Win2Kand WinME dual boot - how to delete WinME

[Bob]

Windows 2000 was installed on a computer with Windows ME on it. I was
not sure if they wanted to access the WinME install, so I left it on
there. I did not install Windows 2000 over WinME, apparently I just
installed it alongside, so it is apparently not an upgrade of WinME.
However, I formatted the drive NTFS and I did not realize that this
renders ME unusable. Hence, on bootup we now get an option to either
boot Win2K or ME; if you choose 2k, it boots fine, but if you choose ME,
nothing happens because ME cannot use NTFS. Hence, we want to delete the
ME install, but do not have the foggiest notion of how to go about it.
Any pointers?

 

[John John]

So you installed Windows 2000 on the same partition as Windows ME? Not
the best thing to do, there may be some confusion as to which folders
belong to which operating system. To remove the Windows ME option when
the computer starts just edit the boot.ini file and remove the line with
the reference to ME.

How To Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311578

John

 

[Bob]

So you installed Windows 2000 on the same partition as Windows ME?

Yes, they are both on C:. There is only one partition.

Not

the best thing to do, there may be some confusion as to which folders
belong to which operating system.

Ok, but the WinNT folder is clearly Win2K and the Windows folder is
clearly WinME, no?

To remove the Windows ME option when

the computer starts just edit the boot.ini file and remove the line with
the reference to ME.

How To Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311578

Ok, that sounds pretty neat. Thx.

 

[John John]

Yes, they are both on C:. There is only one partition.

Not



Ok, but the WinNT folder is clearly Win2K and the Windows folder is
clearly WinME, no?

Yes, but what about the programs folder? It will probably be ok because
you don't intend on using ME, but it makes for useless clutter on the
partition.

John

 

[Bob]

Yes, but what about the programs folder? It will probably be ok because
you don't intend on using ME, but it makes for useless clutter on the
partition.

What's the best thing to do right now? What would you do if you were me
at this point?

 

[John John]

What's the best thing to do right now? What would you do if you were me
at this point?

Being that the installation is brand new and that not much "tweaking"
and "fixing" has gone into it I would probably start again from scratch.
I think it's better to deal with this now than in six months from now.
Installing Windows is easy, that is not the time consuming thing, it
the rest of the stuff that takes time. You already know that for your
programs to work properly with Windows 2000 you have to reinstall them,
and that will leave the Programs Files folder in a quasi mess. Starting
from scratch will rid the useless clutter and free up drive space.

Also, the results of the FAT32 to NTFS conversion are unknown. If it
converted to 512 byte clusters that is another mess to deal with. Not
to mention that the Master File Table (MFT) is probably stuck in the
middle of the disk, which is not ideal.

Backup the personal data and format the partition and install Windows
2000 anew. At the beginning of the installation you will be offered to
select and format the partition, format it NTFS immediately.

DO NOT connect the unpatched computer to the internet without a properly
configured firewall! As installed Windows 2000 is EXTREMELY vulnerable
to worms and virus if not properly protected. These are what I would
consider as bare minimum on a new Windows 2000 installation:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/rollup.mspx

You should also upgrade Internet Explorer to version 6 SP1:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.mspx

John

 

[Bob]

Being that the installation is brand new and that not much "tweaking"
and "fixing" has gone into it I would probably start again from scratch.
I think it's better to deal with this now than in six months from now.
Installing Windows is easy, that is not the time consuming thing, it
the rest of the stuff that takes time. You already know that for your
programs to work properly with Windows 2000 you have to reinstall them,
and that will leave the Programs Files folder in a quasi mess. Starting
from scratch will rid the useless clutter and free up drive space.

Also, the results of the FAT32 to NTFS conversion are unknown. If it
converted to 512 byte clusters that is another mess to deal with. Not
to mention that the Master File Table (MFT) is probably stuck in the
middle of the disk, which is not ideal.

Backup the personal data and format the partition

Go to a command line and type format c:?

and install Windows

2000 anew. At the beginning of the installation you will be offered to
select and format the partition, format it NTFS immediately.

DO NOT connect the unpatched computer to the internet without a properly
configured firewall! As installed Windows 2000 is EXTREMELY vulnerable
to worms and virus if not properly protected. These are what I would
consider as bare minimum on a new Windows 2000 installation:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/evaluation/news/bulletins/rollup.mspx
You should also upgrade Internet Explorer to version 6 SP1:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.mspx

Thx so much, John John. The CD comes with SP4, I think. Can you tell me
how to go about doing this now? If I get to F8 or F9 startup options,
which one do I choose? Or should I do something else instead? And will
he need his set of startup disks? IOW, how to install Windows 2000 onto
a black formatted drive? If I stick the CD in, will it try to run?

I agree with you that the system is pretty much FUBAR'd the way it is.
The Programs folder is no doubt a mess and I would not know where to
start deleting.

 

[John John]

Go to a command line and type format c:?

and install Windows



Thx so much, John John. The CD comes with SP4, I think. Can you tell me
how to go about doing this now? If I get to F8 or F9 startup options,
which one do I choose? Or should I do something else instead? And will
he need his set of startup disks? IOW, how to install Windows 2000 onto
a black formatted drive? If I stick the CD in, will it try to run?

I agree with you that the system is pretty much FUBAR'd the way it is.
The Programs folder is no doubt a mess and I would not know where to
start deleting.

To install Windows 2000 just set the computer to boot to the CD first
(in the BIOS) then boot the computer with the Windows 2000 CD and follow
the instructions on the screen. After you accept the User Agreement the
setup program will find the disk(s) and partition(s) and you will be
offered options to prepare and format the disk and partition as you
want. Format it NTFS right away. An overview of the process is shown
here:
http://www.windows2000.windowsreinstall.com/installoldhdd/multipageindex.htm

John