Restoring a legacy Windows from windows.old

[Colin Barnhorst]

Here is a kb article on retoring a previous version of Windows after having
installed Vista using the custom installation option.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927522/en-us

For those of you who have seen me comment that the way MS uses the term
"clean install" does not mean what most users think it does, notice this
quote from the kb.

"You can perform a clean installation of Windows Vista on a hard disk
partition that contains an existing Microsoft Windows installation. If you
do not format the hard disk, all the following items will be saved
automatically in the Windows.OLD folder after Windows Vista is installed:"

"You can perform a clean installation....If you do not format the hard
disk...."

As I have been warning, "clean" install does not presume a reformat as part
of the process. Actually, this is not a change in usage by Microsoft, but
it takes on new importance for users accustomed to using an XP upgrade
edition to format and reinstall XP and who haven't needed to be concerned
about the distinction in the past.

Colin Barnhorst
MVP Virtual Machine.

 

[Chris]

Well, it still seems that it is a "clean" install, seeing as none of the
original windows installation exists outside of the Windows.old folder.

But, I do wonder, under what conditions is the Windows.old created? I
am using the beta, and I have done everything from clean reformated
install, to an upgrade from within XP, and I have never seen it. I do
keep all data files on separate partitions.

 

[Daze N. Knights]

Interesting article, Colin. Thanks for passing on the link. I found
myself wondering, though, what happens to the Vista system files at the
end of the restore process to the previous version of Windows. Probably
I just missed some clue as to whether they're all overwritten, or
deleted, or saved, or left messing up the re-installation of the old OS,
or what. Can you glean this from the kb for me, perchance, or does it
really not say anything at all that would allow one to infer the answer
to my question?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You will get a windows.old folder anytime you custom install Vista x86 on a
volume containing a legacy copy of Windows. You will also get a windows.old
folder (and possibly other folders with the .old extension) any time you
upgrade install Vista and Setup determines that there are programs or files
that are incompatible with Vista. Anything that Vista cannot carry over for
you during an upgrade will show up in an *.old folder.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

There is a step that renames the windows folder to windows.vista. This is
part of a shell game that makes windows.old become windows(XP) again after
windows(Vista) has been renamed to windows.vista. That kind of thing goes
on throughout the article. The only reason the *.vista extension is used
instead *.old is that there already is a windows.old (XP) at the beginning
of the process. Nothing is getting overwritten or deleted at this point.
They are getting renamed. Its a shell game. You have folders A and B and
you want to reverse them without losing any content so you must use the
intermediate step of renaming A to C first and then you are free to proceed.

 

[Daze N. Knights]

Ah, yes. So at the end of restoring an original installation of XP from
the more recent Vista installation, one would be left with some
folder(s) named *.vista that could be safely deleted, after which one
should be left with one's original XP installation exactly as it was
before . . . do you think?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Exactly.

 

[Conor]

Well, it still seems that it is a "clean" install, seeing as none of the
original windows installation exists outside of the Windows.old folder.

But, I do wonder, under what conditions is the Windows.old created? I
am using the beta, and I have done everything from clean reformated
install, to an upgrade from within XP, and I have never seen it. I do
keep all data files on separate partitions.

When you use an Upgrade edition of Vista and select Custom Install
instead of upgrade.

 

[Kerry Brown]

It's hard to imagine it would be exactly as before. Many ACLs would be
changed at the very least. It is a roundabout way to uninstall Vista but is
not a substitute for doing a backup before you upgrade to Vista. Restoring a
backup is by far the best way to rollback to XP and have it exactly as it
was before.

 

[John Barnes]

I agree. I had several roll-backs from attempted installs, that left me
with an XP not functioning properly.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I posted the article mostly so I could quote a usage of the term "clean
install" by MS that is different from what a lot of users assume.

I can't imagine what a rollback would accomplish that could not be done
better by copying the data, settings, profiles, whatever, and simply
formatting and starting over. But folks have asked about using windows.old
this way.

 

[Kerry Brown]

It's a good trick to have in the bag when all else fails.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

I posted the article mostly so I could quote a usage of the term "clean
install" by MS that is different from what a lot of users assume.

I can't imagine what a rollback would accomplish that could not be done
better by copying the data, settings, profiles, whatever, and simply
formatting and starting over. But folks have asked about using
windows.old this way.