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2 XP OS on my laptop... I want to get rid of one

By eecniagara ·
Hi
I am NOT a techie... and I have a slight problem and could use some techie advise.
I had Windows 2000 on this laptop... I can't remember what happened but it went for a crap. And I could not find the CD to reinstall it so I picked up XP Pro. When I went to install it there was some problem where 2000 wouldn't let me. I think at this point it becomes loud and clear I am NOT a very technical person.
Anyway, somehow I managed to install 2 separate XP OS on this thing. Now I am short of disk space and would like to get rid of the second one,but I can't figure it out. The 2nd one is simply the OS, no programs or other files and to further confuse the issue, I think I may have partioned the drive too... so its like I have 2 computers here, but zilch for storage space.
Question is: HOW DO I ERASE THE 2ND SYSTEM AND FREE UP THAT HARD DRIVE SPACE?
A DETAILED PLAIN ENGLISH INSTRUCTION SHEET WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
Thanx
Willy
eecniagara@rogers.com

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Firstly as you said you are not a "Techie"

by HAL 9000 Moderator In reply to 2 XP OS on my laptop... I ...

It will be hard to explain just how to perform this and most likely you will not have the necessary software available to do the job easily either.

The simple answer is to backup all your data and then reformat the HDD using something like IBM's Wipe or Zap or the utility that is available from Maxtor which effectively does the same thing but takes a lot longer.

You can then do a clean install of XP and all your software without risking any of your precious data which is the only irreplaceable part of any computer and most often is not given the value it actually has by a lot of end users until it is no longer there. After the unit is reloaded you can then restore all of your data including any e-mail, address book and favorites list for your Web Browser.

There are faster ways to do this but they all involve using software that you are unlikely to have and you run the risk of losing all of your data as well.

Col

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