WinXP Removal

[Winyetta]

Hi people,

Well,I got a nasty question regarding the Win XP Home and
Pro editions.I recently bought twp PC's,they were shipped
with the above mentioned operating systems installed on
the harddrive.My problem is,that I want to remove both of
them but I can't.The online manual says that I have to
place the installation disc of the Windows into my CD/DVD-
ROM,but,and here we get nasty,I haven't got ANY disc at
all!Well,I'm certainly not a genius in computers,but I
think it's not normal,please correct my words if I'm wrong.
So basically,my question is that how could I possibily get
rid of them without the discs?Since DOS is not supported
anymore,I can't do the format c: like in old school Win 98.
I'd appreciate any help that could solve this little
headache of mine!

Best rega

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

If you haven't got any disks, how are you going to re-install XP? You PC
supplier has to provide some means of restoring the PCs to the state as when
you recieved them. This could mean a 'hidden' partition on the hard disk
which needs to be accessed for the re-install. If you format the hard
disk - and there is a hidden partition - it may be formatted as well. That
could invalidate your warranty. Have a look through the documentation that
came with the PCs to see if there is a reference to re-installing XP.

If you can't find anything, may I suggest that you contact your PC supplier
before reformatting?

 

[G.Beat]

Hi people,

Well,I got a nasty question regarding the Win XP Home and
Pro editions.I recently bought twp PC's,they were shipped
with the above mentioned operating systems installed on
the harddrive.My problem is,that I want to remove both of
them but I can't.The online manual says that I have to
place the installation disc of the Windows into my CD/DVD-
ROM,but,and here we get nasty,I haven't got ANY disc at
all!Well,I'm certainly not a genius in computers,but I
think it's not normal,please correct my words if I'm wrong.
So basically,my question is that how could I possibily get
rid of them without the discs?Since DOS is not supported
anymore,I can't do the format c: like in old school Win 98.
I'd appreciate any help that could solve this little
headache of mine!

Best rega

OK, what operating system (OS) are you going to install ? (e.g., Linux,
W2K, Win98)

gb

 

[Guest]

OK, what operating system (OS) are you going to
install ? (e.g., Linux,

W2K, Win98)

gb

Well,98 would be good enough,thought.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
Hi

If you haven't got any disks, how are you going to re- install XP? You PC
supplier has to provide some means of restoring the PCs to the state as when
you recieved them. This could mean a 'hidden' partition on the hard disk
which needs to be accessed for the re-install. If you format the hard
disk - and there is a hidden partition - it may be formatted as well. That
could invalidate your warranty. Have a look through the documentation that
came with the PCs to see if there is a reference to re- installing XP.

If you can't find anything, may I suggest that you contact your PC supplier
before reformatting?

Yeah,thanks,that's an idea which I've been considering
too.First I found it a bit suspicious that there's no Win
install disc (or discs,there are 3 or 4 if I'm right).But
when I've seen it working I said OK.But several of the
applications that I'm using are not running so I wanted
back 98.How can I possibily check for hidden partitions?

 

[Will Denny]

Yeah,thanks,that's an idea which I've been considering
too.First I found it a bit suspicious that there's no Win
install disc (or discs,there are 3 or 4 if I'm right).But
when I've seen it working I said OK.But several of the
applications that I'm using are not running so I wanted
back 98.How can I possibily check for hidden partitions?

Hi

The manuals that came with your PC should give you the details. If there is
a hidden partition, you 'may' need a 3rd party program to show it.

Check in Disk Management:

From Start>Run type

diskmgmt.msc

 

[Guest]

Contact the PC manufacturer for recovery options, there
may be hidden partitions, (ie. some HP systems, use F8 for
the recovery options on hidden partition)

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot guys,I think you've covered pretty much of
the possible solutions.I'll try,probably one of them will
work out,if not,I'll have to sue the manufacturer and/or
reseller! :-D Thanks again and have a nice day!!

 

[Phil]

If you boot to a win9x floppy boot disk you can then use Fdisk and format to
wipe the drive, just like in the old days. Then install win98. Note: if you
do this you will most likely void any warranty and support you have from the
manufacturer.

 

[Michael Stevens]

Hi people,

Well,I got a nasty question regarding the Win XP Home and
Pro editions.I recently bought twp PC's,they were shipped
with the above mentioned operating systems installed on
the harddrive.My problem is,that I want to remove both of
them but I can't.The online manual says that I have to
place the installation disc of the Windows into my CD/DVD-
ROM,but,and here we get nasty,I haven't got ANY disc at
all!Well,I'm certainly not a genius in computers,but I
think it's not normal,please correct my words if I'm wrong.
So basically,my question is that how could I possibily get
rid of them without the discs?Since DOS is not supported
anymore,I can't do the format c: like in old school Win 98.
I'd appreciate any help that could solve this little
headache of mine!

Best rega

Click on or copy and paste the link below into your web browser address box.
Remove XP and install 98/Me
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#how5
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Boot with a Windows 98 startup floppy. If you don't have visit Plato's site
at www.bootdisk.com
Boot with the floppy. At the command prompt type FDISK and press Enter.
Accept the screens until you arrive at the FDISK Menu. Select the option to
Delete Partitions. Select the option to Delete Non-Dos Partitions. That will
find your NTFS partition(s). Delete them. ESC back to the FDISK Menu. Select
the option to Create Partitions. Select the option to Create a Primary
Partition. When finished ESC out back to the command prompt. Leave the
floppy in the drive and restart the computer. Back at the command prompt
type FORMAT C: and press Enter. When formatting is finished which may take a
long time on a big hard drive pop your Windows 98 CD into the drive. At the
command prompt type the following except what's in brackets

md C:\Win98 (this will create directory on your C drive partition)
copy E:\Win98 C:\Win98\*.* (this will copy the install files from the CD
to the C:\Win98 directory)
C: (this will switch you to C drive)
CD Win98 (this will switch you to the C:\Win98 directory)
Setup.exe (this will start the Win98 installer)

 

[Alex Nichol]

Well,I got a nasty question regarding the Win XP Home and
Pro editions.I recently bought twp PC's,they were shipped
with the above mentioned operating systems installed on
the harddrive.My problem is,that I want to remove both of
them but I can't.The online manual says that I have to
place the installation disc of the Windows into my CD/DVD-
ROM,but,and here we get nasty,I haven't got ANY disc at
all!Well,I'm certainly not a genius in computers,but I
think it's not normal,please correct my words if I'm wrong.
So basically,my question is that how could I possibily get
rid of them without the discs?Since DOS is not supported
anymore,I can't do the format c: like in old school Win 98.

Presumably though there is *something* you are intending to replace then
with? The installation process for that will provide for cleaning the
drive of anything that is already there. And you can use an old Win98
Startup floppy, and its FDISK to delete partitions, including 'non-DOS'
ones, which is how an XP NTFS one will appear