Introduction

If you upgraded to Windows Vista from an older version of Windows with a clean install, you should be able to uninstall Windows Vista and use the previous version of Windows again.

Before you go any further, check to see if you have a Windows.OLD folder in the root of your C: drive. If you do, you should be good to go. If you don’t, you didn’t perform a clean install during the upgrade or you deleted the Windows.OLD folder and this won’t work for you.

Note: If you’re looking for a guide on how-to install Windows XP on a computer that came pre-installed with Windows Vista, The How-To Geek ^[1] has a great guide that’ll help.

Before You Start

If you have anything important on your computer, you might want to back it up before you go any further.

Make sure you have enough hard drive space. You’ll need double what is in the Windows.OLD folder in free space to revert back to the old version of Windows.

Please Note: If you don’t follow instructions exactly you could loose everything. I’m not responsible for any damage or lost data caused by following this guide.

Let’s Uninstall Windows Vista

Start the Windows Recovery Environment with DOS Prompt

1. Put your Windows Vista DVD in your DVD drive and restart your computer.
2. Press any key on your keyboard to boot to the DVD when asked by your computer.

   ^[2]

3. Select your language and keyboard layout, and then press Next.

   ^[3]

4. Click Repair your computer.

   ^[4]

5. Select Windows Vista, and then press Next.

   ^[5]

6. Click Command Prompt.

   ^[6]

Now that the command prompt is open we can get to work.

Rename the Windows and Program Files folders

1. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   c:

   ^[7]

2. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   cd\

   ^[8]

3. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   ren Windows Windows.Vista

   ^[9]

4. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   ren “Program Files” “Program Files.Vista”

   ^[10]

Remove the Documents and Settings Junction Point

Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

rd “Documents and Settings”

^[11]

Copy the Contents of Windows.OLD to the Root of C:

Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

xcopy /s /h c:\windows.old\*.* c:\

^[12]

Note: If you get asked if you want to overwrite files tell it yes by pressing y. The xcopy process will take a little while to complete. You’ll see a lot of activity in the DOS box while xcopy is working.

Restore the Old Boot Sector

Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

D:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:

^[13]

Note: If you receive an error like the one in the screen shot below, use the next letter in the alphabet in the command above until it works.

^[14]

Restore the Old Boot.ini File

1. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   c:

   then type:

   cd\

   just like you did earlier.

   ^[15]

2. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   attrib boot.ini.saved -s -h –r

   ^[16]

3. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   ren “boot.ini.saved” “boot.ini”

   ^[17]

4. Type the following in the command prompt and press Enter after on your keyboard:

   attrib boot.ini +s +h +r

   ^[18]

Close the DOS Prompt and Restart

1. Type:

   exit

   and then press enter on your keyboard to close the DOS prompt.

2. Click Restart in the System Recovery Options box.

Cross your fingers and hold your mouth the right way and your previous version of Windows will boot up.

Clean Up Vista

Once you are absolutely sure you don’t need any of the old files used when you were using Windows Vista you can delete the Windows.Vista and Program Files.Vista folders in the root of your C: drive to free up a few gigabytes of space on your hard drive.