MORE INFORMATIONTo revert back to your previous Operating system, select the option below that represents the way you installed Windows 7, and then follow the steps for that scenario to revert back to your previous operating system. You installed Windows 7 as a new installation over an earlier version of Windows You installed Windows 7 on a computer that did not have an operating system installed You upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7 You have a multi-boot system that has Windows 7 installed

Note:If you currently have Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 installed, the uninstall steps are the same as with Windows 7 without any service packs installed.

Scenario 1: You installed Windows 7 as a new installation over an earlier version of WindowsYou used the Windows 7 installation media to install Windows 7 to the same hard disk drive on which you had Windows XP, Windows Vista, or another version of Windows 7 installed.

Note This Scenario applies when upgrading to Windows 7 using both the Upgrade media and the Full product media.

In this scenario, the Windows 7 installation will have created a Windows.old folder that contains your previous operating system and personal files. This Windows.old folder is in the root of the Windows partition. To revert to this previous operating system, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:971760 How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder Important Reverting to a previous operating system by using the Windows.old folder does not keep any files or settings from the current installation of Windows 7. Reverting to the previous operating system will restore the computer back to the previous installation at the time that Windows 7 was installed. For more information about how to back up your data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 971759 How to back up your data on a Windows-based computer Scenario 2: You installed Windows 7 on a computer that did not have an operating system installedIn this scenario, you used the installation media to install Windows 7 to an empty hard disk drive.

In this scenario, there is no previous operating system to which you can revert. If you want to back up your computer and transfer the data from this Windows 7 installation to your next operating system, follow these steps: 1. Back up your data to a network location or removable media. For more information about how to back up your data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 971759 How to back up your data on a Windows-based computer 2. Insert the Windows XP or Windows Vista installation media, and then install the Windows operating system.

For more information about how to perform a clean install of Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 316941 How to install or upgrade to Windows XP For more information about how to perform a clean install of Windows Vista, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 918884 How to install Windows Vista 3. Complete the installation. 4. Restore, transfer, or copy your data to the new operating system after the installation has completedScenario 3: You upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7On a Windows Vista-based computer, you inserted the Windows 7 installation media and selected the Upgrade option. Then, you upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7.

Note This Scenario applies when upgrading to Windows 7 using both the Upgrade media and the Full product media.

In this scenario, there is no previous operating system to which you can revert. If you want to back up your computer and transfer the data from this Windows 7 installation to your next operating system, follow the steps that are listed in Scenario 2.

Note The only Microsoft-supported upgrade scenario is from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Scenario 4: You have a multi-boot system that has Windows 7 installedYou installed Windows 7 on a separate partition, and kept the earlier version of Windows on your computer. To uninstall Windows 7 from this multi-boot system, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Uninstall-Windows-7-on-a-multi-boot-systemFor more information about multi-boot system, please visit the following Microsoft Web sites:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Install-more-than-one-operating-system-multi-boot

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Can-I-have-more-than-one-operating-system-on-my-computer-multi-bootInstall more than one operating system (multiboot)If your computer's hard disk has adequate free disk space, you can install a newer version of Windows on a separate partition and keep the earlier version of Windows on your computer. This is called a multiboot or dual-boot configuration. Whenever you start your computer, you can then choose which version of Windows to run. For more information, see Can I have more than one operating system on my computer (multiboot)?Multibooting requires separate partitions on your computer's hard disk for each operating system. To create and format a partition, see Create and format a hard disk partition.Example of a multiboot disk configuration

