Uninstall xp

[Chris]

I hsve a Pentium III laptop using xp. I need to uninstall
and downgrade to w2k however at all of my attempts I
cannot. When I put in the Cd rom of w2k xp automatically
disables the installation features. When I try win95 it
tells me it cannot install within and Nt enviornment and
prompts me to install in Ms -dos mode. That doesnt work
either. What should I do! My cpu usage is to high and I
have major problems getting online. How can I either
downgrade to w2k, uninstall win xp, or completly wipe the
hard drive and start over from scratch.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

7. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

8. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

----------------------------------------------------------------------


| I hsve a Pentium III laptop using xp. I need to uninstall
| and downgrade to w2k however at all of my attempts I
| cannot. When I put in the Cd rom of w2k xp automatically
| disables the installation features. When I try win95 it
| tells me it cannot install within and Nt enviornment and
| prompts me to install in Ms -dos mode. That doesnt work
| either. What should I do! My cpu usage is to high and I
| have major problems getting online. How can I either
| downgrade to w2k, uninstall win xp, or completly wipe the
| hard drive and start over from scratch.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Chris.

There's no reason to expect that a downgrade to Win2K will solve those
problems. Use Carey Frisch's instructions to clean install WinXP. If you
INSIST on downgrading to Win2K, then follow those instructions down through
#4 - then abort the WinXP install, insert the Win2K CD-ROM, reboot and
continue the process, but substitute Win2K where the instructions say WinXP,
of course.

WinXP knows how to handle the earlier Win2K, but Win2K Setup knows nothing
of WinXP. When it sees WinXP already installed, it gets awfully confused.
:>( I haven't tried this, but I THINK that Win2K would repartition
(optionally) and reformat the HD, even with WinXP installed, but I'm not
sure. If so, then it probably also would continue to install Win2K.
However, it will not install Win2K without at least reformatting to remove
the traces of WinXP.

Laptops often come with OEM versions of Windows pre-installed. Microsoft
can't be sure just what changes the OEM has made to the "generic" Windows
after getting it from MS. So you might need to contact the laptop
maker/vendor to see just what other steps might be required to upgrade or
downgrade Windows - or even to just re-install Windows - on that model
computer. The retail version of WinXP (or Win2K) might not be able to do
the job because of the way that the OEM configured the computer. You may
also run into problems with the Windows Product Activation, since the
pre-installed Windows is often locked to the computer on which it was
originally licensed.

If you tell us the make and model of your laptop and which Windows was
pre-installed when it was new, others here may recognize it and give you
more specific guidance.

RC