I Guided you on how to install, troubleshoot and use Vista and here is How To Remove Vista ......lol....:rofl:
Windows Vista does not include an uninstall feature, making the removal of Windows Vista a manual procedure that is not available in all configurations.
Your ability to perform a manual uninstall using the Windows.OLD folder will depend on how Windows Vista is installed.
( You Need to check for Windows.OLD folder in C: and then Proceed ,the other option without windows.old personally not very friendly)
In some situations, only a clean install of the previous operating system will return a computer to that OS. This document provides guidance on how to determine the options, and what steps to take to obtain the best possible result given each configuration.
Data Preservation
It is highly recommended that you back up your data before following the steps described
This section provides steps for reverting to the previous OS after performing a clean install of Windows Vista.
A clean installation of Windows Vista can be done in three ways:
â— To the existing Windows drive, without formatting: If you choose to perform a new installation and did not format the disk, the previous operating system, user data and program files should be preserved. To determine if this is the case, look for the folder WINDOWS.OLD* at the root of the Windows drive. If this folder exists, the previous files were preserved during the clean install process of Windows Vista. If you cannot locate the WINDOWS.OLD* directory after a clean install, the drive was formatted, likely placing the installation in the next category.
â— To existing Windows drive, formatting the drive during setup: With a custom install of Windows Vista you might have chosen not to preserve the data on the partition used by the previously installed OS. In such cases, reverting back to the previous installed OS will require a reinstall of the OS.
â— To alternate drive: This type of clean install is typically considered to be a Parallel Install. It is treated separately.
To revert back to the previous OS if WINDOWS.OLD does not exist, use the following steps:
1. Back up data as needed. If you have data that has been created under a new user profile using Windows Vista, you can locate the data in the %systemdrive%\Users\.
2. Perform a clean install of the previous OS.
Note: If you are unable to locate the WINDOWS.OLD directory and you intended to perform a clean install without formatting, it is possible that you performed an upgrade installation accidentally. Because an upgrade is the default install while running Setup from within Windows, this is a possibility. To determine if this was the case, look for the folder $WINDOWS.~Q and $INPLACE.~TR at the root of the Windows drive.
To revert back to the previous OS if WINDOWS.OLD does exit, use the following steps:
1. Check if you have enough disk space to install the new desired OS.
2. Boot into WinRE using the Windows Vista Media and open a Command Prompt. To do this:
a. Insert the Windows Vista media in the computer’s DVD/CDROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Note: To start the computer from the Windows Vista Beta media, the computer must be configured to start from the DVD/CDROM drive. For more information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with the computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.
b. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on the screen, press a key.
c. Select the System Recovery Options.
d. Select the Command Prompt.
3. Rename the following folders:
a. Windows
b. Program Files
Assuming that Windows Vista is installed on the C: volume, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
C:
ren Windows Windows.vista
ren “Program Files†“Program Files.Vistaâ€
4. Remove the “Documents and Settings†junction. The folder should be empty if Window Vista was a clean install. Assuming that Windows Vista is installed on the C: volume, type the following line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
IMPORTANT: If you receive an error message “The directory is not emptyâ€, the folder is not a junction and it contains data. Take the necessary precautions to backup the data as needed by making a copy of this directory to another drive on the computer. As alternative method, you can rename the folder by using the ren command.
rd “Document and Settingsâ€
5. Copy the content of the WINDOWS.OLD folder to the root:
Xcopy /s c:\WINDOWS.OLD\*.* c:\
6. Restore the boot sector for the legacy OS. Assuming that E: is the ROM drive and C: is the system partition (the partition containing the BCD and BootMGR files), type the following line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
E:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
7. Close the Command Prompt window and click on Restart.
Unlike Window XP, Windows Vista does not include an uninstall feature apart from the setup Rollback mechanism to restore the previous operating system in the event of a failed installation. To restore the previously installed OS after the Windows Vista upgrade process is complete, you must fully reinstall the previous OS.
IMPORTANT: Before proceeding with a new install of Vista or another OS, it is important to establish whether you have enough disk space to install another OS. It is also recommended that you back up your data prior to proceeding.
If Windows Vista and the legacy OS are installed on the same partition a WINDOWS.OLD folder is created where the previously installed OS files reside. In such case, the removal process is explained in this module as follows:
> Revert using WINDOWS.OLD
If Windows Vista is installed on a separate partition in a proper parallel installation configuration the steps to remove Windows Vista are as follows:
1. Boot into WinRE using the Windows Vista Media and open a Command Prompt.
2. Restore the boot sector for the legacy OS. Assuming that D: is the ROM drive and C: is the system partition (the partition containing the BCD and BootMGR files), type the following at the command line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
D:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
3. Close the Command Prompt and Click Restart
4. Boot into the previous OS
5. Locate the files for the specific Windows Vista installation that you wish to delete. Pay careful attention to which drive they are located on before proceeding.
6. Using the Windows Explorer of the previous OS, delete the following folders:
a. Windows
b. Program Files
IMPORTANT: Before deleting these folders, be sure that they are associated with the Windows Vista install that you wish to remove.
Windows Vista does not include an uninstall feature, making the removal of Windows Vista a manual procedure that is not available in all configurations.
