W2K > XP, now dual-boot. How to remove the W2K?

[exapplerep]

The subject of this message may be clear enough but, just in case it is
not, here is the situation:

I have an Acer notebook. It came with 2 partitions set to about 30GB
each (partitions #2 & #3) with a partition #1 identified as "ESIA
Utilities" (<100MB). I left that partition alone but deleted the #2 and
#3 partitions, then reformatted them as NTFS and installed W2K Pro
there.

For a number of reasons, I determined that the Acer's hardware wasn't
completely supported under W2K and used an XP Home CD (the unit came
with XP Home and I had the genuine ser#) to install it. Note that it
would not let me do an "upgrade" so, when the installation process was
complete and I restarted the unit, I was presented with a dual-boot
screen with XP as the first (default) choice.

I know I can remove the dual-boot screen in one of the Control Panels
so that I boot directly into XP without the initial dual-boot text
display. What I'd like to do, however, is to totally remove the W2K
installation without hosing XP. I would imagine I'll need to change
some ".ini" file to tell the Acer that no dual-boot capability is even
present anymore, as well?

Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks very much!

Barry

 

[exapplerep]

I think I may not have been clear. The two partitions were deleted and
formatted as ONE partition (C. Both W2K and XP Home are on that same
partition. I want to remove the W2K installation from C: leaving the XP
Home installation intact.

Sorry if any confusion.

 

[Ron Sommer]

Do a clean install of XP.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
--
Ronald Sommer


:I think I may not have been clear. The two partitions were deleted and
: formatted as ONE partition (C. Both W2K and XP Home are on that same
: partition. I want to remove the W2K installation from C: leaving the XP
: Home installation intact.
:
: Sorry if any confusion.
:
: (e-mail address removed) wrote:
: > I have an Acer notebook. It came with 2 partitions set to about 30GB
: > each (partitions #2 & #3) with a partition #1 identified as "ESIA
: > Utilities" (<100MB). I left that partition alone but deleted the #2 and
: > #3 partitions, then reformatted them as NTFS and installed W2K Pro
: > there.
:

 

[John John]

What you have now is a mess! Two operating systems on the same
partition, an absolute no-no unless you do it to salvage files before
you format the partition. Format the drive and cleanly install Windows
XP from scratch.

John

 

[Rock]

The subject of this message may be clear enough but, just in case it is
not, here is the situation:

I have an Acer notebook. It came with 2 partitions set to about 30GB
each (partitions #2 & #3) with a partition #1 identified as "ESIA
Utilities" (<100MB). I left that partition alone but deleted the #2 and
#3 partitions, then reformatted them as NTFS and installed W2K Pro
there.

For a number of reasons, I determined that the Acer's hardware wasn't
completely supported under W2K and used an XP Home CD (the unit came
with XP Home and I had the genuine ser#) to install it. Note that it
would not let me do an "upgrade" so, when the installation process was
complete and I restarted the unit, I was presented with a dual-boot
screen with XP as the first (default) choice.

I know I can remove the dual-boot screen in one of the Control Panels
so that I boot directly into XP without the initial dual-boot text
display. What I'd like to do, however, is to totally remove the W2K
installation without hosing XP. I would imagine I'll need to change
some ".ini" file to tell the Acer that no dual-boot capability is even
present anymore, as well?

Normally you should always include text describing an issue, not just a
message subject. In this case it did make a difference. Where each of the
OS's are installed has an impact on how you go about removing one.

It wouldn't "let" you do the upgrade because Win2K can't be upgraded to XP
Home. It can be upgraded to XP Pro. To remove the dual boot can be a bit
messy with both OS's installed on the same partition. Normally for dual
boot each OS should be installed to separate partitions.

Take a look at this link for some tips on removing the Win2K installation.
It deals with two installations of XP on the same partition but the
principles are the same.

"I have two installations of XP on the same partition........"
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#020

Another option is to backup data, install XP Home clean, then reinstall the
applications and restore the data.

 

[exapplerep]

Thanks for the help. I'd rather not go through the installation again
(and the update...and update...and update...ad nauseum).

