how do manual uninstall rollback

I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

Is your primary OS still functioning?
"Captain Fox" wrote in message

I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

Do you have a Microsoft XP cd? (Not a manufacturer's recovery disc). If you do you may be able to get XP going again with fixboot and fixmbr. Post back for further advice.
"Captain Fox" wrote in message

I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

Yes, I have XP MCE which works fine. The other two new boot.ini (or I guess BCDE)options are for Vista (default) and Rolloback option. Both of these new ones fail. Apparently, I can alter this by using BCDEDIT.EXE which is now installed on my USB drive, but I know there are also some files I would like to delete on my primary partition that take up several GB or more.
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

Is your primary OS still functioning?
"Captain Fox" wrote in message I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

I don't think I will need this since it is primarily an issue with the boot.ini now defaulting to Vista. My version of XP is still intact and works fine.
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

Do you have a Microsoft XP cd? (Not a manufacturer's recovery disc). If you do you may be able to get XP going again with fixboot and fixmbr. Post back for further advice.
"Captain Fox" wrote in message I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

Which files are taking up that much room and why have you not been able to delete them (error messages)?
I get rid of stale boot options with VistaBootPro from http://www.vistabootpro.org/intro.php since it so easy to use.
"Captain Fox" wrote in message

Yes, I have XP MCE which works fine. The other two new boot.ini (or I guess BCDE)options are for Vista (default) and Rolloback option. Both of these new ones fail. Apparently, I can alter this by using BCDEDIT.EXE which is now installed on my USB drive, but I know there are also some files I would like to delete on my primary partition that take up several GB or more.
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:
Is your primary OS still functioning?
"Captain Fox" wrote in message I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy

Your boot.ini can't see Vista. It is your Vista boot file. You should do as Colin suggested. Either use VistaBootPro to set the default to XP and a 0 seconds time out, or use fixboot and fixmbr from the Recovery Console of your XP install disk to set the system to look for the boot.ini first. It is now set by Vista to look for the Vista Boot file.
"Captain Fox" wrote in message

I don't think I will need this since it is primarily an issue with the boot.ini now defaulting to Vista. My version of XP is still intact and works fine.
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:
Do you have a Microsoft XP cd? (Not a manufacturer's recovery disc). If you do you may be able to get XP going again with fixboot and fixmbr. Post back for further advice.
"Captain Fox" wrote in message I just tried to install Vista onto a USB drive, which I have found out is not allowed. My machine perputually tries to boot (reboot) unsuccessfully to Vista. I would like to Rollback (Uninstall) Vista, however, when I tried doing this (a number of times), it fails -- leaving an open command prompt (cmd.exe).
Is there a way to manually uninstall Vista from the failed setup onto my USB drive? What files need to be removed/altered, etc.? Maybe some KB article???
Thanks...Randy