Uninstalling Windows XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brenda Gauthier
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Brenda Gauthier

I have installed windows xp on my son's computer not
knowing that you had to activate and to do that means
purchasing another licence. Did not know it can only be
installed on one computer.

I have tried everything according to Microsoft
instructions to uninstall windows xp and nothing is
working. I want to reinstall Windows 98 and I receive
error message that windows xp has to be uninstalled.

Can anyone please help me and provide step by step
instructions on how to do this. I am getting so
frustrated and my son can't use his computer because of
the activation of windows xp. Thanks.
Brenda
 
If you didn't do an upgrade installation or you did but didn't save your
previous setup, XP can only be removed as follows:

Assuming you have a
98 boot floppy, boot with that. At the prompt, type fdisk and press enter,
delete the non-dos partition, create a primary dos partition, set it active
and exit.

If it says you have no non-dos partition your system is still fat32, delete
the primary DOS Partition, create a new one, set it active and exit fdisk,
reboot the system with 98 floppy in the drive and at the prompt type format
C: and press enter. Once format is
complete, change to your CD-ROM drive and with the 98 CD in the drive,
type setup, press enter and follow the screens.

If you don't have 98 boot disk with CD-ROM support, visit www.bootdisk.com.
 
I have installed windows xp on my son's computer not
knowing that you had to activate and to do that means
purchasing another licence. Did not know it can only be
installed on one computer.

I have tried everything according to Microsoft
instructions to uninstall windows xp and nothing is
working. I want to reinstall Windows 98 and I receive
error message that windows xp has to be uninstalled.

Can anyone please help me and provide step by step
instructions on how to do this. I am getting so
frustrated and my son can't use his computer because of
the activation of windows xp. Thanks.
Brenda
Click to expand...

Did you not save the previous operating system during the upgrade? If yes
and if the file system was not converted to NTFS, you can uninstall XP via
Add/Remove Programs. If no luck that route...

Since XP is newer than Win98, you can not start the Win98 setup from within
Windows. You'll need to boot from a floppy disk and then run setup on the
Win98 CD. You'll also need to perform a clean install. There is a setup.txt
file on the Win98 CD that describes the steps for performing several
installation methods, including a clean install.

Another alternative is to contact MS (or visit the local software store)
and purchase another license for the second installation.

Incidentally, it is not product activation cutting you off at the pass. The
terms of the Windows operating system license have always restricted it to
being installed on one computer. This has been widely misunderstood or
overlooked by many. Hence, product activation appeared.
 
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