Uninstalling SP1 beta

[Peter]

I am unable to uninstall Build 6001. The uninstall goes through the whole
process but after the last reboot presents the message "uninstall failed".
Since I only have a few days left before this beta build expires, I
desperately need some help.
Peter

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

You must remove the beta.
How to uninstall Windows Vista SP1 as a troubleshooting step:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948537

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

In addition to Mark's advice, try booting in clean boot mode and
uninstalling. It could be that an anti-virus program is blocking the
registry updates needed at the end. It is not sufficient to turn off some
AV programs to prevent their interfering.

How to perform a clean boot:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/331796

 

[Peter]

Thanks Mark.
Unfortunately, Method 1 of ID948537 fails and I cannot use the system
restore methods since I dual boot with XP.

 

[Peter]

Thanks Colin.
I'll give the clean boot a try.

Peter

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

There is a simple fix for the XP/Vista dual boot issue.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Also, read my reply concerning your restore point issue. I have a four-page
detailed procedure if you need further instruction.

 

[Peter]

Thanks Colin.

Clean boot did not help the situation either. Perhaps uninstalling the anti
virus software?
The problem has become worse now since repeated efforts to uninstall the
beta has left my "C" drive with no remaining space. Can you tell me what
files I can delete (presumably put there by the uninstall attempts)?

What will happen if I try to install Vista over its self using the original
CD?

Peter

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Empty the recycle bin and defrag to recover some space and be able to see
it. The space may be there but not showing correctly. I don't know what
anti-virus software you have. You cannot install or uninstall a service
pack unless at least two times the service pack space requirements are free
due to temp files during processing. How large a drive do you have and do
you have a second drive you can offload some stuff to?

 

[Peter]

Good morning Colin.
The Vista drive is 24GB but only 370MB are available. There was about 3GB
remaining before I started the attempts to get rid of SP1 beta.
Perhaps I should get rid of all the security update files but I don't know
where to find them (I assume they are using a large amount of space).
I am using Windows One Care.
I do have an external drive somewhere but just moved to a new house and have
no idea where to find it.

Peter

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You will not recover much by deleting updates and that will just increase
the SP1 requirements by that same amount anyway since it will download the
corresponding additional files. 24GB is too small for Vista as you are
learning now. The recommended minimum system requirements is a 40GB drive.
I think you need to wait for SP1 until you have addressed the more important
issue of the system drive itself. Just my opinion.

 

[Peter]

Thanks again Colin.

I'll try to remove a partition and get more space that way. A great deal of
empty drive was eaten up in my several tries at uninstalling the beta. Do
you know where that space went and how to get it back, ie: are large numbers
of files left on the drive in the process?

Peter

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Check in Explorer and see what the used space listed is. It is possible, as
I said above, that the reported amount is not properly updated after all of
the deletes you (and the system) did. That's why I recommended a defrag in
addition to emptying the RC. The defrag will force a fresh calculation in
the process of consolodating free space. I would download a trial copy of
Diskeeper to do the job because of the job's size and the small available
disk space to work in. The Windows defragger does neither well or quickly.
Diskeeper (or PerfectDisk) are designed for this scenario.

 

[Peter]

Hello again Colin.

Defraging didn't free up much space but I moved a large number of files to
another partition and the remaining free space on "C" was enough for a
successful uninstall!
Thanks again for all the help.

Peter

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You're very welcome.

Hello again Colin.

Defraging didn't free up much space but I moved a large number of files to
another partition and the remaining free space on "C" was enough for a
successful uninstall!
Thanks again for all the help.

Peter

 

[Peter]

Good morning Collin.

I would indeed appreciate your detailed procedure for fixing the restore
point issue.

Peter