Windows.old folder question

[danpotter]

well guyzz..Finally i installed Windows 7 Ultimate in my PC and enjoying it completely [as my previous OS is XP ]

now i have two question regarding Windows.old folder

1)Well,i need to do some Proj works only on Windows XP environment,not even in windows xp mode in windows 7.For that in future IF i want to install my XP back,is this windows.old folder useful??if useful please tell me the procedure to use this folder to get back my XP[please dont suggest me dual boot as it will make my PC damn slow ]

2)At present there is no emergency for my project work,so i made backup of this windows.old in my TERABYTE external Harddisk.Now can i remove it from my computer??and after removing it from computer ,if in future i require it can i use that folder which is in my external harddisk??

Please answer these both questions and help me....

 

[ignatzatsonic]

2)At present there is no emergency for my project work,so i made backup of this windows.old in my TERABYTE external Harddisk.Now can i remove it from my computer??and after removing it from computer ,if in future i require it can i use that folder which is in my external harddisk??

Are you sure your project exists in Windows.old?

Even if it does, you might not want to limit yourself to just one backup of your projects.

It's up to you to find out if any of your personal data exists inside Windows.old, but your current installation of Windows does not need Windows.old to function properly.

 

[danpotter]

2)At present there is no emergency for my project work,so i made backup of this windows.old in my TERABYTE external Harddisk.Now can i remove it from my computer??and after removing it from computer ,if in future i require it can i use that folder which is in my external harddisk??

Are you sure your project exists in Windows.old?

Even if it does, you might not want to limit yourself to just one backup of your projects.

It's up to you to find out if any of your personal data exists inside Windows.old, but your current installation of Windows does not need Windows.old to function properly.

Well,thnx for ur immediate response

Please answer my 1 Question also....

and my 2nd Question is not about Project in Windows.old folder and backuping my project,ok let me explain u clearly.....

Well,I have to do a project work only in WINDOWS XP ENVIRONMENT,not even in WINDOWS XP MODE IN WINDOWS 7.My project leader told me that there is no emergency for completing my project,for that reason,i installed Windows 7.But in future i have to change back to my XP for this project,for that reason,please tell me how i can use this windows.old folder to get back my XP??????????.This is my first question
[i have a complete backup of m project,so no need to worry about it]


Now my second question is...as now im using windows 7,i found that Windows.old is taking tooo much space of my HD and so made a backup of windows.old folder in my TERABYTE external Hard DISK and now im planning to remove Windows.old folder from my computer,can i do that? if i can do it,.....can i use that windows.old[which is in my external HD] to retrieve my XP back???

Please answer me these questions...

 

[davehc]

First, if you havn't used Windows 7 excessively, I would make another partition and reinstall XP in its entirety. You will then have some problems with the booting and the boot manager. There are ways, for which you will get advice here, to solve this. Worst case would be, at that stage, to reinstall Windows 7 in the partition you have already . This will set up your dual boot automatically. It may, however, at that stage, create yet another "Windows.old". I don't think there is anyway you can reinstate the Win.old material, but it is, at worst, a useful guide to what you had previously, and would wish to reinstall in XP or 7. So, if you feel it has any value, copy it across to somewhere safe (That'll take a while!)
Fwiw. Other than stated, the Windows.old folder can be safely deleted.

None of mu business, but, Out of interest, why would your project leader object to you using Windows 7 for your project?

 

[Britton30]

Windows.old is only data from the XP installation. It in no way can get you back to XP. If you want to use XP:
1.Dual Boot install.
Here's how: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html#post80322

2.Use another computer with XP installed.

Don't delete the windows.old folder, rather save it elswhere if you are concerned about hard drive space. It contains all of your user files and settings from XP. A dual boot will not slow your computer down.

PS: You don't have to use bold type.

 

[Kari]

Windows.old is only data from the XP installation. It in no way can get you back to XP. If you want to use XP:

You can do a complete restore to your previous Windows XP setup using the Windows.old folder created when you installed Windows Vista or 7. Windows.old folder contains all system files needed for this, together with user files and folders.

Here's our own Lordbob's tutorial of this procedure. Tutorial has a bit misleading name but it shows exatly what to do to restore XP using Windows.old. Here's a post about my own tests following Lordbob's tutorial. There's also a Microsoft Knowledge Base article explaining this procedure: How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder

Kari

 

[sygnus21]

Windows.old is only data from the XP installation. It in no way can get you back to XP. If you want to use XP:

You can do a complete restore to your previous Windows XP setup using the Windows.old folder created when you installed Windows Vista or 7. Windows.old folder contains all system files needed for this, together with user files and folders.

Here's our own Lordbob's tutorial of this procedure. Tutorial has a bit misleading name but it shows exatly what to do to restore XP using Windows.old. Here's a post about my own tests following Lordbob's tutorial. There's also a Microsoft Knowledge Base article explaining this procedure: How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder

Kari

Good job Kari. Spot on.

 

[Britton30]

Windows.old is only data from the XP installation. It in no way can get you back to XP. If you want to use XP:

You can do a complete restore to your previous Windows XP setup using the Windows.old folder created when you installed Windows Vista or 7. Windows.old folder contains all system files needed for this, together with user files and folders.

Here's our own Lordbob's tutorial of this procedure. Tutorial has a bit misleading name but it shows exatly what to do to restore XP using Windows.old. Here's a post about my own tests following Lordbob's tutorial. There's also a Microsoft Knowledge Base article explaining this procedure: How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder

Kari

Sorry I did not know windows old contained an installer.

 

[Kari]

It does not contain an installer per se; it just contains complete both Programs, Windows and Users folders. The procedure restores the folder structure of XP (or Win 2000 or Vista) and boot.ini, and modifies the bootsector as needed. Kind of reverse engineering

IMO there's no need to be sorry, this procedure seems to be quite little known. Luckily there's this KB article and of course our tutorial.

Kari