How to delete win 2k and keep only xp

[Kenny]

I am having a bit of a problem, I cant retrieve any of my
files in xp, I keep getting this blue error screen, so I
tried to install 2000 and another error half-way through,
so i reboot my computer it has now got both xp and 2000 but
neither of them work... I can't even gain access to the
desktop, well I get as far as the windows logo and then
that's it... it freezes. Do u know if my files are still there?

2000 has taken up the rest of my HD, I'm out of space.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I am having a bit of a problem, I cant retrieve any of my
files in xp, I keep getting this blue error screen, so I
tried to install 2000 and another error half-way through,
so i reboot my computer it has now got both xp and 2000 but
neither of them work... I can't even gain access to the
desktop, well I get as far as the windows logo and then
that's it... it freezes. Do u know if my files are still there?

2000 has taken up the rest of my HD, I'm out of space.

Let's deal with your most urgent question first: Your data files.
- Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com.
- Run ntfsdos.exe from www.sysinternals.com
- See if your data files are still there.

About your upgrades: It appears that you enjoy living right at
the edge. Your worried question about your files suggests two
things:
- You don't believe in backing up your important data
files to an independent medium every week.
- You upgrade/install operating systems without first
securing your data.

You may want to review your backup policy against
the backdrop of how much time it will take you to
re-create your data files if you lost the lot.

I suggest you now do this:
- Temporarily install your hard disk as a slave disk in
some other Win2000/XP PC.
- Save your data files to another disk.
- Check that the files are really there.
- Return the disk to your own machine.
- Allow the disk to be formatted while re-installing
the new OS.