The situation is funny: on the one hand, Microsoft developers claim that since the transition of all Windows operating systems to the NT kernel, system stability has increased tenfold. It is argued that one can forget about the constant "blue screens of death", better known as BSOD; freezes of the entire computer due to one "suspended" running process; and many other "goodies" that promise the user long-term stable operation of the system.
But on the other hand, everything looks a little different: Microsoft's promises of new mechanisms for working with memory are fully implemented, but although reliability has become higher than that of the Windows 9x line, it is still insufficient. This is indirectly evidenced by the frequently asked question on the Internet "how to remove old Windows." The operating system still has to be periodically reinstalled. She βlivesβ for years only with those users who are limited to working in office applications, listening and viewing multimedia files, and using a small number of other programs. Usually these are beginners who once again will not even launch the update. In contrast, experienced users who are not afraid to experiment with new programs sometimes have to figure out how to remove old Windows.
Removing the old Windows system is required in two main cases: switching to the Linux operating system; the need to reinstall due to the inability to boot or abnormal operation of applications. The question "how to remove old Windows 7" sounds much less common than for Win XP. This is due to the prudence of Microsoft, which implemented a convenient mechanism for installing a new system on top of the old one. There are three ways to remove the old system.
The first is applicable to Win 7, but not suitable for Win XP. It is enough to insert the installation distribution disk into the drive and start the installation process. At one stage, a message appears that an old system has been detected, which will be saved in the Windows.old folder. As a result, nothing important will be erased, and the old system folders and files will be moved. They have access, so restoring your documents, saving games and other information is quite simple. Subsequently, the Windows.old directory can be deleted.
Despite the obviousness, the question "how to remove old Windows" is still being asked. Therefore, you can use the second method. It is quite specific and not accessible to everyone, but, nevertheless, exists. You should boot from another hard drive, then there will be no problems with how to remove the old Windows, because the hard drive with the previous system is visible in Explorer, and any directory on it can be deleted. Usually rarely two stationary hard drives (except RAID) are kept in a computer, but some users sometimes install it on an external system.
The third, universal way is to boot from a CD or flash drive (a very popular option) a special reduced version of Windows - Windows PE. It is very limited in functionality, for example, support for full-fledged sound and video, although possible, is fraught with certain difficulties, so it is rarely implemented.
At the same time, working with the file system is possible in full. You can download LiveCD from torrent trackers. There are many assemblies made by enthusiasts based on Win PE. The composition often includes programs for working with hard disk partitions, tests of the hardware components of a computer, and some other applications. After loading the prepared disk (flash drive) LiveCD is recommended to erase the old Windows. Sometimes the hard drive may not appear on the PE system. To solve this, change the operating mode of the disk subsystem from AHCI to IDE in the BIOS. If you cannot erase due to access rights, you can change them (Folder Options - Security - Advanced).
If the user does not know how to remove the old Windows 7 activator, then this can most easily and correctly be done in the activator installer itself. Typically, all such programs have a clear graphical interface, which is easy to figure out. Before that, do not forget to disable software protection in services (Control Panel β Administrative Tools β Services).