[BeFriended]

So heres the deal. hope someone can help. I had a laptop operating on windows 98, i wanted to upgrade to xp so i just ran the installation disk. I accidently installed xp in the same partition as 98. My comp automatically runs windows xp but i would like to remove it entirely and return to operating on windows 98.

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When you performed the upgrade from 98 to XP, you should have been prompted to answer a question about your situation. The problem is that I don't remember specifically what it asks. It asks something along the lines of "Would you like to put XP in a special directory in case you want to uninstall it after the upgrade?". If you answered "Yes" to this question, then you can simply uninstall Windows XP and go back to 98. This function works when upgrading from all OS's but Windows 2000. If you answered no, then you will simply have to remove windows yourself and then reinstall 98. This will not be possible if you converted your drive from a FAT32 file system to NTFS. Windows 98 does not support NTFS. In that case, you will have to use the Windows 98 Boot disk to repartition and format the drive. Then you will be able to install Windows 98. If you did convert to NTFS and have to repartition the drive, I would suggest creating two logical partitions on the same physical drive (one for each Operating System). If you don't need to access any of your XP files while in 98, you can convert the logical drive running XP to NTFS. Remember too, that to create a dual boot system, you must install the old Operating system first.

Hope this helps.

[magusbuckley]

When you performed the upgrade from 98 to XP, you should have been prompted to answer a question about your situation. The problem is that I don't remember specifically what it asks. It asks something along the lines of "Would you like to put XP in a special directory in case you want to uninstall it after the upgrade?". If you answered "Yes" to this question, then you can simply uninstall Windows XP and go back to 98. This function works when upgrading from all OS's but Windows 2000. If you answered no, then you will simply have to remove windows yourself and then reinstall 98. This will not be possible if you converted your drive from a FAT32 file system to NTFS. Windows 98 does not support NTFS. In that case, you will have to use the Windows 98 Boot disk to repartition and format the drive. Then you will be able to install Windows 98. If you did convert to NTFS and have to repartition the drive, I would suggest creating two logical partitions on the same physical drive (one for each Operating System). If you don't need to access any of your XP files while in 98, you can convert the logical drive running XP to NTFS. Remember too, that to create a dual boot system, you must install the old Operating system first.

Hope this helps.

[BeFriended]

i actually didn't upgrade i installed windows xp completely. so i was not prompted to put it into a special directory. now have the two operating systems and just want to remove xp.

[magusbuckley]

When the computer boots, are you asked which operating system you would like to run. From one of your previous posts, it sounds as if you aren't getting that message but I need to confirm that. You say you installed XP in the same partition, but did you install it into the same directory?

Tell you what. Why don't you post a copy of your Boot.ini file here. You can find it right off the C drive. You'll have to click "Tools", then "Folder Options", and then "View Hidden Files" to see it though. Open that file up with Notepad and paste the text here.

Thanks,

[BeFriended]

I am not being aked which system to run, it automatically runs xp. i did not install it into the same directory. the windows xp directory is named windows2. i am not able to find my boot.ini file. im searching in c: and enabled searching for hidden files and folders. i searched for boot.ini. is that what it would be called? could there be another name?

[BeFriended]

found boot.ici
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS2
[operating systems]
multi(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS2="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /no execute=optin /fastdetect

windows2 is what i called windows xp
thanks for all of your help

[magusbuckley]

Do you know what kind of file system you have set up? Is it FAT, FAT32, or NTFS? Windows 98 doesn't support NTFS so if you converted the file system to NTFS, you will have to backup your data, repartition the Hard Drive with the 98 boot disk, and then reinstall Windows 98.

Let me know what kind of File System you have and then we'll go from there.

To find out what type of file system you have do this:

Click "Start", right click "My Computer", and then click "Manage". Under the "Storage" icon, click "Disk Management". In the window that appears, you'll see a list of your drives and the type of file system on them.

Let us know

[BeFriended]

it is fat32

[magusbuckley]

OK, Fat32....that's good news for you.

Now try to do this:

Reboot your PC. When you hear the beep, press "F8" on your keyboard. A DOS type menu will appear with different startup options. Choose "Safe Mode" and log in as "Administrator". If you didn't set up a password for the Administrator account, just leave the field blank as this is the default for Windows XP. Once logged in, click "Start", then "Control Panel", and finally "Add/Remove Programs". See if you can find Windows XP in the list. If you have sufficient room on your Hard Drive, it may have copied the uninstall files even though you didn't perform an upgrade. If you see it in the list, click the OS and then uninstall it. A pop up message will appear asking if you are sure you want to remove the Operating System. Answer "Yes" and see what happens.

Good luck....keep us posted on your progress.

[magusbuckley]

While waiting on your next post, I did some research on your problem. I'm not finding any information for your particular situation. I see a lot of data on removing XP when you perform an upgrade, but not if you do a full install in a different directory. That is a pretty unique setup, you know?

Unfortunately, I'm out of ideas for you. At this point, I would say you need to backup your data, repartition the drive with a 98 boot disk, and reinstall win98.

If you don't have a 98 boot disk, you can get one for free from http://www.bootdisk.com

Please recall from my original post that if you are going to repartition your Hard Drive, I would recommend creating two logical drives if you are going to setup XP also for a dual boot system. The older Operating System, Win98, will have to be installed first. Then, install XP to the other logical drive.

Somehow, I just keep thinking there will be a way to update some of your startup files to disable Windows XP and have the PC revert to 98. I didn't see what I was hoping to see in your Boot.ini file though. Actually, you said your file is called "Boot.ici" and that is a new one for me too.

If you aren't interested in formatting your drive for a clean install of 98, I would let this post float around for a day or so. Somone may come around later on who can assist you.

[BeFriended]

thanks for all of your help. i think that will just remove everything and reinstall windows 98. is there anything that i can do if i dont have my original 98 start up disk? im pretty sure that i lost it a long time ago (just to make matters worse) also how do i back up my data? i really only need to save a couple of specific programs, and i dont want to save any of the stuff that i messed up with my double os installation.

[bdlt]

starting with the backup:

how large are the specific files?

can you see them from xp?

do you have a zip drive or cd burner?

[bdlt]

bootdisk:

can you access the net?

if so, go here, as suggested in post #10 to create a startup disk

http://www.bootdisk.com

post any questions on the backup or bootdisk. I can help with the istall once the backup is done and the bootdisk is created.

[BeFriended]

Hi im back, i moved so i didnt have access to the internet for a while, hope you can still help. so i got the boot disk. i only need to save one program from my computer. it is a for my ethernet networking card. i dont have the original disk for it so can i save the program to reinstall it with a back up disk? also i dont have my original windows 98 startup disk is there any way to get around this?

[BeFriended]

bump