Your ability to perform a manual uninstall using the Windows.OLD folder will depend on how Windows Vista is installed.
( You Need to check for Windows.OLD folder in C: and then Proceed ,the other option without windows.old personally not very friendly)
In some situations, only a clean install of the previous operating system will return a computer to that OS. This document provides guidance on how to determine the options, and what steps to take to obtain the best possible result given each configuration.
Data Preservation
It is highly recommended that you back up your data before following the steps described
Uninstall Windows Vista after a Clean Install
This section provides steps for reverting to the previous OS after performing a clean install of Windows Vista.
A clean installation of Windows Vista can be done in three ways:
â— To the existing Windows drive, without formatting: If you choose to perform a new installation and did not format the disk, the previous operating system, user data and program files should be preserved. To determine if this is the case, look for the folder WINDOWS.OLD* at the root of the Windows drive. If this folder exists, the previous files were preserved during the clean install process of Windows Vista. If you cannot locate the WINDOWS.OLD* directory after a clean install, the drive was formatted, likely placing the installation in the next category.
â— To existing Windows drive, formatting the drive during setup: With a custom install of Windows Vista you might have chosen not to preserve the data on the partition used by the previously installed OS. In such cases, reverting back to the previous installed OS will require a reinstall of the OS.
â— To alternate drive: This type of clean install is typically considered to be a Parallel Install. It is treated separately.
Revert with no WINDOWS.OLD
To revert back to the previous OS if WINDOWS.OLD does not exist, use the following steps:
1. Back up data as needed. If you have data that has been created under a new user profile using Windows Vista, you can locate the data in the %systemdrive%\Users\.
2. Perform a clean install of the previous OS.
Note: If you are unable to locate the WINDOWS.OLD directory and you intended to perform a clean install without formatting, it is possible that you performed an upgrade installation accidentally. Because an upgrade is the default install while running Setup from within Windows, this is a possibility. To determine if this was the case, look for the folder $WINDOWS.~Q and $INPLACE.~TR at the root of the Windows drive.
Revert using WINDOWS.OLD
To revert back to the previous OS if WINDOWS.OLD does exit, use the following steps:
1. Check if you have enough disk space to install the new desired OS.
2. Boot into WinRE using the Windows Vista Media and open a Command Prompt. To do this:
a. Insert the Windows Vista media in the computer’s DVD/CDROM drive, and then restart the computer.
Note: To start the computer from the Windows Vista Beta media, the computer must be configured to start from the DVD/CDROM drive. For more information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with the computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.
b. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on the screen, press a key.
c. Select the System Recovery Options.
d. Select the Command Prompt.
3. Rename the following folders:
a. Windows
b. Program Files
Assuming that Windows Vista is installed on the C: volume, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
C:
ren Windows Windows.vista
ren “Program Files†“Program Files.Vistaâ€
4. Remove the “Documents and Settings†junction. The folder should be empty if Window Vista was a clean install. Assuming that Windows Vista is installed on the C: volume, type the following line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
IMPORTANT: If you receive an error message “The directory is not emptyâ€, the folder is not a junction and it contains data. Take the necessary precautions to backup the data as needed by making a copy of this directory to another drive on the computer. As alternative method, you can rename the folder by using the ren command.
rd “Document and Settingsâ€
5. Copy the content of the WINDOWS.OLD folder to the root:
Xcopy /s c:\WINDOWS.OLD\*.* c:\
6. Restore the boot sector for the legacy OS. Assuming that E: is the ROM drive and C: is the system partition (the partition containing the BCD and BootMGR files), type the following line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
E:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
7. Close the Command Prompt window and click on Restart.
Uninstall Windows Vista after an Upgrade
Unlike Window XP, Windows Vista does not include an uninstall feature apart from the setup Rollback mechanism to restore the previous operating system in the event of a failed installation. To restore the previously installed OS after the Windows Vista upgrade process is complete, you must fully reinstall the previous OS.
IMPORTANT: Before proceeding with a new install of Vista or another OS, it is important to establish whether you have enough disk space to install another OS. It is also recommended that you back up your data prior to proceeding.
Uninstall Windows Vista after a Parallel Install
If Windows Vista and the legacy OS are installed on the same partition a WINDOWS.OLD folder is created where the previously installed OS files reside. In such case, the removal process is explained in this module as follows:
Uninstall Windows Vista after a Clean Install
> Revert using WINDOWS.OLD
If Windows Vista is installed on a separate partition in a proper parallel installation configuration the steps to remove Windows Vista are as follows:
1. Boot into WinRE using the Windows Vista Media and open a Command Prompt.
2. Restore the boot sector for the legacy OS. Assuming that D: is the ROM drive and C: is the system partition (the partition containing the BCD and BootMGR files), type the following at the command line, pressing ENTER after you type the line:
D:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
3. Close the Command Prompt and Click Restart
4. Boot into the previous OS
5. Locate the files for the specific Windows Vista installation that you wish to delete. Pay careful attention to which drive they are located on before proceeding.
6. Using the Windows Explorer of the previous OS, delete the following folders:
a. Windows
b. Program Files
IMPORTANT: Before deleting these folders, be sure that they are associated with the Windows Vista install that you wish to remove.