[guyladouche]

I have both Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista installed on my sig rig. I installed Vista just to play around, but it's a waste--just not for me--nothing new, so I want to get rid of it. Here's the deal:

I have XP and Vista installed on two different physical disks (note--not different partitions, but rather two different physical hard drives). I know I can just delete the Vista installation folders on the vista drive from within windows XP, but I don't know if there will be some effect on the boot record of my C drive (which I have XP installed on). I also have other data on the "Vista" drive in other folders (it was my backup HD before I installed Vista on it). I can just dump that stuff onto my primary 500GB external backup drive, and then format, then copy my backup stuff back onto the HD I guess.

Does anyone know if just manually deleting the Vista installation folder(s) will do the trick, or do I need some sort of MBR change/registry change? Thanks!

 

[CWell1337]

You'll have to delete the Vista entry from your boot loader as well. if I were you I'd reformat the drive that vista is on (after you back up your files of course), then get your boot loader straightened out.

To fix the boot screen you'll need your XP install disk. Boot to it of course and then when you can hit "R" to get into the recovery console. Let it load and once you get the cursor, type in:

FIXMBR and press enter (fixmbr means: fix masterboot record)
Then press Y if asked
Next type: FIXBOOT and press enter
Press Y if asked.

Then reboot and you'll be all set!

 

[guyladouche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWell1337 You'll have to delete the Vista entry from your boot loader as well. if I were you I'd reformat the drive that vista is on (after you back up your files of course), then get your boot loader straightened out. To fix the boot screen you'll need your XP install disk. Boot to it of course and then when you can hit "R" to get into the recovery console. Let it load and once you get the cursor, type in: FIXMBR and press enter (fixmbr means: fix masterboot record) Then press Y if asked Next type: FIXBOOT and press enter Press Y if asked. Then reboot and you'll be all set!

Thanks! +rep. I wasn't sure if the MBR needed to be fixed or not--but you cleared it all up! Cheers!

 

[Danbeme32]

When I change the way I bootup in my bios from the drives that I have xp and vista it changes the letter of the drive. Go to your bios set the drive that got your xp in it to bootup first and leave it like that. You should see the xp drive as c:\\ and the vista as d:\\.
Thats how I see mine when I switch drives.

 

[guyladouche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danbeme32 When I change the way I bootup in my bios from the drives that I have xp and vista it changes the letter of the drive. Go to your bios set the drive that got your xp in it to bootup first and leave it like that. You should see the xp drive as c: and the vista as d:. Thats how I see mine when I switch drives.

Yes, I've noticed that too--but the MBR on the XP HD will need to be altered once the Vista folders are removed, right?

 

[Jeegar]

Hi ppl.
i had Vista pre installed on my laptop,
then i installed XP on my laptop.
it didnt work as expected to d'loaded a prog to change the boot record.
volla it worked.. but it messed up my vista.
this thing has become sooo slow..
the problem starts when i use the keyboard.
when i m using the mouse it is fine but as soon as i try using keyboard, it starts getting lags.
ne one having similar issues or if ne one can give me an idea why this is happening or a solution to it..
thanks
Jeegar

 

[Danbeme32]

You can just put your backup files in you 500 gig then format the vista drive. It will not affect the xp drive. It be like if you disconnect the drive that has vista, your xp hd will still boot up because you have it to boot up first in your bios.
I did this once when I was new to vista and the installation didn't go right. From xp I right clicked the drive vista was in and format it.
For now just unplug the drive that vista in and see if it boots up xp. And if it does then you can just format it. Am guessing that you have xp as your drive to bootup in your bios.

 

[guyladouche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danbeme32 You can just put your backup files in you 500 gig then format the vista drive. It will not affect the xp drive. It be like if you disconnect the drive that has vista, your xp hd will still boot up because you have it to boot up first in your bios. I did this once when I was new to vista and the installation didn't go right. From xp I right clicked the drive vista was in and format it. For now just unplug the drive that vista in and see if it boots up xp. And if it does then you can just format it. Am guessing that you have xp as your drive to bootup in your bios.

Duh!

Haha, that's so simple! Very good idea-- +rep to you sir! No reason why it shouldn't work... Yeah, I have XP as the first bootup drive in the bios. I'll give that a shot sometime this weekend. Thanks!

 

[iOverclocker2.0]

the recovery console. Let it load and once you get the cursor, type in:

FIXMBR

FIXBOOT

done

or use boot master pro software

 

[Danbeme32]

No problem. Let me know how it goes.

 

[topdog]

Another way
Boot your computer in to Windows XP.
Ensure you have the Vista DVD image emulated or in the DVD drive.
Go to “Start†and “Runâ€. Type in “e:\\boot\\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force†(without quotes, and replacing e: with the drive letter of your Vista DVD).
Restart the computer, and you will notice the boot selection menu is gone.
Format the partition/drive where you had Vista installed.
Remove two files (Boot.BAK & Bootsect.BAK) on your XP drive’s root folder (C

, these were backup files of your previous bootloader, now no longer useful.
Optional: Restart to ensure it still works.
Use your partition software to merge your partitions together.
And now you have returned your computer to its previous state, without Vista and without the new bootloader.
Correct me if I'm wrong