I'm trying to salvage a friends IBM thinkpad laptop.

It was abandoned mid-job by a previous 'helper' who is no longer on the scene to explain what they did. Here's the score:

There are currently 2 copies of win 2000 on the machine - and there should be only one. At boot there is a choice between them. They look identical. As the HDD I think is only 5GB, there is not too much space for this, and I would like to remove one of the installations to clear up space.

There is a C:\ and a D:\ drive. I cant see any active system files on the D:\ drive, but there were links from one to the other re 'my docs' & 'my pictures' etc. I've shifted all of the useful data I can find from D to C.

Any advice on how (or how not!) to get rid of one of the installations without losing useful data or making the machine unbootable. I'm v familiar with win98, and know a little linux, but this is the first time I've tried to mess around with a win200 machine, and I'm not 100% of the differences.

any help/pointers to 'howtos' appreciated.

wolfpeach

If both versions are on the same partition (c: ?) then the first went is an c:\winnt, the second as c:\windows - unless someone altered the offered defaults on either occasion

If you can identify clearly which version you wish to retain, simply locate/delete the other version. Presumably you wish to lose the initial (failed?) version (c:\winnt)? Presuming so simply you delete the c:\winnt folder from the drive.

Boot to preferred version; ensure default OS to boot = version you wish to retain (and have booted to???). Locate/delete the other version (winnt - ? ) from the drive via W2K Explorer. Reboot to verify you can still boot to preferred version OK. Presuming so, edit out reference to deleted version from boot.ini; reboot to verfiy all is still well. Presuming so, emtpy recycle-bin and defrag the drive to tidy up scene (and re-organise the drive space to your advantage).

The reboots are there to allow you to be sure you are OK at each step of the clean-out routine. If you feel OK at doing all the deletions/edits etc. in one go then do so?

Your info does tend to point to both versions being in c: , and d: = data; a safer/wiser way to have a drive configured.

If in doubt, post back with details of boot.ini - as is with both versions present. Also indicate clearly where each folder/version is located on the drive - and each version's folder name. (Are both in c: , or is one is c: and the other in d: ?)

If not happy at editing the boot.in, then you don't 'have' to. You can leave the unrequired entry as is - it won't/shouldn't cause any grief; you just don't use it. The default OS to boot will be preferred version.

Default OS to boot is easily set via:

mycomputer\properties\start-up/shut-down tab.

check the boot.ini and post the contents back here.

ive got the feeling that there is only one copy of win2000 installed, youre just getting two options in the boot menu. you did say they looked identical after all ... maybe theyre both pointing to the same OS

if the paths are EXACTLY the same, you can remove one. first, though, you should back up the current boot.ini file so youre not stuffed if something goes wrong. try running msconfig to easily edit the boot.ini file (i believe thats in 2000, i know its in xp :P).

if you have any trouble with that, or even if you dont, post back and let us know!

Thanks for the info - this does help to clarify.

OK, checked this & dont think its the same OS twice on a single partition - its only at the initial boot prompt that they look identical - different wallpaper, progs, & v different behaviour once booted - the 2nd version is so buggy it crashes within minutes of loading, & wont run exlorer. Also, there is a winnt directory in both the c: & d: drives, but the d: version does not seem to be active. All the files & folders on the desktop of version 2 are on the d: drive.

Here's the boot.ini from the working version of win2000:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Also checked out the partitions with cfdisk (via Basic Linux on a floppy)

Size: 6448619520 bytes
Heads: 240 Sectors per track: 63
Cylinders: 833

hda1 Boot Primary NTFS 2097.94mb
hda5 Logical NTFS 4350.69mb

(this corresponds pretty well to the sizes of the C:\ and d:\ drives shown in 'my computer')

Thinking along the lines of:

Having moved all useful data over to c:\, format the d:\ drive, then resize 1st partition and remove option to boot to second drive?

You have two installations of W2K; one on the c: drive/partition = winnt, and another on d: partition/drive = winnt.

The version in c: has the line in the boot.ini which refers to partition(1); the version in d: has the line which refers to partition(2).

Since each installation is on a separate drive/partition each goes in as winnt. If they were both in the same partition/drive then second to arrive would be in as windows.

You say the second version is buggy. When you refer to second version do you mean the version on d: ?

Presumably you are OK booting to the version on c: (which is set as the default OS to boot) and are happy to lose the version on d: (partition(2)?

If so leave default OS to boot as is, and boot to version-1 on c: (i.e. partition(1). Verify it is set as default OS to boot. Then locate/delete the winnt folder from d: drive/partition (via W2K Explorer). Also remove the line that refers to it in the boot.ini.

Reboot to ensure all is well with version on c: . Presuming so... (it should be) empty recycle-bin and defrag d: drive/partition to tidy up the scene.

Job done.

Leave data in d: whenever possible; data in its own space (away from OS/apps/utils) is preferable (safer) than having an all-in-one partition/drive...

To clarify boot.ini clean-up/editing, remove this line (only):

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

It refers to partition(2) - the version of winnt on d: .

And again you delete the winnt folder from d: (not from c: ).

NOTE:
The above info/details presume that the version on c: is the one you wish to retain. If the version on d: is the one you wish to retain - post back before going any further.

I can see no reason to reformat d: etc... Once winnt has gone from d: partition/drive that space is free for data etc. All that is required is to defrag it?

Expanding c: at the expense of d: via PM or SC is an option; but on occasions folks have had problems doing it with the NT family of OS... If you decide to go that route, then back-up all data totally - first - off the drive (CDR/RW). Better safe than sorry. (Also you might not have adequate free space on c : for all the data on d: ?)

If you have a shortage of space for additional apps/utils on c: remember that many can safely be installed to d: (i.e. the apps/utils files themselves). The registry on c: will point to them as being on d: when they are required to run via the OS on c: .

This is ruse is sometimes used when installing the same app/util to each OS in a dual/multi-boot environment. It saves drive space as only registry entries and required dlls etc. actually go into the individual OS/partition; the bulk of 'common' files share the same (non-OS) partition. Most apps/utils will allow this, although some (often M$) may not be so helpful/obliging; it's all a matter of luck?

This latter option would remove the need to resize c: at expense of d: (with it's possible irritations/risks)?

Thanks for your help - job done!

Advice on editing boot.ini was spot on, and I was able to give my friend back her laptop with a shiny clean & functional single installation. :-)

Being just a bit of a thrill-seeker, tho, I did decide to format the d: drive, and non-destructively resized the c: drive to make more space for new apps ;-)

Good for you; and living dangerously/thrill-seeking is sometimes a worthwhile event; one can learn a lot...