Member Avatar for nikuki

I currently have Windows ME installed on both of my hard drives. I did this because I was nervous about using Litestep and wanted to be able to just boot from my other drive if I had a problem. (Seems silly now.)

Now I just would like to know what the best way would be to uninstall one of the copies of ME.

Thanks.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Yzk

Dani AI

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Good points from and . For ’s situation—ME running from a small system disk while most programs live on the larger disk—the safest way to remove the extra Windows install is a surgical, staged cleanup rather than a blind erase. The main risk is that many applications register files and DLLs against the Windows installation and the Registry; removing the unused Windows folder without addressing those links will break programs.

Practical sequence (high level)

  • Make a full backup/image of the 30 GB drive to external media before any destructive step.
  • Inventory programs installed on the larger disk. For each important program prefer uninstall + reinstall into the working Windows install, or run its Repair option so registry entries and COM registrations point to the running ME.
  • Export the Registry (File -> Export in regedit) then search the registry for references to the D: path and note anything that clearly belongs to the old Windows. Fix only obvious items or after a reinstall.
  • Once applications are confirmed running from the booting ME, remove Windows-only system files on the data drive so it becomes a plain data volume. Typical root system files to remove (run from an elevated prompt and only after the backup):
    attrib -s -h -r D:\IO.SYS
del D:\IO.SYS
attrib -s -h -r D:\MSDOS.SYS
del D:\MSDOS.SYS
attrib -s -h -r D:\COMMAND.COM
del D:\COMMAND.COM
rd /s /q D:\WINDOWS
  • Clean shortcuts, StartUp entries and PATH values that point to D:\, and test thoroughly for a few boots.

Notes and cautions

  • Registry edits and deleting system files are risky; keep the image until everything is verified.
  • Reinstalling large or complex apps into the working OS is usually faster and more reliable than attempting registry surgery.
  • If uncertainty remains, keep the second disk offline (power/jumper) and test a boot; that proves the system disk is fully independent before deleting anything.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for caperjack

just format the one you are not using .
Format drive
or if you are running one as slave and not using it ! just go into mycomputer and right click the slave drive and clcik format .

Member Avatar for nikuki

i wish it were just that simple.

i currently boot from my 6GB drive and have all my programs installed to my 30GB drive.

i wanted to uninstall windows from my 30GB, but i don't think i chose the option when i installed.

i guess the only thing i can think of is temproarily moving all the files i want to keep to another large drive, like i guess i could borrow one from my dad or something. then formatting it and putting all my stuff back... i have like 20GB used.

Member Avatar for Yzk

Okay:
so you run programs And boot from your C:\ 6GB.
All your data is stored on D:\ 30 GB. with another Win ME. <-- this is the old one.
You could move all the data from D:\ to the other drive and call it E:\
Just use Disk manager for doing this. But if you could I advise you for removing ancient stuff that you don't need. And well after that, format D:

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