Member Avatar for thomasb1942

I installed 2 copies of windows xp trying to solve a start up problem.
I have start up fixed but now I have two operating systems.
How do I uninstall the 2nd system?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by lasher511

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Short, safe plan to remove the extra XP install without reinstalling everything.

As noted, a full reinstall will certainly leave a single clean system, but it is usually overkill. Since both installs are on the same partition (you said C:\Windows and C:\Windows1), the low-risk workflow is: confirm exactly which copy is running, remove the extra entry from the boot menu, and then retire the unused Windows directory while keeping a fallback for a few days. 's suggestion to rename first instead of immediately deleting is a good precaution; was right that partition-formatting only applies when the second install is on its own partition.

Quick checks (run at a Command Prompt) to see which install is active:

echo %windir%

That prints the Windows folder the running system uses (for example C:\Windows or C:\Windows1). If you prefer a GUI check, open Control Panel -> System and confirm the OS details.

To remove the extra boot entry without hand-editing system files, use Start -> Run -> msconfig and examine the Boot.ini tab (it will let you view/edit boot entries safely). After you set the correct default and timeout, reboot to confirm the system starts reliably from the intended install.

Safe removal steps:

  • Make a quick image or backup of the drive (image tools can save lots of hassle).
  • Rename the unused Windows folder (for example C:\Windows_old) and reboot several times to prove nothing breaks.
  • If everything is fine after a few days, delete the renamed folder from Safe Mode or from an external boot environment so locked files are removed cleanly.
  • Optionally run Disk Cleanup and check C:\Documents and Settings for any leftover profiles.

Caution: deleting the other Windows folder removes that copy of system files but does not undo any programs that were installed there (uninstallers or registry entries from the old install will not be used by the kept OS). Take an image first if there is any doubt.

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Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

safest way is to reformat the hard drive and install everything all over again. You need to back up important files first. If you don't want to do that, then you can just delete the directory that contains the os you do not want, then edit boot.ini file in the c:\ root directory and remove any references to that copy of the os. But of course that will not remove the os from the registry.

Member Avatar for lasher511

Do you have it in two different folder or two different partitions? If its partitions simply right click on the partition containing the copy of windows your not currently on and click format.

Member Avatar for thomasb1942

Thanks, I have 2 files in one Partition, "windows" and "windows1"
Per microsoft they say just delete the folder I don't want. but I don't trust them so looking for other suggestions

Member Avatar for antioed

I highly doubt Microsoft says "delete the folder you don't want". Just follow their instructions...they have no reason to screw you. You are probably using the "c:\Windows1" folder now because it sounds like the previous (broken) install resided in "c:\Windows" as that is normally the default location for the Windows directory. Delete the old installation's "Windows" folder or rename it if you're afraid it might hurt something. One good thing about Windows is that you won't be able to rename/delete the current Windows folder as the system would be running from it so it should be pretty difficult to screw things up here.

Member Avatar for lasher511

Yeah as much as i don't like the way windows has things set up with their OS sometimes i think we tend to forget that they do make life alot easier on a computer then it would be without an OS. In my experience though considering they wrote the program and know it inside out Microsoft often know what the best thing to do in a situation like this so just delete the folder you dont want like microsoft suggested I dont see it causing problems unless your on the copy you are trying to delete.

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