WarningYou must install the older operating system first, and then install the more recent operating system. If you don't (for example, if you install WindowsVista on a computer already running Windows7), you can render your system inoperable. This can happen because earlier versions of Windows don't recognize the startup files used in more recent versions of Windows and can overwrite them.To install Windows on a separate partition or hard diskBefore installing Windows, be sure to disable all antivirus software and back up your files to an external hard disk, a CD, a DVD, a USB flash drive, or a network folder. Also, find your 25-character Windows product key. You can find it on the installation disc holder inside the Windows packageor in a confirmation email if you purchased and downloaded Windows7 online. For detailed instructions about installing Windows7, see Installing and reinstalling Windows 7. 1. Turn on your computer so that your current version of Windows starts normally, and then do one of the following: If you downloaded Windows7, browse to the installation file you downloaded, and then double-click it (often identified as an Application file under the Type column). If you have a Windows7 installation disc, insert the disc into your computer. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, click the Start button, click Computer, double-click your DVD drive to open the Windows7 installation disc, and then double-click setup.exe. If you've downloaded Windows7 onto a USB flash drive, insert the drive into your computer. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, click the Start button, click Computer, double-click the drive, and then double-click setup.exe.2. On the Install Windows menu, click Install now.3. On the Get important updates for installation page, we recommend getting the latest updates to help ensure a successful installation and to help protect your computer against security threats. You must be connected to the Internet to receive installation updates. This page might not appear if your computer is not connected to the Internet.4. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms.5. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.6. On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, select the partition or disk where you want to install the new Windows operating system. Be sure to install Windows on a different partition from the one where the earlier version of Windows is installed.7. Click Next to begin the installation. You might see a compatibility report.Uninstall Windows7 on a multiboot systemIf you are running a multiboot system with Windows7 installed on a computer that is also running an earlier version of Windows, such as Windows Vista, you might be able to safely remove Windows7 from the computer, depending on how the computer is set up. To do this, you need to format the partition containing Windows7, or delete it entirely. This allows the earlier operating system to reclaim the disk space. Before you begin, you should back up your programs, files, and settings. Formatting or deleting a partition deletes all of the data on the partition. For more information about backing up data, search Help and Support for "back up." For more information about multibooting, see Can I have more than one operating system on my computer (multiboot)?Example of a multiboot disk configuration

Warnings Don't format or delete the earlier version of Windows in a multiboot configuration. Doing so could render your computer inoperable. This is because the computer uses the startup files from the earliest version of Windows that is installed on the computer. For more information, see Install more than one operating system (multiboot). If the earlier version of Windows was somehow installed after Windows7 was installed on the computer, deleting Windows7 in this case could render the computer inoperable.To format or delete an existing partition (volume)To format or delete the Windows7 partition, you need to start (boot) your computer using the earlier version of Windows.Formatting a partition deletes the data on the partition but keeps the partition on your computer's hard disk. Deleting a partition results in unallocated disk space on the hard disk. You can create additional partitions from this space, or expand an existing partition so that it can make use of the space.

