Formatting a hard disk which has NTFS

You can easily make the 3 installations go away.

You can edit the extra installs out of the boot.ini file.
The file should be in the root folder of the boot drive.

For more detail, check out the dual boot page at www.systeminternals.com

You can also search Microsofts web site on the terms boot.ini and bootcfg.

You may be able to delete the extra installs directly with the bootcfg command.
Just bbe sure to follow the syntax.

I am assuming that all 3 versions of XP are installed in the same folder. If not, you will still have files on the drive for the extra installs.
You can verify the folder used by each install when you review the boot.ini file.

Chas

Just to add to TheChas' answer:

Yes, the 3 instances are all in BOOT.INI
All you have to do is open BOOT.INI, and delete the two last lines, leaving the Default line and the first Operating System line.
Probably, all 3 installs pointed to the same drive/partition, so they will look all the same.
It is not hurting anything to leave them in, but I understand: it is not stylish!
BOOT.INI is a hidden and read-only file, so you will have to open Windows Explorer (or My Computer - same thing!), click on Tools -> Folder Options -> View tab, and then unselect the option Hide Protected Operating System Files.
That should make BOOT.INI visible.
Now, browse to the root drive (probably C:) and right-click on BOOT.INI, choose Properties, and uncheck the Read Only checkbox.
Click Ok.
Now, open BOOT.INI in Notepad and make the changes. Save the changes, then go back and re-check the Read Only option for the file to make it read-only again.

hope this helps

Well, you can surely use the answers given above? but if you are not worried of formatting the drive this can be the best choice, since most probably you have several copies of OS (at least boot files, like ntkern, ntldr etc)
So the best way not toget into long an unsafe removement of these files, you can create a boot disk under XP (yes, in XP you can make DOS boot disk), then start from this disk (select another boot pririty in BIOS setup utility)
After you boot use fdisk to delete all partitions (if more then one), and remake them. Format them - note they 'll be formatted as FAT32. After you start XP installtion, you'll have a prompt to convert FAT32 into NTFS. Go ahead and install it then as usual.
This procedure will ensure that your drive is clean (unless you have hidden partitions)

You can also try to fix MBR - fixmbr command in Recovery Console, but this can lead to OS crash.

Hi,

And to add to the above two answers, you may prefer to start again with a fresh installation. You should be able to boot off the XP CD and reformat in that process so you can guarantee only one installation of XP.

From memory, you need to select the install afresh option rather than the recommended upgrade option you're presented with. I seem to remember its a dropdown list at one point.

If you do that, then you'll be led through a series of screens where you can delete and recreate your partitions and reformat the system one at that time.

Cheers,
Tim.

I would Boot the PC in DOS using a Windows 98 boot disc and then FDISK the machine and Recreate as many partitions you require. I would Create at least 2 partitions and install Windows 98 onto the first partition and then Install XP onto another partition. I would only do this because not all games and programs run in Windows XP.

I ran across a similar case recently. The user had been running Mandrake and 2000. I used Gdisk (similar to Fdisk but developed by Norton Ghost) to re-init the MBR. Mandrake had been removed, but was still present in the MBR. After I re-init theMBR, 2000 went back and found all the hardware and works like a charm now...

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