory.

[NICK ADSL UK]

you should always with hard drives partition them when duel booting

[b2cm]

I want to remove the XP so that a fresh install of it can be done.Is it a straight forward : 1. edit boot.ini and remove XP reference 2. remove the entire XP Windows directory

It is as straightforward as you put it. The 'boot.ini' file that you must edit should be the one on the system partition.

2. remove the entire XP Windows directory

This 'directory' should refer to folders on the partition you installed XP to. You can simply format the partition (preferred) or delete the Documents and Settings, Program Files and Windows directories. That's if the XP is installed on a logical partition, not the system partition where W2K is installed.If your XP is installed on the same partition as W2K, please show us your boot.ini file and a screenshot of the folders on drive C:. Edited February 14, 2010 by b2cm

[Tushman]

It is as straightforward as you put it. The 'boot.ini' file that you must edit should be the one on the system partition.

Like I said, editing the boot.ini file is completely unnecessary. That file is used for dual or multi-boot operating systems.By the way, the OP has already said that he's got both operating systems on the same partition.

[b2cm]

The boot.ini file is unnecessary if you're no longer going to dual boot. You can simply delete it.

If the boot.ini file is missing, the bootloader will note that you have an invalid boot.ini file and will proceed to boot Windows IF it is installed on the system partition (the boot partition/volume is also the system partition/volume). Otherwise, Windows will not load.

Like I said, editing the boot.ini file is completely unnecessary. That file is used for dual or multi-boot operating systems.

Especially for power users, also for adding switches.

[Tushman]

If the boot.ini file is missing, the bootloader will note that you have an invalid boot.ini file and will proceed to boot Windows IF it is installed on the system partition (the boot partition/volume is also the system partition/volume). Otherwise, Windows will not load.

Windows will load regardless. As long as there is atleast 1 active primary partition and the necessary boot files for the OS to load are present. Edited February 19, 2010 by Tushman

[b2cm]

The boot directory, i.e. WINDOWS or WINNT has to be on the first primary partition (or system partition) for Windows to load without a boot.ini file.If the boot directory was on the second or third primary or a logical partition, Windows will not load without a boot.ini file that points the location of the boot directory.

Edited February 19, 2010 by b2cm

[Tushman]

The boot directory, i.e. WINDOWS or WINNT has to be on the first primary partition (or system partition) for Windows to load without a boot.ini file.If the boot directory was on the second or third primary or a logical partition, Windows will not load without a boot.ini file that points the location of the boot directory.

I disagree. I think you're confusing 2 issues here. The boot.ini file is only necessary when dual or multi-booting. For the OP's case, deleting it will suffice. There is no need to muck around with it. And Windows does not need the OS files to be on the first partition, the OS partition can be any active primary partition. Edited February 20, 2010 by Tushman

[b2cm]

During the boot process, whether or not one is multi-booting, the NTLDR looks for the boot.ini file. If that file was deleted, NTLDR will give an error message 'Invalid Boot.ini". If one wants a normal (or error-free) Windows startup, he or she should not delete the boot.ini.It is true that even if the boot.ini was deleted, Windows possibly could still start. That is because the bootloader, as a fallback measure, will try to locate a WINNT or Windows folder on the so-called system partition (the partition where the bootloader is located--- usually the first visible, primary FAT or NTFS partition on the first hard drive). If it cannot find a WINNT or Windows folder on the system (because Windows was installed on another partition), one will get a 'Windows could not start because the following file is missing:" error message. Also, Windows setup always uses the first visible primary FAT or NTFS partition as the system partition. That is where it will install bootloader and what it will flag in the MBR as 'active'. You can install the WINNT or Windows folder on any other partition, but it will always boot Windows from that system partition. (In order to use the second or third primary partition as a system partition for Windows you need to use a third-party boot manager that will hide the first partition when you install Windows.)

Edited February 21, 2010 by b2cm