MORE INFORMATION

To 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 Windows
You 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 installed
In 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 completed

Scenario 3: You upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7

On 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 installed

You 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-system
For 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-multiboot
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Can-I-have-more-than-one-operating-system-onmy-computer-multi-boot

Install 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

Warning

You must install the older operating system first, and then install the more recent operating
system. If you don't (for example, if you install Windows Vista on a computer already running
Windows 7), 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 disk

Before 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 25character Windows product key. You can find it on the installation disc holder inside the
Windows packageor in a confirmation e-mail if you purchased and downloaded Windows 7
online. For detailed instructions about installing Windows 7, 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:
o

If you downloaded Windows 7, 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 Windows 7 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 Windows 7 installation disc,
and then double-click setup.exe.

If you've downloaded Windows 7 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 Windows 7 on a multiboot system

If you are running a multiboot system with Windows 7 installed on a computer that is also
running an earlier version of Windows, such as Windows Vista, you might be able to safely
remove Windows 7 from the computer, depending on how the computer is set up.
To do this, you need to format the partition containing Windows 7, 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 Windows 7 was installed
on the computer, deleting Windows 7 in this case could render the computer inoperable.

To format or delete an existing partition (volume)

To format or delete the Windows 7 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.

Note

Quick 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 Windows 7 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 Windows 7 from the multiboot screen

Even if you delete or format the partition containing Windows 7, it can still appear as an
operating system option when you start your computer. You can remove Windows 7 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 Windows 7.
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! Enjoy
Windows
Jan 17, 2009
My Digital Life Editorial Team
106 Comments

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How to Uninstall and Remove Windows 7 or Vista Leaving

Windows XP on Dual Boot System
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Windows 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 /force

For 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 dualboot 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

Information
Deleting 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 resides

Open 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 space
Stay 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 bootmgr

Now 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 drive

1. 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.