98 Vs XP

hello all
this is my first post and i know it would be nicer to start with something else but i have this problem which making me stressed out so i have 2 operating system in my computer 98 and xp i was orgnizing some file and accidently removed some system file of the 98 and now i think i should uninstall it but i dont know how to do that and keeping the xp working
well the system is partitioned but ive been told that if i just delete the whole 98 files it will still take a space of memory is that right?!

Welcome to Computerhope, lavender.
A bit of punctuation and a few capital letters wouldn't go amiss here, your post is a little hard to understand.
As I see it, you have both 98 and XP installed, and 98 no longer works because you deleted a system file?
And now you want to get rid of 98?
That makes sense to me.
If this is correct, just reformat the 98 partition to remove Windows 98 and recover all the space it was using.
However, this will remove everything on that partition, so don't reformat if there's any data on there that you need.

[Moderator]

And you could also remove the partitions,format the whole drive and reinstall XP as the only operating system. Is this XP Home or Pro?

You do have a bright and shiney XP CD that says Microsoft all over it?

In addition to what Calum said, you may need to edit the BOOT.INI file so that you no longer see a screen showing two Operating Systems during startup.  Here's some info on that:
 
I have a dual-boot configuration. How can I remove Windows 9X from my system while keeping Windows 2000/XP/2003?

Make sure they are not on the same partition first (That is possible)

If your operating systems are on separate partitions, deleting the files on the 98 partition will just leave a big empty partition. It's like having a house with 3 bedrooms. Just emptying all the furniture out of one of the bedrooms won't make any of the others bigger, it will just leave you with a big empty room you aren't using.

If you have Partition Magic or a Linux boot CD with QTPartEd or some other partition rearranging software, you could pretty readily delete the 98 partition and resize the XP partition to use that space. This is like having a contractor come in, tear down the wall between the bedrooms and remodel, leaving you with one big master suite.

Other things to be sure you consider: are there any data or application files on the 98 partition you still need? If so, it would be much simpler (I think) to leave that partition alone and (as has been suggested) edit your boot.ini file to remove the option to boot to 98.

That's wrong. If you delete the files in the Windows 98 partition you can still use it for data storage for XP. It's like clearing out a room and then putting something else in it... the space is not "wasted" (unless you choose not to use it..)

In my opinion attempting to resize partitions would be more trouble than it's worth.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that the empty partition couldn't be used for something.

I simply said that if you deleted all the files on it, then it would be like an empty room you weren't using. Of course it would still be there and you would be able to use that space for something, like data. The original poster had said "ive been told that if i just delete the whole 98 files it will still take a space of memory is that right?!" and I was trying to address that part of the question and give an alternative for reclaiming that "space of memory."

Thanks all
just one more thing, if i format the drive do i have to have the original CD for windows or what?

[Moderator]

You could do a repair install of Win98 which hasn't been suggested yet...

If this is an option let us know...

[Moderator]

And you could also remove the partitions,format the whole drive and reinstall XP as the only operating system. Is this XP Home or Pro?

[highlight]You do have a bright and shiney XP CD that says Microsoft all over it?[/highlight]

As far as I know, you can boot up into XP, look at the partition in My Computer, right click it and click format to wipe the drive, if you just want to remove all the data. I've not had much experiance with dual boot computers before, so perhaps one of the others would like to comment on my suggestion?

If you want to reinstall Windows 98 you are going to need its disk. You should also have your XP disk handy in case things go wrong.

Something to consider: you could just delete the files from the 98 partition and use it as data storage without formatting?

[Moderator]

You need to decide some basics...
Do you still want 98 on here?
Or just XP.

If it is the latter then an entire wipe and cleani install of XP is the way to go...

hmmm ...i just deleted the whole files and i got an empty drive but the 98 still running  :-?

[Moderator]

I now have no idea of where your system is at...

Me neither . . . what do you mean when you say

hmmm ...i just deleted the whole files and i got an empty drive but the 98 still running  :-?

?

after i deleted the files i got like 27 Gb free space but i didnt change the boot.ini file so when i start up the computer i still can run the 98

see, i just want to get rid of this 98 forever and install linex in the future and ofcourse i wanna keep XP..is there any software can help me look for the windows 98 in the system?!!!

[Moderator]

If you want to add Linux later, you need to back up your data files, and reinstall XP but during the install partition the drive so there is 40 gig or so at the end of the drive unpartitioned free space for your Linux install, whenever that is.

There is no "easy" button.

well i kinda know who to install linex..its the uninstalling 98 which am stuck with

If 98 is on a separate partition, just reformat the partition and then edit the boot.ini so the non existent 98 doesn't show up.

it seems to now that they are in the same partion if that can be

In addition to what Calum said, you may need to edit the BOOT.INI file so that you no longer see a screen showing two Operating Systems during startup.  Here's some info on that:
 
I have a dual-boot configuration. How can I remove Windows 9X from my system while keeping Windows 2000/XP/2003?

Did you go on the link soybean suggested?
It seems to me that that assists with removing 98 and keepng XP.

I was willing to but the site is blocked

[R.I.P.]

I was willing to but the site is blocked

Since the site was blocked..........Here is what it had below.
_______________________________________ ______________________
To remove a Windows 98 installation while retaining Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 do the following:

1.Boot from the NT/2000/XP/2003 CD

2.Choose "Repair"

3.Select "Inspect Boot Sector"

4.Reboot

5.Edit BOOT.INI and remove old entries

6.Remove the windows 9x.

MSDOS.SYS

IO.SYS

[Moderator]

If you want to add Linux later, you need to back up your data files, and reinstall XP but during the install partition the drive so there is 40 gig or so at the end of the drive unpartitioned free space for your Linux install, whenever that is.

There is no "easy" button.

what if i dont have this XP CD???!!!

[Moderator]

Where did it go? If you had Win98 first, you had to have some sort of CD? Is it XP Pro? Was it a legitimate disc? That's a pretty expensive thing to just misplace. Do you know Calum?

I'd try harder next time not to lose CDs which cost that much, if it's cost you a lot of money you should really look after it better . . .
Is it legal?
Is it Pro?
I'll keep watching, GX1

[Moderator]

Now you are with me, Calum.  

actually, i never had such a CD i got the computer with the 2 operating systems already installed long time ago

Now you are with me, Calum.  

I am indeed.
Lavender - you're saying you don't have a 98 CD or an XP CD?

No i dont have it  :-/ I never had

That will make the problem difficult to solve. And by difficult, I mean virtually impossible.

So let's summerise. You have a working XP, and a non-working 98 on the same partition? (Ie both installed on C: drive) And you want to install Linux on another partition?

[Moderator]

Everyone needs a real Windows CD sooner or later. I believe in your case it is sooner.

actually it goes like this,  I have a working XP, not working 98 on the same partition and what I want is to uninstall 98

In that case I would be tempted to just delete the 98 Windows folder (in safe-mode or even DOS if necessary) and leave it like that, making modifications to your boot setup file if required. Double check you know which folder is for which. I've never seen a dual boot on the same partition before and I am actually quite curious as to what goes where. I'd wait to hear the others' view on this first though.

The bottom line is, an operation like this is always risky, and if you carry it out, you must accept the possibility you will may to buy a new legal XP disk if problems occur.