How to Remove Windows XP Pro X64 Edition OS
The hard drive on your computer can be partitioned into multiple areas that are capable of holding more than one operating system (OS) at the same time. If you have both the Windows XP Pro X64 edition OS and another OS installed on a separate partition on the hard drive, you may want to delete one to free up space. To remove the XP Pro X64 OS you will need to make a few changes to the Windows boot file and format the appropriate hard drive partition.
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Instructions
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Restart your computer and boot to the secondary operating system you have installed. Log in with an administrative account if you have multiple accounts on the operating system.
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Open the Start menu and access "My Computer." Double-click the C drive. Click "Tools" and then "Folder Options."
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Go to the "View" tab and then click the radio button labeled "Show hidden files and folders." Click "OK."
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Right-click the "Boot.ini" file and choose "Open With." Click "Notepad" and choose "OK." Locate the line of text labeled "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\Windows="Microsoft Windows x64 " /fastdetect." Highlight the entire line and then press the "Delete" key.
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Scroll down through the Boot.ini file and locate the line that begins with "default=." Delete the line and replace it with the text "default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS." Click "File" and choose "Save."
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Close the Boot.ini file and return to the "My Computer" window. Locate the "Windows XP Professional x64" folder, which may be stored directly on the C drive or in the "Windows" folder. Right-click the folder and choose "Delete."
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Access the Start menu and click "Run." Type "compmgmt.msc" into the text field and click "OK." Click "Storage" and then "Disk Management."
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Right-click the hard drive partition that held the Windows XP Pro X64 edition. Select "Format" and then click "OK." Restart your computer after the formatting process finishes running.
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Tips & Warnings
Save backup copies of your most important data to an external source before removing the Windows XP Pro X64 OS. If you accidentally delete the wrong folder or format the wrong partition you could lose your valuable files.
Any data that was stored on the hard drive partition that contained the extra OS will be permanently erased when you run the formatting program.
