I got 2 operating systems.
1 has Windows xp and the other with windows professional.
each are on a different harddrive.
i want to take off professional and re-install xp how can i get rid of professional.
xp is on my c:/ drive and professional is on the d:/ drive which has my personal files so how can uninstall professional but keep all my files

Are the O/S's;

XP Home and XP Professional?

or

XP Home and Windows 2000 Professional?

Is this a dual-boot system? (Are you offered a choice of which O/S to start when you boot the machine?)

yes it asks me which i want to use when i turn on my computer

Originally Posted by Dan Penny

Are the O/S's;

XP Home and XP Professional?

or

XP Home and Windows 2000 Professional?

Is this a dual-boot system? (Are you offered a choice of which O/S to start when you boot the machine?)

yes it asks me which i want to use when i turn on my computer

Simple Method:
When you boot, choose XP Professional (on D: ). Make a new folder on C: named xfer. (C:\xfer.) Copy all your desired personal files to C:\xfer.

NOTE: Any files which are the result of "programs" must have the same "programs" installed on C: in order to run/work. Example; if you copy MS WORD ".doc" files over to C:, MS WORD must be installed on C: as well, or else they will open in WORDPAD. Files with unique extensions (such as .pdf for Adobe Acrobat Reader) will not open unless Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on C:.

When copying, you may wish to copy entire folders to c:\xfer so you know where they came from (when they were on D: ) if you wish to copy them back to the same folders on C:.

ie; copy your entire Desktop folder from D:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Desktop to place them back into C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Desktop. Same with "Favorites" etc.

If you wish to save emails, post back indicating what mail utility you use. ie; Outlook or Outlook Express etc. It's a bit more complicated so if you want to save these we'll address that as a seperate issue before you carry out the below instructions and get rid of XP Professional.


After you've copied all your files to C:, right click on My Computer, click Properties, Advanced, then Settings under the Startup and Recovery section. Under System startup, ensure that XP Home (on C: ) is highlighted in the box for the Default Operating System, then remove the check mark from the box for "Time to display list of operating systems".

Click OK, OK to exit from the My Computer properties. Restart your machine.

It should boot directly to XP Home on C:. Ensure your files are in c:\xfer. Then open My Computer or Windows Explorer and right click on your D: drive and choose FORMAT. Format the drive with the file system you want (FAT32 or NTFS). After that, XP Professional should be gone.

Now, you stated; "... i want to take off professional and re-install xp..."

If you really want to reinstall XP, be aware that all unique programs you have , and, all MS Updates will have to be reinstalled.

So, if that's what you want, after D: has been formatted, copy your xfer folder (C:\xfer) over to D:. Then copy any and all personal files which reside on C: over to this folder on D: as well.

Put your appropriate XP CD (Home) into your CDROM drive (if/when the CD autoruns when you insert it, just click Cancel or Close the window).

Restart your machine.

You may have to enter your machines bios to set the CDROM drive as the first boot device to boot from your XP CD.

When it boots, choose "Setup Windows XP" (by hitting ENTER). During the setup, ENSURE ENSURE ENSURE you choose the C: partition/drive to setup on.

Better yet, if D: is a physically seperate hard disk, (with the machine off of course) remove the data and power cables from the D: drive before you reinstall windows.

During the setup, when given the opportunity to format the C: partition before the installation begins, do so. This will give you a totally clean/fresh install.

Once it's completed setup and running smoothly, power down and reconnect the D: drive/disk.