Windows XP How to uninstall WinXP?

[School73]

Hello. I'm an American living in Japan and I made the huge mistake of ordering a system from Dell Japan instead of having one shipped from home. I need to uninstall the current Japanese OS (Windows XP) and replace it with an English copy I purchased separately. Dell Japan, Dell US and Microsoft are all passing the buck around between them as far as whose tech support issue it is and no one will tell me how to uninstall my OS.
Any tips?
Thanks

 

[itsme]

Hi someone will answer soon, welcome

 

[muckshifter]

You don't "need" to un-install ... Boot to the CDRom drive with the new Windows ... delete any and all partitions ... procede with a clean install using NTFS.

oh, be sure you have any & all drivers to hand.

The 'law' here says ... whoever you bought off is responsible for any 'problems' ... in this case, Dell


Welcome to the forums.

 

[Adywebb]

Hi and welcome

You just need to do a clean install using the new Windows disc, this will remove the old OS when it formats the Hard Drive - have a look at this tutorial to help you.

Remember, after the install you will also need to install various device drivers as well - if you didn't get a copy of the drivers with the PC, go to the Dell site and copy them from there first to a CD/DVD.

 

[Ian]

It's not possible to uninstall it as such, however you may be able to install it over the top in English (just stick the CD in once it is turned on and see what it says). If that fails, boot up with the CD in already and it will let you format your PC and use a fresh install of the English WinXP (only do this if you have no information you need on the PC though!).

 

[Ian]

Wow, 3 of us all posting at the exact same time

 

[muckshifter]

Hey! ... ain't you lot got nuffin better to do on a Monday ...

 

[Adywebb]

- just a good job we all gave the same advice!!

 

[itsme]

Hi someone will answer soon, welcome

Thats why I posted the above looked at "users online" Nope I ain`t as daft as I sound Ummmmmm... now where`s me meds.....

 

[School73]

Wow. Thanks everyone. That took like 20 minutes. I tried throwing in the English Windows and simply installing over the top of the Japanese, but I ended up with a blue screen that said there's a problem with it now. Now when I turn on the computer, (Japanese OS still running) I have to manually switch from Windows Setup to Run Windows at the boot screen or I get the blue screen again. If I swith to 'run' it runs ok with the one game I have installed properly (Star Wars Empire at War) - but it won't run Civ 4. I just got the computer 2 days ago so I don't care about losing any data during a reformat. In response the statement about whoever installed it (Dell Japan) is responsible for any problems - that what Microsoft says too. But try arguing with a Japanese person

 

[Adywebb]

No problems School73 - we is very friendly here and like to help

We have quite a few Yanks on here even though we're a UK site - so stay a while, browse around, and join in whenever you want

 

[School73]

Hey thanks. I tried what you guys told me to do, but at the beginning of setup a message appears saying that the OS installed is a different language and an upgrade will not be possible. Then it continues through setup until it shuts down with the 'blue screen of death'. I even tried going into Dos through safe mode. I navigated to c:windows:system32 and attempted the 'osuninst.exe' command. Didn't work. Any ideas?

 

[muckshifter]

Hey thanks. I tried what you guys told me to do, but at the beginning of setup a message appears saying that the OS installed is a different language and an upgrade will not be possible. Then it continues through setup until it shuts down with the 'blue screen of death'. I even tried going into Dos through safe mode. I navigated to c:windows:system32 and attempted the 'osuninst.exe' command. Didn't work. Any ideas?

You have to "boot" to the CDRom drive ... have a look in the BIOS & change the boot sequence, you can change it back later.

Start your PC, press the "Pause/Break" key, insert CD, press the Space bar ... you may see "Boot from CDRom press any key" ... hint, there is no "any" key, just press the spacebar.

Follow instructions on the screen, but delete any/all partitions and carry on. When the system reboots do NOT press any key, let it finish.

 

[Adywebb]

I did give you a link in my first post to help you, have a look at this useful step-by-step guide:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxppro/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm

 

[School73]

I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with Dell US tech support last night. Changing the OS is next to impossible and will cost me more in phone bills than I paid for the thing. At this point it would have been cheaper to order one from the US and paid for international shipping. Oh well, my Japanese needs a lot practice anyway.

 

[muckshifter]

Were you talking to a monkey or something?


Go get Linux, let it format your drive, then follow the instructions for installing Windows ... better still, forget windows and let Linux install.

I don't know what the Japanese version of Windows does for it not to allow you to format your HD but if all else fails, buy a new blank HD.

Option two ... tell Dell the PC is not fit for the purpose and you want a refund.

 

[esrajarathinam]

Hai
only solution is to format the windows and reinstall the os