1 pc , 2 windows xp

[dzadzou]

about one year from now I had a big virus on my pc ( i think it was called 'antivirus gold' ).

I managed to remove it from my pc (but it took me a week).

But to do that I had to delete much important files of windows xp.(system32.exe or something like that)

So since then I 've been having some little crashes and freezes.

So I decided to instal windows again...

now I have to windows xp on my pc(I have to choose one of them when my pc starts).

But one the new windows there are some changes in the apperence.

and I can't find the files form my old windows on that one.

My questions are:

-how can I have thesame apperence on my new windows?

-How can I have my files of my old windows on my new windows?

-how can i delete the old windows after that?

thank you for reading

[nitroshift]

First off back up all your data on a dvd or spare hdd then format your current windows and do a fresh install. after that you can transfer back all your files off the dvd or the spare hdd. good luck!

[Plamdi]

I know that this will be of absolutely no use to you, but for anyone else reading this - if you're going to install windows on the same HDD a 2nd time make sure you put some custom values into winnt.sif (or unattend.txt) before install:

[Unattended]
	TargetPath=CUSTOM_DIR
	ProgramFilesDir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\CUSTOM_DIR
	CommonProgramFilesDir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\CUSTOM_DIR\Common

[GuiUnattended]
	ProfilesDir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\CUSTOM_DIR

I'd recommend something like this:

[Unattended]
	TargetPath=WINXP
	ProgramFilesDir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Programs
	CommonProgramFilesDir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Programs\Common

[GuiUnattended]
	ProfilesDir="%SYSTEMROOT%\Users"

* This will put the profiles direcotry ("C:\Documents and Settings") inside your actual windows directory ex - C:\WINXP\USERS

This way you can safely delete "C:\Program Files", "C:\Windows" and "C:\Documents and Settings" (once you've transferred all files over to your new locations).

...

Now on to the really useful info. First all your old files (desktop and my documents) will be found in C:\Documents and Settings. Move them from your old profile into your new profile.

Second open a command window and type CD\ <ENTER>. This should put you at the C:\ prompt. Type Attrib boot.ini -s -h -r <ENTER>. Then type Notepad boot.ini <ENTER>.

..or right click my computer, click properties and select the "advanced tab" - under startup and recovery click settings and then click edit. Personally, I prefer the previous method!

Your boot configuration will load into a notepad window. Be careful with this, if you completely foul it up you'll need to use recovery console by booting of your windows xp cd to fix it.

Your boot.ini might look like this:

[Boot Loader]
Timeout=30
Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINXP
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINXP="Windows XP" /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Recovery Console" /cmdcons

Assuming that your originall installation was installed in C:\WINDOWS, and your newer installation is in C:\WINXP (that's the name I use for my windows dir, you probably don't).

Basically if this was the case then it's safe to delete the line:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP" /fastdetect

This will mean you can no longer log in to that installation of windows.

You may not have recovery console installed on your PC, but if you do - or if you have something else installed then changing Timeout=3 will be handy to reduce the amount of time before automatically proceeding with your boot.

Once you've saved your boot.ini restart your computer and ensure it boots the way you expected. If it does then it's now safe to delete C:\WINDOWS (or whatever the name of the original windows installation directory was). You may also open C:\Documents and Settings and remove profile accounts you are sure do not belong to this installation, but be careful if you do. You can also open C:\Program Files and remove any directory that that contains programs you've installed on the old windows but not yet on the new windows - but again exercise extreme care. List the directories by last modified to help you.

That's why I recommend for anyone wanting to do this themselves to specify unique profile and program files directories.