How to Uninstall Vista on Dual Boot Machine

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Saad Hamid on July 30, 2007

Windows Vista

Recently I bought a new high-end computer and the Nvidia GeForce 7600GT Graphics Card which makes the best combination to run Vista. I installed Windows Vista on one of my drives leaving Windows XP unchanged and untouched on my default C drive. After playing around a little in Windows Vista it revealed on me that most of my hardware drivers and some softwares were not compatible with Vista so I decided to switch back.

Uninstall Vista on Dual Boot Machine

I formatted the drive containing Windows Vista but the problem is that whenever the computer restarted it showed the dual-boot option for Vista and for Windows XP even though I had deleted Windows Vista. After a little research I came over a solution that helps you fix the dual boot issue for a clean Vista uninstall.

The reason for this problem is that Vista no longer uses boot.ini to store boot information like for Windows XP and previous OS versions. There are two very easy solutions to fix the dual boot issue. You can use any one of them to fix your problem. However I must clarify that Solution 2 has been personally tested by me and works 100%.

Before preceding with any of these solutions remember to Format the drive where Windows Vista has been installed previously in order to make this process clean and fully working.

Solution 1: Use VistaBoot Pro

VistaBoot Pro is a very easy to use and helpful utility designed to make changes to the Windows Vista Boot menu such as changing the name of the Operating Systems shown in the boot menu and make advanced "functional" changes like adding an Operating System to the boot menu and repairing the Windows Vista boot configuration data.

Just Download and Install this software while in Windows XP and delete the Windows Vista entry from the boot menu to solve your issue.

Solution 2: Use Recovery Console

This is the second and the most reliable and fast solution for this issue provided that you have a WindowsXP Home or Professional CD or DVD.

Just change you BIOS settings to boot from CDDVD-ROM drive and boot from your Windows XP CD. Now, you would see screen as below, Choose the "Recovery Console" option by presing 'R' key. Now here is what you have to do.

Select the drive number where Windows XP is installed ("1" in most cases)
Enter your administrator password (if asked)
Now type FIXMBR and press Y to confirm your action
Now Type FIXBOOT and press Y to confirm again

and thats it. Enjoy

Stevo

Another freeware program you could use is EasyBCD from Neosmart Technologies. Super easy and the price is right.

http://www.best-registrycleaner.net Best Registry Cleaner

There are two very easy solutions to fix the dual boot issue.

http://www.whoismadhur.com Madhur Kapoor

Thanks for the info buddy . I have used the Solution 2 for removing Linux , never knew it would work for Vista too .
http://www.mintyblog.com Ehsan

Thats pretty good i think i am also going to upgrade my PC or rather buy a new one to test out vista or just have Vista on one PC lol
http://www.sizlopedia.com Dj Flush

This tip will definitely help those people who want to completely get rid of Vista and stay only with Windows XP
H

I dont have an XP CD. I tried to down load the software but it says it cant because of .NET 2.0 framework missing. How can i fix this?
http://www.sizlopedia.com Dj Flush

Yes you will need the .NET 2.0 Framework Utility installed on your machine so the software can access the Microsoft system files.

You can download the .Net 2.0 Framework from here and proceed.
H

Thanks alot. I downloaded the .Net framework and vistabootPRO and managed to get that dual boot menu off straight away. Cheers
http://www.sizlopedia.com Dj Flush

I am glad that the solution worked for you
ThongD

Thanks for your great instructions. I used method #2. Since I already have a Recovery Console installed on my laptop, I booted into it and ran FIXMBR and then FIXBOOT. I’m back to only XP.
http://www.sizlopedia.com Dj Flush

Brilliant! Looks it worked simple and smooth for you just like it worked for me
Joe Rafferty

When you do Solution 2, what happens if you have a clean HDD? I want to remove Vista and then install my old XP? can anyone help on msn?
tenorman

Your second (most reliable) method doesn't show the command 'Fixboot' followed by “y”. it just shows the FixMbr command. I have been reluctant to run this until I am sure.
Thanks for any reply
Kaye