How to Uninstall and Remove Windows 7 or Vista Leaving Windows XP on Dual Boot S ystem Windows operating system supports

dual-booting a PC, where users can install mul tiple OSes and select which system to boot up to on machine startup. If you have installed Windows 7 or Windows Vista on top of current existing Windows XP to m ake the PC a dual boot system, but now decided to ditch or dump the Windows 7 or Windows Vista partition to revert to the old good classic Windows XP follow the guide below to uninstall and remove Windows 7 or Windows Vista to leave only Wi ndows XP without having to reinstall the OS, and without affecting saved files a nd data. Important: Do not use this tutorial if your dualboot system is Windows 7 and Win dows Vista. 1. Boot up and log on to Windows XP desktop. 2. Insert the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD installation disc into CD-ROM or DVD-ROM optical drive. Alternatively, mount the Windows 7 or Windows Vista DVD ISO image on any v irtual drive. 3. Run Command Prompt, or click directly to Start menu -> Run command. 4. In the command prompt or the Run text box, issue the following command and hit Enter: [DVD Drive Letter]:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force For example, If the DVD drive path is D:, then enter the following: D:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force The step will remove the boot menu to select operating system to start. 5. Remove the DVD disc and restart the computer. 6. The computer will boot up with Windows XP installation partition. 7. Manually remove files and folders of Windows Vista or Windows 7, including Windows, Program Files and Users folder. If you re installing to separate partiti on, just format the partition to clean it instantly (with FDisk, Disk Manager of Computer Management or third party partition management software such as Partit ion Magic or EASEUS Partition Manager). 8. On the root system folder of Windows XP, delete Boot.BAK and BootSect.BAK. The two files are remnant backup leftover files of previously installed Windows Vista or Windows 7 bootloader, but no longer useful for Windows XP only system. Tip: NT52 is the MBR (Master Boot Record) used by Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, while Windows Vista uses NT6. So if you re uninstall Windows 7 in Vista/7 du al boot system, change the NT52 in the command to NT60. Fast Shortcut: It s also possible to format the Windows Vista or Windows 7 partiti on straight away, and then start the computer with Windows XP Setup CD to repair the system partition, or run the bootsect /nt52 c: command above from the \boot\ folder of leftover OS immediately to repair the boot partition. Tip: When startup repair the boot record after removing an installed operating s ystem from dual-boot or multi-boot system, always use the highest version of Win dows installation DVD/CD to perform the repair. For example, in a tri-boot PC wi th Windows XP, Vista and 7, after uninstalling Windows 7, use Windows Vista to r epair the system. If the PC is restored and reverted back to Windows XP, then us e the Windows XP setup CD.