I screwed up on Windows XP installation. 2K IS STILL THERE!!

[i-SnipeZ]

Okay, so how do I delete it, its eating up precious hard drive space and I have no idea why its there. In 2k, i inserted the XP disc. It sayed I couldnt directly upgrade but I wouldnt have to repartition the hard drive. Now, i finished installing etc and everything seemed to go fine until I restarted for updates and noticed an OS switcher. I thought it may just be an error but out of curiousity i booted 2k and it worked, apps and all. So how do I get rid of it?

[jdhurst]

You could try deleting the windows folder that is Windows 2000, but I have my doubts that would solve your issue. At this point, despite the obvious extra work, if it were my machine, I would simply backup my data, format the hard drive and start again.
... JDH

[GomJabbar]

I agree with JD Hurst. I assume you have a Full Retail XP CD. If so, then when you reinstall, choose to delete all partitions and start from scratch. If you have an XP Upgrade CD, then you will need a Windows 2000 CD to perform the install (IIRC).

The biggest problem IMO with trying to repair your current installation is fixing the boot menu. There may be a file you can edit, but I don't know which one it would be.

[mazzinia]

Boot.ini is the file containing the infos related to the windows boot menu, and is located in the root of C: usually.
Is hidden and protected.

It's a normal text file with at the end a number or lines = to the number of options in the menu, that contain the phrase you see on each line and the info to execute the specific windows installation.
Just delete the line relative to 2000...

Assuming that you are no more interested in 2k and also the programs installed on it, and that it's inside a different partition compared to xp, the solution is simple :

1)delete /winnt in the 2k partition, to eliminate 2k
2)delete /document and settings in the 2k partition, to eliminate the rest of 2k data : note that here are located your email etc. I assume you have backed up your data.
3)delete /programs in the 2k partition, to get rid of the now no more useful programs (backup if needed) that are installed under 2k.

[RealBlackStuff]

Problem with your installation is, that there are TWO Windows folders (WINNT for W2K and Windows for XP), but only ONE each of the other folders.
So, unless you want to reinstall completely as suggested above (and which I too recommend), ONLY delete the WINNT folder, and leave the rest intact. It's workable, but not really a 'clean' solution.

Massinia is correct in pointing you to boot.ini (open with e.g. Notepad).
Looks like:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Pro" /fastdetect

Change it so it looks like:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

[i-SnipeZ]

Thanks guys I ended up reinstalling. XP is also running alot faster now too.