I used the Startup & Recovery dialog to uncheck the "wait" checkbox so
the Acer now boots directly into XP without a delay. That resolves the
immediate problem.

I did check the boot.ini file and looked at the root directory to
verify what the file told me. "Windows" is the name of the XP folder
while "WINNT" is the name of the W2K folder. It would appear that I
could edit the boot.ini file to remove any reference to the W2K
"boot-ability". Could I then simply delete the WINNT folder or would I
run a risk of hosing everything (because something in the XP
installation is using something in the WINNT folder)? I do remember
when I installed XP Home that I was told I had to do a "new
installation". Presumably this XP installation ignores the WINNT
folder. (I'm guessing here; OSX ignores previous Systems once one does
an "archive & install".)

Add'l advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[John John]

You can remove the reference to Windows 2000 in the boot.ini file and
you can also remove the WINNT folder, Windows XP has nothing it uses in
the WINNT folder. You say you don't want to reinstall but I strongly
recommend that you do so.

How many "Documents and Settings" folders do you have? How many
"Programs Files" folders do you have?

Also, if you formated your disc with the Windows 2000 setup program the
NTFS file system version is different than the Windows XP one and while
for most part it doesn't make much difference, there are known issues
with security permissions and inheritance between the two file systems.
The slight difference between the two file systems may affect how some
future change/updates to XP are applied to your installation. If you
think reinstalling Windows is a pain now, wait until you have to do it
in a year from now because of some mysterious bug that no one can figure
out, then you will know the meaning of PITA! You wouldn't start
building a house on a crooked foundation, use the same common sense for
operating system installation! As it is now you are starting on a
crooked foundation and are asking for trouble later on...

John

 

[Rock]

Thanks for the help. I'd rather not go through the installation again
(and the update...and update...and update...ad nauseum).

I used the Startup & Recovery dialog to uncheck the "wait" checkbox so
the Acer now boots directly into XP without a delay. That resolves the
immediate problem.

I did check the boot.ini file and looked at the root directory to
verify what the file told me. "Windows" is the name of the XP folder
while "WINNT" is the name of the W2K folder. It would appear that I
could edit the boot.ini file to remove any reference to the W2K
"boot-ability". Could I then simply delete the WINNT folder or would I
run a risk of hosing everything (because something in the XP
installation is using something in the WINNT folder)? I do remember
when I installed XP Home that I was told I had to do a "new
installation". Presumably this XP installation ignores the WINNT
folder. (I'm guessing here; OSX ignores previous Systems once one does
an "archive & install".)

What you have documented is the way to go about removing the Win2k
installation. Did you read the reference link I provided? Whether it will
"hose" your system I can't say.

 

[Ron Martell]

Thanks for the help. I'd rather not go through the installation again
(and the update...and update...and update...ad nauseum).

I used the Startup & Recovery dialog to uncheck the "wait" checkbox so
the Acer now boots directly into XP without a delay. That resolves the
immediate problem.

I did check the boot.ini file and looked at the root directory to
verify what the file told me. "Windows" is the name of the XP folder
while "WINNT" is the name of the W2K folder. It would appear that I
could edit the boot.ini file to remove any reference to the W2K
"boot-ability". Could I then simply delete the WINNT folder or would I
run a risk of hosing everything (because something in the XP
installation is using something in the WINNT folder)? I do remember
when I installed XP Home that I was told I had to do a "new
installation". Presumably this XP installation ignores the WINNT
folder. (I'm guessing here; OSX ignores previous Systems once one does
an "archive & install".)

Instead of immediately deleting the WINNT folder I suggest that you
rename it to something completely different, such as JUNK, and leave
it that way for a few days while you use your computer. If there are
no complaints or problems from Windows XP or any of your installed
apps then it should be safe to delete the renamed WINNT folder.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[rumplestiltskin]

Ron (and the others who have been kind enough to assist):

The "rename as "JUNK" action was exactly what I had been thinking, as
well. However, if NTFS is different between W2K and XP (and I did do
the formatting in W2K), perhaps it would be best to simply wipe it out
and start over. Turns out my wife has continued to use her old Dell so
I'll have some time to do it this weekend.

Thanks very much!

Barry