NoteQuick format is a formatting option that creates a new file table, but does not fully overwrite or erase the volume. A quick format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the volume.1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.2. In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.3. Right-click the volume that Windows7 is installed on, and then click Format to format the partition, or click Delete volume to delete the partition.4. To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click OK, and then click OK again.To remove Windows7 from the multiboot screenEven if you delete or format the partition containing Windows7, it can still appear as an operating system option when you start your computer. You can remove Windows7 from the multiboot screen.1. Open System Configuration by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking System Configuration. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.2. Click the Boot tab, and then click the listing for Windows7.3. Click Delete, click OK, and then click Restart.4. 5. With the release of Windows 7, there will be those people who still will want to revert back to Vista or XP for some reason or another. If you want to uninstall Windows 7 and go back to the previous OS, you may or may not be able to do so.6. In this post, I will break down all the options and scenarios for uninstalling Windows 7 from a computer that already had an operating system, such as Windows XP or Vista. If you want further information about Windows 7, check out my previous post on finding the best online resources for Windows 7.7. 8. The first thing to note is that you can only upgrade a Windows Vista computer to Windows 7, not Windows XP. If you already have XP, you will have to do a clean install of Windows 7.9. However, if you have a computer with Windows XP and you install Windows 7 ON TOP of Windows XP, then you can actually revert back to XP. So if you have a computer with XP and you want to go to Windows 7, do NOT format your hard drive! Just pop in the disk, boot from the CD and install Windows 7.10. In this case, Windows created a folder called Windows.old in the root of the Windows partition with the previous operating system and data. You can follow the step by step instructions on how to revert to a previous installation of Windows after installing Windows 7.11. Now lets say you upgraded Windows Vista to Windows 7. In this case, you are CANNOT revert back to Windows Vista. Its a one way process and so you should be aware of this when going from Vista to Windows 7.12. In order to go back to Vista, you will have to perform a clean install of Windows Vista, meaning you will have to backup all your data and then restore it manually later. You will also have to reinstall all of your programs.13. Finally, if you installed Windows 7 on a separate partition to create a multiboot system and now want to remove Windows 7, you most likely can remove it without messing anything up.14. 15. Note that this will only work if the older version of Windows was installed first. If you installed Windows 7 and then installed Windows XP or Vista to create a multi-boot system, you cannot remove Windows 7.16. As long as you installed Windows 7 as the second OS, you first have to boot your computer into the older version of Windows and either delete or format the partition with Windows 7 installed on it.17. You have to do this so that the older version of Windows can reclaim the disk space and use it. You can do this by right-clicking on My Computer, choosing Manage and then clicking on Disk Management in the left hand list.18. Right-click on the volume where Windows 7 is installed and choose Format or Delete Volume.19. 20. Now you have to remove Windows 7 from the multiboot screen. You can do this by going to Start, Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools, System Configuration.21. Click on the Boot tab and click on the listing for Windows 7. Click Delete and then Restart.22. 23. Thats it! Once you format the Windows 7 partition and remove it from the multiboot screen, you will be able to restart your computer and have it automatically load the previous installation of Windows! EnjoyWindowsJan 17, 2009My Digital Life Editorial Team106 CommentsDeliciousdiggHow to Uninstall and Remove Windows 7 or Vista Leaving Windows XP on Dual Boot SystemTweetWindows operating system supports dual-booting a PC, where users can install multiple OSes and select which system to boot up to on machine startup. If you have installed Windows 7 or Windows Vista on top of current existing Windows XP to make the PC a dual boot system, but now decided to ditch or dump the Windows 7 or Windows Vista partition to revert to the old good classic Windows XP follow the guide below to uninstall and remove Windows 7 or Windows Vista to leave only Windows XP without having to reinstall the OS, and without affecting saved files and data.

Important: Do not use this tutorial if your dualboot system is Windows 7 and Windows Vista.1. Boot up and log on to Windows XP desktop.2. Insert the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD installation disc into CD-ROM or DVD-ROM optical drive. Alternatively, mount the Windows 7 or Windows Vista DVD ISO image on any virtual drive.3. Run Command Prompt, or click directly to Start menu -> Run command.4. In the command prompt or the Run text box, issue the following command and hit Enter: [DVD Drive Letter]:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /forceFor example,If the DVD drive path is D:, then enter the following:D:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force The step will remove the boot menu to select operating system to start.5. Remove the DVD disc and restart the computer.6. The computer will boot up with Windows XP installation partition.7. Manually remove files and folders of Windows Vista or Windows 7, including Windows, Program Files and Users folder. If youre installing to separate partition, just format the partition to clean it instantly (with FDisk, Disk Manager of Computer Management or third party partition management software such as Partition Magic or EASEUS Partition Manager).8. On the root system folder of Windows XP, delete Boot.BAK and BootSect.BAK. The two files are remnant backup leftover files of previously installed Windows Vista or Windows 7 bootloader, but no longer useful for Windows XP only system.Tip: NT52 is the MBR (Master Boot Record) used by Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, while Windows Vista uses NT6. So if youre uninstall Windows 7 in Vista/7 dual boot system, change the NT52 in the command to NT60.Fast Shortcut: Its also possible to format the Windows Vista or Windows 7 partition straight away, and then start the computer with Windows XP Setup CD to repair the system partition, or run the bootsect /nt52 c: command above from the \boot\ folder of leftover OS immediately to repair the boot partition.Tip: When startup repair the boot record after removing an installed operating system from dual-boot or multi-boot system, always use the highest version of Windows installation DVD/CD to perform the repair. For example, in a tri-boot PC with Windows XP, Vista and 7, after uninstalling Windows 7, use Windows Vista to repair the system. If the PC is restored and reverted back to Windows XP, then use the Windows XP setup CD.How to Properly Delete a OS in a Dual Boot

InformationDeleting a double booted OS may seem simple - you just delete the partition with the OS you want to get rid of and you are done. Well, it is not that easy. With said approach you may get yourself into a lot of trouble. This tutorial describes a safe way how to properly delete a double booted OS.

