Q.
How Do I Remove A Second Installation Of XP From The same Partition
A.
Having a second copy of Windows XP on the same partition is not particularly
desirable, as it is possible that the second installation may conflict with
the first. If it is imperative that you have two copies of XP on your PC (and
be aware that you will require a separate license for each installed copy of
XP on your PC) you should consider creating a dual boot system by installing
the second copy of XP on a separate partition or hard drive.
If, however, you are in the position of having two
installations on the same partition, here is how to remove the surplus copy.
1. Boot Up your PC
2. At the boot menu select the Windows copy you intend
keeping. At this point it would be wise to make a note of whether the copy you
intend keeping is listed first or second on the boot menu. You will need this
information when you finally come to edit the boot.ini file to remove the
reference to the second (unwanted) copy of XP
3. Once XP has booted to the desktop, click Start>All
Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt
4. At the command prompt type: echo %windir% and press
Enter. This will provide you with the information regarding the current
Windows folder you are accessing
5. Next open Windows Explorer and click the Plus sign
(+) next to My Computer
6. Navigate to the C: drive and delete the folder
containing the XP installation you want to remove. Check carefully that you
have the correct folder before highlighting the folder for deletion. The
original installation will be in the Windows folder. Additional installations
may have names such as Windows1, WinTwo, or you may have even used a name of
your own for the installation, such as WindowsInstall.
7. After deleting the 'correct' windows folder you will
need to remove the Windows entry from the Boot.ini file. To do this click
Start>Control Panel>System
8. In System properties click the Advanced tab and press
the Settings button in the Startup and recovery section
9. In the Startup and Recovery settings window click the
Edit button
10. The boot ini file will now open in Windows Notepad
11. Before proceeding click File and then Save As
12. Now rename the boot ini file to boot.inibak This is
just as a precaution
13. Now take a look at the boot ini file. It will have
two entries for Windows XP
14. Remove the line which refers to the Windows
installation you have just removed. You were asked in step 2 of this tutorial
to make a note of the position - first or second - of the installation you
booted to. If you booted to the first option on the boot menu you will need to
remove the second line. If you booted to the second option on the menu you
will need to remove the first line.
15. After you have removed the line referencing the
installation you deleted look at the top of the menu for an entry marked Set
Timeout=. Change the timeout figure (usually 30 seconds) to 0 (zero). This
will enable the PC to boot directly into Windows without any time delay.
16. Now click File>Save As
17. Save the file as Boot.ini
18. After the file has been saved Exit Notepad
19. Finally reboot your PC and you should boot straight
to the XP desktop.
