Removing Vista

[123456]

I want to remove Vista from this PC. It has two partitions, C and D, (C=XP Home), (D=Vista from MS's website).
I read that you cannot just edit the boot.ini file, as you could with earlier versions of Windows. I really must get rid of Vista as my dad doesn't want it in his PC anymore, (He told me to install it in the first place).

[azzey]

Just... format the second partition from withing windows, and then pull the Windows XP partition out to the full size. Also, how did it run? I had some buggy issues with Vista and went back to XP...

[jlreich]

Check out this link. http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/uninstall/index.htm

I don't know if it works or not as I haven't tried it. ;) But it should remove references to vista and fix any boot problems with XP.

There are some issues with the new boot loader in vista, so make sure you do any backups you need to do. It is different from boot.ini.

I have been reading up on the new boot loader a little but had to run out when I was going through it and haven't gotten back to it yet.

For future reference, I installed vista with only the drive I wanted to install it on hooked up to the system and used a third party boot manager (BiNG in my case) for booting all OS's and to avoid such problems. I also hid all other partitions from vista with the exception of a small FAT32 partition I have already setup to swap files with Linux. So all I have to do to get rid of vista is remove the HDD or wipe it. As far as vista is concerned it is alone on the system with the exception of a small 12GB HDD. :p

I figured I didn't want vista even knowing about my other OS's. This way I didn't have to worry about it messing with any boot files or potentially getting its greedy DRM paws on any of my files. :eek:

[123456]

Oh, if I could format the second partition I'd have done so long ago. But that has most of the programs for XP...so...formatting it is very dangerous. Also has 5gbs of priceless photographs...

[Paul Komski]

From what I've read about Vista it depends on how it was installed in the first place. Presumably you installed "on top of" WinXP. That being the case you would need to rewrite the WinXP boot sector to the C: drive by using fixboot (and/or fixboot C: from the Recovery Console of a WinXP installation CD as well as ensuring that ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini are all still to be found in the root of C. and werent removed by the Vista installation.

Some posts on this subject describe also using fixmbr from the Recovery Console but I cant see what this actually does since I dont think Vista changes the MBR - but that may depend on what was already installed on the hard drive in question when Vista was installed.

Suggest that apart from backing up important data beforehand that you make a WinXP bootup floppy. You do this by formatting a floppy from WinXP and then copy ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini to that floppy. Then boot from the floppy to check whether it will boot up your WinXP installation OK. This gives you an insurance of a second method of starting-up WinXP.

Once you get WinXP running you can work on removing the Vista files and folders to free up the used space.

[123456]

PK, I'll make a floppy...I just need to find one.
Thanks!

[Paul Komski]

If one scrolls down to XP Quick Boot Diskette at http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm
one can download a floppy image with all the files on it; then edit boot.ini appropriately.