uninstall Windows XP

[Guest]

hi,

i am trying to help someone uninstall windows xp that someone else intsalled
on my friend's pc. i did some research and it looks like the install did not
completely overwrite the old windows me operating system. so i would like to
know how to go back and uninstall the windows xp. there is no disk, so i
wouldlike to know how to uninstall the windows xp without using a disk, and
bring things back to how they were before the XP was installed, and just go
back to ME. how can i do this? what is the best way? are there any
repercussions or pitfalls i should be aware of?

thanks in advance,
geebee

 

[Joe Grover]

If it was done as a full install and not as an upgrade, there would be no
uninstall. :/ The only thing to do then is to boot from the ME CD and
reinstall that.

Joe

 

[Guest]

i think i know how to reinstall from the ME disk, but im not sure what you
mean by "boot from the ME cd". Thanks

 

[Joe Grover]

Most OS installation CDs are bootable, so if your CD-ROM drive is configured
in the boot order in your BIOS (before the hard drive) then you should be
able to pop the ME CD into the drive and boot right into setup.


Joe

 

[TOAO]

Your computer will more than likely be configured to boot from your
computers hard disk drive. This is to say that once you turn on your
computer the hard disk drive takes over and your operating system will
eventually load. Now to change this we have to enter a part of the computer
that is known as the BIOS. Within the BIOS you can change many settings and
one of those settings should be the order in which your computer is set to
boot.
For example:
1) Hard Disk Drive
2) Floppy Drive
3) CD/DVD Drive
All that is required, is to swap the order so that the CD/DVD Drive is
first. This should then allow you to boot from the CD/DVD Drive.
Workshop... As I've said above to swap the order you will have to enter your
computers BIOS. To do this requires you to press a key or a combination of
keys when your computer is starting. Which key or combination of keys
depends solely on the manufacturer of the BIOS. To navigate, select and to
make any changes you will have to use your keyboard. Some modern BIOS's
allow you to use your mouse.
Please view How do I access my computer's setup (BIOS) and change my
parallel port mode / settings? for various BIOS manufacturers.

Motherboard Manual: The motherboard manual should tell you exactly how to
boot into the BIOS and to change the way in which the computer will boot.
The following is how you change the boot order in this computer's BIOS...
By pressing the DEL key when your computer is starting in most cases you
should see the bios screen.
Using the arrow keys select Boot and press enter to access the Boot Device
Priority menu.
Press enter on the highlighted 1st Boot Device and select CDROM from the
menu.
In this BIOS you have to press F10 to save and exit any changes that you
have made. Press enter and the changes will be saved and you will exit the
BIOS. When your computer is starting it will now boot from the CD.
Summary... This is all that is required to make your computer boot from the
CD/DVD drive and as long as you save the change you should be fine. If you
do not you'll have to go back and start again. If you are uncertain of what
you are doing then choose not to save any changes.
Once you have finished booting from your CD/DVD drive make sure you change
the order back so that the hard disk drive will now be booted from first.
Note: Please consult your motherboard manual for specific instructions on
how to go about making your computer boot from the CD/DVD drive. Or visit
the website of your motherboard manufacturer to see if there is a manual
that you can download.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i am trying to help someone uninstall windows xp that someone else intsalled
on my friend's pc. i did some research and it looks like the install did not
completely overwrite the old windows me operating system. so i would like to
know how to go back and uninstall the windows xp. there is no disk, so i
wouldlike to know how to uninstall the windows xp without using a disk, and
bring things back to how they were before the XP was installed, and just go
back to ME. how can i do this? what is the best way? are there any
repercussions or pitfalls i should be aware of?

As a general rule, you can't uninstall an operating system. You have
to reformat the drive and install another operating system cleanly.

There's an exception to that, however. If you did an upgrade from
Windows 98 or Me, and took the option to save the previous operating
system and also did not convert your drive to NTFS, then you can find
an entry in Add/Remove Programs. Clicking on that will uninstall
Windows XP and revert to the previous operating system.

If there's no entry in Add/Remove Programs, then one or more of those
conditions wasn't met, and your only choice is to reformat and install
whatever operating system you want cleanly.