Member Avatar for himerus

Hey everyone...

Here's what I'm trying to do... I have a dual boot system with WinXP, and Windows Ent Server 2003 installed as a dual-boot. (don't ask... :eek: )

I need to remove the Win2k3 server edition from the system, and the XP installation is too important to wipe out and start the whole box over. Normally, I'm a person to just backup my data, format the drive, and start over, but in this case I REALLY, REALLY don't want to do that...

Is there a way to remove the one operating system without affecting the other????? I've really never heard of it...

I mean... can I just delete the Windows Server directory, and edit the boot.ini file? I don't have any software installed on the Win2k3 system... it's only been installed, and played around with for a bit.

Anyone who has tried this, or knows where I can find some info please speak up!!!!

Thanks!

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Dani AI

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Short answer: since both installs are on one partition you can remove the Server 2003 install without reinstalling XP — but do it carefully and back up first. was right to ask about partitions, and ’s simple suggestion is the correct approach when both OSes share a single partition. Follow these concrete, safe steps.

  1. Boot XP (the copy you want to keep) as an administrator and make a full backup or disk image (at minimum copy critical data off the disk).
  2. Identify which Windows folder is which (common names: C:\WINDOWS for XP, C:\WINNT or C:\Windows.2003 for Server). Open C:\boot.ini and confirm which boot entry points at which folder. To edit boot.ini you may need to unhide/remove attributes first:
attrib -s -h -r c:\boot.ini
notepad c:\boot.ini
attrib +s +h +r c:\boot.ini

Typical boot.ini entries look like:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows Server 2003" /fastdetect

Remove the WINNT (or other server) line and make sure default= points to the XP entry.

  1. Rename the server folder first instead of deleting immediately (gives a simple rollback): from Explorer or command line rename C:\WINNT to C:\WINNT_OLD. Reboot to confirm XP still starts correctly. If all is well delete the renamed folder:
rd /s /q "C:\WINNT_OLD"
  1. Cleanup and recovery notes: copy any files from the server’s Documents and Settings or Program Files before removing them — user profiles and shared files can be easy to miss. If the machine won’t boot, use the Windows XP/2003 Recovery Console (restore ntldr/ntdetect.com if missing and run fixboot/fixmbr) or restore your image.

This is the least-invasive route. Rename first, test booting, then remove permanently.

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Member Avatar for TallCool1

I need to remove the Win2k3 server edition from the system, and the XP installation is too important to wipe out and start the whole box over. Normally, I'm a person to just backup my data, format the drive, and start over, but in this case I REALLY, REALLY don't want to do that...

How are the partitions arranged? There are a couple of ways to go about that, partially dependent on the pysical layout of the OSes in question.

Member Avatar for himerus

ugh...

they are on a single partition. :(

Member Avatar for feigned

ugh...

they are on a single partition. :(

Then you get to delete the directory and modify the boot.ini file.

Otherwise, backup and reinstall.

Member Avatar for himerus

Is it really that simple? That was the first thing that crossed my mind, but it seemed to easy...

Member Avatar for feigned

Is it really that simple? That was the first thing that crossed my mind, but it seemed to easy...

Well, some things in the Program Files directory may not function, and the Documents and Settings directory may be a little screwy, but in general, yes it's that easy. :)

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