Too many XP 's! help!

I saw a thread recently about trying to delete an extra XP operating system that was installed from the recovery disk. I have XP OEM and had the same thing happen, thinking the new XP would install over the old one, but it didn't so now I have two. I can't find the thread about how to delete it. Can anyone help me?
thanks!
abri

 

I think this is the thread you are looking for.

Uninstalling Windows XP

 

I never Did an install from a recovery CD , but it usualy whipes everything .
Seek an option for a new clean install , or try to delete the Destinatin partition and it will recreate it when installing the OEM ver .

when i do a Clean installation i put in Winxp CD and boot from the CD-ROM where i then can select wht and which partition i wanna use and whether to Format the selected 1 or just install ...


here is a helpful link from the elder webs .
Clean install for winxp

for bootdisks click this link , though i prefer u go through the first link

bootdisk

 

Thanks, Shadow! That's the one!
abri

 

Your welcome, I hope it helps you with your problem.

 

Abri... I would run down that thread from the beginning and try the different suggestions and post the results here so we can help if needed. Good luck!

 

Capn Caveman,
I have three XP OS's that are listed at boot-up (30-second time limit), two of which I want to keep, because they are on different primary partitions. My XP book says to delete the XP I don't want using add/delete programs. The computer will then reboot and go to the still-existing OS. This didn't work, because XP is not listed in add/delete programs.
I next reread the XP-Removal-thread (which you referred to), went to the boot.ini file, which is a text editor file directly under C. The default XP, which is also the most recently installed XP is WINDOWS.0. I know this is the most recently installed version, because if I boot up into this XP OS, I have a completely empty desktop with no programs. This is the XP I want to remove. I followed the majorgeek thread instructions to make a copy of the boot.ini.txt file which looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS.0
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS.0="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

Reading the Maj.Geeks XP-Removal thread, it sounded like DNAchic deleted the XP she didn't want directly from this text file. I don't see that that's going to do anything except make that XP invisible at bootup, but not really deinstall it.
As a last note for information, after I choose which XP to boot up with, if I boot into my primary partition no. 1 and then go to Windows Explorer, both WINDOWS and WINDOWS.0 are listed under C. The third XP, which I want to keep anyway, is in a separate primary partition (no. 2) someplace else and doesn't bother anyone there. So really, I'm only talking about these two versions in Partition 1.
I do not understand how to deinstall an OS, because I don't understand Windows Explorer. From any of these activated OS's, I have access to Windows Explorer, but I cannot run all the programs from Windows Explorer. Most programs have to be installed for each operating system separately, but some run directly out of Windows Explorer. I don't know where the overlap is for the OS's, for the partitions, and for the programs. When I think about it, I don't think I quite grasp what Windows Explorer is. lol
Thanks for your thoughts.
abri

 

abri:
Capn is offline so I think I will answer.
The uninstall from add/remove will only work if you upgraded from 98,ME etc.

You want to delete the default xp windows.0 in the first partition.
The first partition will be c:\ inside that you will find windows and windows.0 along with program files and documents and settings.You can delete windows.0(You must log into the xp in windows).Then you can delete this line from the boot.ini

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS.0="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

Most programs have reg values and other settings stored within the os,so accesing the program from another os might not work.

 

Hi Kadavill:
Thanks for your post!
I understand everything you wrote down to:
You can delete windows.0 (You must log into the xp in windows).

Which xp and what does "log into" mean, is that the same as boot?

If I boot up in windows.0 (the default) and go to Windows Explorer, C: drive and open the boot.ini file with the text editor (whichever one opens it), delete the following line:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS.0="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

then what happens? Is the OS, I'm currently in, gone? Or does the gone status occur when I either go to reboot or the computer itself initiates a restart?

This does not look so much like a deinstall as a camophlage to make the unwanted OS invisible at boot up. Since the installation of the extra XP took a long time, there must be alot of lines of code in there, which are not shared with the other XP, so why would simply removing the XP from the boot.ini file actually delete the whole OS?

I'm not quite clear about this. I did call the computer manufacturer, who said that it isn't possible to deinstall an operating system, but I'm not quite sure I want to believe this yet.

However, getting it out of the boot sequence would also be a practical solution, so I will wait to hear your explanation for my above questions about logging into xp in windows.

Thank you so much!
abri

 

Hi abri

This is what your boot.ini should look like if I read what you want to do correctly:

[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" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

Then as kadavill suggests delete the WINDOWS.0 directory that should take care of it for you.

 

OH!
That was it!
Thank you so much!

 

Your Welcome