When Windows Vista is first installed as a dual boot operating system a new boot folder is added to the root directory of your PC. When you boot your PC a menu appears with the following options:
- Earlier versions of Windows
- Windows Vista
If you have decided you no longer want Windows Vista on your PC then there are number of ways to uninstall or remove window vista from your computer.
First Method: To remove or uninstall Windows vista from dual-boot XPUse these instructions on the basis you are using XP and using a dual boot with Vista on drive D or other.
Place your XP disc in the tray and reboot. Press any key to boot from CD
Once you have reached the setup page, press R to start the recovery console.
You should eventually see a screen listing 1) XP and 2) Vista. It will ask you which operating system you wish to fix/restore. Press 1 for XP and hit enter. It will ask you no admin password, if you have no password, leave it blank and hit enter.
Now at the command prompt type fixboot. It will give you a warning and ask if you are sure. Press Y and hit enter.
Now at the command prompt type fixmbr. Again it will give you a warning and ask if you are sure. Press Y and hit enter.
That is it. Now type exit and your system will reboot with only XP on the boot.
Now when you get back into XP you will see your vista D drive is still there and you can access your files. This is your chance to recover any files you forgot to backup. Simply browse the D drive for the files you want and bring them back to your C partition. When you are confident you no longer want the vista drive, simply right click it and select format. (Source:becs.wordpress)
Second Method: To remove or uninstall Windows vista from dual-boot XPTo remove this menu, or more to the point, the boot loader, proceed as follows:
1 Boot the PC to Windows Vista
2 Ensure you are logged onto the Internet and then download the freeware boot loader utility VistaBootPro (www.vistabootpro.org)
3 Once you have downloaded VistaBootPro, install it on your machine
4 During Install VistaBootPro will install an icon on your desktop
5 Locate the VistaBootPro icon and Right Click on it. Then, from the drop down menu, Click on the Run As Administrator option
6 User Account Control (UAC) will pop up and ask for permission to run the program
7 After you have given UAC permission - you must be the administrator or have administrator privileges - VistaBootPro will run.
8 Once VistaBootPro opens, Click on the Bootloader tab
9 In the Bootloader Maintenance section, Click on the Radio button next to the option marked 'Uninstall the Vista Bootloader (Used to restore Legacy OS) option' and then Click the Apply button
10 Finally Reboot your PC
11 On rebooting your machine you will boot directly into Windows XP (or an earlier operating system). No menu will appear.
12 All that is left to do now is to delete the partition which originally contained Windows Vista. (Assuming you wish to remove the Vista partition from your hard drive).
Third Method: To remove or uninstall Windows vista from dual-boot XP- Boot your computer in to Windows XP.
- Ensure you have the Vista DVD image emulated or in the DVD drive.
- Go to “Start” and “Run”. Type in “e:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force” (without quotes, and replacing e: with the drive letter of your Vista DVD).
- Restart the computer, and you will notice the boot selection menu is gone.
- Format the partition/drive where you had Vista installed.
- Remove two files (Boot.BAK & Bootsect.BAK) on your XP drive’s root folder (C:), these were backup files of your previous bootloader, now no longer useful.
- Optional: Restart to ensure it still works.
- Use your partition software to merge your partitions together.
Disclaimer: This post has been compiled from various sites and blogs and none of above said methods are tried by me. you must backup, backup your files and folders before trying any of the methods given above and at your own risk. This information serves as a quick guide only and if you are unsure about any steps please refer to the manufacturer of your PC.
Labels: Tips and Tricks, Windows, Windows Vista