Shoutbox

Hi everyone, you have all been so helpful in the past so i thought i would come here once again for a bit of advice. Ok so heres the situation:
I have a laptop that was given to me that came with Windows NT which i used for a bit then decided to set up a dual boot on separate partitions with Windows XP. And that all works fine by everytime i start up a menu comes up and asks which OS to start.
Well that was a while ago and now i no longer have use for NT. I want to remove NT completely and eventually merge the two partitions together using this program i was reading about called Partition Magic 8.
Windows NT is installed on C: Drive
and
Windows XP is installed on D: Drive

I no longer need anything on C drive (NT) so i was wondering if i could right click on it and choose format, thus deleting NT as well. My question is would this have any effects on the workings of my computer by no longer having the windows folder or anything remaing (even though XP is on drive D) ???
Once the NT partition is empty i then want to merge it back to the rest without loss of data to D.

If anyone offer any advice or warnings on any of this it would be greatly appreciated
Cheers, Daniel

Hi. If you format your C: drive you'll remove the boot loader and Windows XP won't start. But you can fix it by starting the Windows XP installation from the CD and canceling it at the first restart.

It's not possible to merge your two partitions without having to reinstall XP. Your Windows XP is installed in your D: drive, if you merge them, you'll only have C: and all registry entries pointing to D: will no longer be valid, thus Windows won't work.

Anyways, I don't recommend using programs such as Partition Magic, they can cause trouble.
In your case, I'd backup my stuff, restart with the Windows XP CD, remove and recreate the partitions from there, and install XP. That way you'll have a nice and clean installation

back ur files up, reinstall XP and have fun

quote:

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Originally posted by SikStyles
back ur files up, reinstall XP and have fun

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Huh? He wants to remove NT...

Haha ok thanks lopardo lucky I came here before just diving into it. sounds like a bit too much of a pain to me even though i am due for a fresh install.
One more question. On my C drive where is the boot loader information kept. cos im thinking of manually getting rid of everything but it. should i keep the WINNT and WINDOWS folder in C: and thats all?
So i take it there is no way of 'uninstalling' an operating system?
Is there a way of editing the boot file so that it wont ask which operating system to start instead just load xp. At the moment it has xp selected automatically and waits 25 secs in case you want to select another.

Oh another question that is sort of not related but still sorta is
I have bought Norton Internet Security and had it for a while. it has been installed twice on this computer (2nd time after fresh install) and i tried also installing it on another computer in the house but the third time it wouldnt work. I figured they have a limit on the number of computers it is allowed to be installed on...oh well. but the problem is, if i fresh install once again XP on this laptop and try to put norton back on. will it not let me because its already been installed twice before?? I really want to keep this so at the moment norton is the only thing that is stopping me from a much needed fresh XP install.

Thanks everyone
Daniel

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan0208
On my C drive where is the boot loader information kept. cos im thinking of manually getting rid of everything but it. should i keep the WINNT and WINDOWS folder in C: and thats all?

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The boot information is stored in some files in the root of the C: drive and in the MBR (Master Boot Record - which is in the hard disk).

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan0208
So i take it there is no way of 'uninstalling' an operating system?

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Yes, there is, but first you need to think how it will affect any other OS you have installed.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan0208
Is there a way of editing the boot file so that it wont ask which operating system to start instead just load xp. At the moment it has xp selected automatically and waits 25 secs in case you want to select another.

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Yes. From Windows XP you can get rid of NT by deleting all the files in C: (or WINNT, Windows, and Program files) except for those in the root of C:.
Then you can edit C:\boot.ini so that the menu doesn't appear when you turn on your PC, make a copy before editing it. You'll also need to remove the read only attribute (right click it > Properties).
Or you can also edit it safely from Windows XP: right click My Computer > Properties > Startup and recovery > Settings. Set Windows XP as the default OS, and uncheck "Show the list..." (the names may be different, my XP is in Spanish).

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan0208
Oh another question that is sort of not related but still sorta is
I have bought Norton Internet Security and had it for a while. it has been installed twice on this computer (2nd time after fresh install) and i tried also installing it on another computer in the house but the third time it wouldnt work. I figured they have a limit on the number of computers it is allowed to be installed on...oh well. but the problem is, if i fresh install once again XP on this laptop and try to put norton back on. will it not let me because its already been installed twice before?? I really want to keep this so at the moment norton is the only thing that is stopping me from a much needed fresh XP install.

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Sorry, I don't know about Norton Internet Security, I use the Windows XP Firewall which works perfectly fine

well seeing as you are basically formatting it, the norton install information is kept in the registry and this will be wiped so there should be no problems with a frsh install

What i am saying is i have tried installing it on a computer before that has never had norton on it and the setup and install would just not run. I figured this was because there was a limit on number of times you could install??

quote:

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Originally posted by Dan0208
What i am saying is i have tried installing it on a computer before that has never had norton on it and the setup and install would just not run. I figured this was because there was a limit on number of times you could install??

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That sounds like a problem with the cd drive or the computer. As Lee Jeffery said the installation information will be wiped after a format and a fresh install.

Exactly what Ahmz_055 said, the CD is read only so it can't store information about the number of installations, unless it requires some sort of Internet activation.