Step 1 - Check where the bootmgr residesOpen Disk Management and find the partition that is marked "active". That is the partition that contains the bootmgr.

The active partition is usually from the OS that was on the system first - e.g. if you installed Windows 7 on an XP system, the XP system would be the active partition. But there are also other cases.

If Windows 7 was the first OS on the system, then your bootmgr resides most likely in a separate system partition which is usually small.

If you installed Windows 7 as first OS to a disk that was not attached to the Sata port0, it can very well be that the bootmgr resides on an arbitrary partition on the disk that is attached to port0.

If you have e.g. a Dell system, your bootmgr may be on the recovery partition. Other OEMs may do the same, but I was not able to verify that.

This is the example of my current system. Note the two last partitions which are Windows 7 and Windows 8. The Windows 7 partition is marked as active. You also see that I have no small system partition because I have eliminated that partition after I moved the bootmgr from that small system partition to the Windows 7 partition.

If I would delete the Windows 7 partition, my Windows 8 would not boot any more because it would have lost it's bootmgr that is in cohabitation with the Windows7 bootmgr.

In order to avoid such an unfortunate situation, we launch the system that we want to retain and move the bootmgr to that system's OS partition. Here is how.Step 2 - Delete the unwanted OS partition and reuse the spaceStay in the OS that you want to keep and open Disk Management. Right click on the partition that contains the OS you want to delete and Delete Volume. Then right click on the deleted volume and Delete Partition. Now you should have "Freespace" where this partition originally was.

With Disk Management, you can define a new partition in that freespace or you can add it to the partition that shows to the left of that freespce. Just click on the partition which is to the left and Extend Volume.

If, however, you want to add that freespace to a partition that is to the right of the freespace, then you have to use an external tool. I suggest the bootable CD of Partition Wizard. Here is how.

A word of caution: before you manipulate partitions with Partition Wizard, make an image of all partitions on that disk. I once lost all my partitions on a disk because I made a small mistake manipulating one partition with Partition Wizard. For imaging I recommend Free Macrium. Here is how.Step 3 - Cleanup the bootmgrNow that we removed one OS, we have a surplus entry in the bootmgr. We will remove this entry with EasyBCD. As you can see in the picture, the operation takes only 4 clicks.

EasyBCD is a very handy tool for a variety of operations on the bootmgr. You should have that in your toolkit anyhow.

If you stop at this step, the MBR is still in a double boot configuration and when you boot, the BIOS will present you the black screen where you have to choose the operating sytem - although only one operating system is present. This is not a disaster, but it is an unnecessary step that requires your intervention.

The next two steps will reset the MBR to your current OS and then your system will automatically boot into that.

Important: You absolutely have to execute both Steps 4 and Step 5. If you only do Step 4, your system will not boot any more.

Step 4 - Clean the MBR

Step 5 - Reset MBR with the entry of the current OS

Reinstall Windows 7 without reformatting the hard drive1. Turn on your computer and load up Windows.2. Put in the installer DVD (or plug in the installer USB).3. A window will popup to ask if you want to Run setup.exe or open the folder. Select Run setup.exe. If this popup window didnt appear, open your Windows Explorer, navigate to the DVD drive and run the setup.exe file.

4. The Windows 7 installation page will appear. Click Install Now.

5. On the next page, select the option Go online to get the latest update for installation.

6. Accept the license term and click Next.

7. Select Custom.

8. Choose the partition that you are going to reinstall the Windows OS. This is usually the C: Drive. It will then show a prompt saying that your existing files will be backup to the windows.old files. Click Ok.

9. Lastly, you just let the installation do its work. Once it is done, it will reboot and prompt you to setup your account. After you have login to your account, you will find that all your data will still be intact. At this point, you might want to reinstall all the usual software.

What to do after a reinstallation?Now you have a clean system, it is best to do a system backup and create a system restore point. In the future when your Windows messed up again, you can simply restore to this clean state.