How to uninstall Windows XP

by Denny Johnes.
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When you upgrade a computer running Windows 98/Me to Windows XP Home Edition or Professional, the Setup routine automatically saves a copy of the Windows XP removal files to the Windows folder. These files enable you to later revert to the previous operating system if desired. The Add or Remove Programs applet in Control Panel contains a Windows XP Uninstall option that restores the previous operating system without changing any data you have created since upgrading to Windows XP. However, you may need to reinstall any applications that were installed or modified since you upgraded to Windows XP because these applications will not have the correct Registry entries for Windows 98/Me. Likewise, if you have removed any applications while running Windows XP, Start menu shortcuts will be present after you revert to Windows 98/Me. Simply delete these shortcuts if this happens.

Caution

If you have upgraded from Windows 98 or Windows Me and think you may want to revert to your previous operating system, do not convert your hard disk to the NTFS file system, or upgrade the disk to dynamic storage. If you do, the option to uninstall Windows XP is no longer available.

Follow these steps to uninstall Windows XP:

1) Click Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs.

2) The Add or Remove Programs applet will contain a Windows XP Uninstall entry. Select this entry and click Change/Remove.

3) Select Uninstall Windows XP from the options in the Uninstall Windows XP dialog box that appears, and then click Continue. Note that if the removal files are not present or have been deleted, it will not be possible to uninstall Windows XP. In this case, the Uninstall Windows XP option will not appear.

4) The Windows XP Uninstall dialog box informs you of the programs that have been installed or modified since you installed Windows XP. You will need to reinstall these programs after you complete uninstalling Windows XP. Click Continue to uninstall Windows XP or Quit to cancel.

Tip - To delete the older OS files, follow the first three steps of this procedure, and then select the Remove the Backup of My Previous Operating System option, and click Continue.

5) Click Yes in the confirmation message box that appears.

6) An Uninstall message box appears and Windows XP shuts down.

7) The computer reboots and Windows uninstallation proceeds. When the computer reboots a second time, the previous Windows operating system will start. Note that the Documents and Settings folder created by Windows XP is still present and may contain documents created while Windows XP was running.

Tip If you are unable to start Windows XP properly after upgrading from Windows 98/Me, you may be able to uninstall Windows XP from the Safe Mode with Command Prompt advanced startup option. See Knowledge Base article 308233 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308233/) for more information.

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