How do I determine which OS is on which partition

Hi,
I have two operating systems (Win 2000 and Win XP) on my PC. I would like to determine if they are on different partitions or on the same partition. I would then like to go in and delete one. I get the option to launch either 2k or XP on starting the PC.
Can someone please tell me how to find out the location of the OS? Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

If you go to start->run type msconfig and hit enter. Then under the boot.ini tab the bottom two lines should list your OS's and their partitions. If you have two OS's they are definitely on two partitions.

Having a second OS installed is handy if you ever have a problem in your regular OS, since you can get into your computer. Instead of removing one of them, I would suggest highlighting the one you always want to log onto and setting it as default. Then in the box Timeout: put something like 3 sec. That way your computer will log into your preferred OS more quickly and you still have the second OS if you need it.

If you really want the space the second OS takes up just set your preferred OS as default make sure it boots okay and then delete the other one.

 

That's not true. You can have two copies of windows happily residing next to each other on the same partition in 2 different directories. 2000 installs to WINNT by default and XP installs to WINDOWS by default.

@rch - Do the following

Start -> Run
type notepad c:\boot.ini
click 'OK'

Copy the contents of notepad to your reply and I will be able to figure out if they are on different partitions.

 

Here it is....
QUOTE [boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
UNQUOTE

Does this mean I have one partition but two different directories like you have mentioned in your post?
In either way, how do I actually go about deleting an OS?
Thanks!

 

Yes, you have 1 Partition with 2 Operating Systems installed.

Do the following:
Start -> Run
type notepad c:\boot.ini
click 'OK'

Delete the following line:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Save boot.ini
Exit notepad
Reboot

Delete the WINNT folder and everything in it. You will also need to delete any Windows 2000 profiles under the Documents and Setting folder. Any programs that were installed under Windows 2000 will not run under Windows XP. You can manually remove those folders also. Be careful when manually removing these items and don't mistakenly remove Windows XP profiles and programs.

 

Well, I wanted to retain 2000 as the OS since thats the CD I have. The XP OS was used on another laptop as well and it does not generate an activation code on this laptop. Hence I decided to back out the XP operating system. I deleted the XP operating system line from the boot.ini.

On startup, I now get two options, viz. Windows 2000 Professional and Windows (default). How do I get rid of this list and how do I set it so that it automatically chooses 2000 on startup?
Thanks!

 

Boot into Windows 2000

Do the following:
Start -> Run
Type notepad c:/boot.ini
Click "OK"

When notepad opens:
Select All and Delete.

Copy and Paste the following into notepad:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Save boot.ini and exit notepad.

Restart windows

Delete the WINDOWS folder and everything in it. You will also need to delete any Windows XP profiles under the Documents and Setting folder. Any programs that were installed under Windows XP will not run under Windows 2000. You can manually remove those folders also. Be careful when manually removing these items and don't mistakenly remove Windows 2000 profiles and programs.

 

It works perfectly now that I have pasted the text into the boot.ini. Thank you for your time!

 

You're welcome.

 

Ok ppl I just wanted to say thank you so much for this forum and topic. I reloaded my os at least 4 time in hopes of finding where to delet the muilt headach from reloading my xp Home. Everytime i reloaded it (clean install)
It would come up with that muilt os poooo. I just wanted one os and my life back. lol. I did the above and deleted on line. That was it. I Send peace and great karma for the major geeks out there. Again thank you so much Bite