I can't get Vista to install...keeps failing. Boot loader is intact, though. Is there any way to remove this without reformatting? I tried using fixmbr in recovery console but it did nothing.

you can go into your boot.ini and take out the entry out of there so that xp boots first

Did you try doing the "FIXBOOT" option in the Recovery Console? I do this all the time and never had a problem yet. Use both the "FIXMBR" and the "FIXBOOT". Cheers

These are wrong and will not work


What my Boot.ini looks like with Vista installed

To remove Vista Boot menu do this
1:\ Enable hidden files and folder in the folder options
2:\ Go to C:\ after this is enable
3:\ Delete this file C:\bootmgr
4:\ Delete this folder C:\Boot
this should remove Vista boot menu

Older versions of Vista used "FIXNTFS", but the later builds will use "BOOTSECT.EXE" found in the BOOT folder on your installation media.

This allows you to switch between the XP and Longhorn styles of the boot loader (the former using BOOT.INI which is ignored by the latter).

I don't have 5308 installed so I don't know whether you need to run FIXNTFS or BOOTSECT, but if you open a command prompt and run C:\BOOT\FIXNTFS /? it will tell you what you need to know.

Edit:
Make sure you read what I put next time

Here is what you get doing what you suggested, as you can see this is not the way to remove Vista Boot loader.

bootsect.exe can be found on the CD media or ISO that vista came on, use this to change back to the XP bootloader



this will reapply the boot code for NTLoader back to the c: volume

Thank you for psoting that, I have been doing manually, next time I will try what ypu posted.

Thanks for the info guys!

Insert original XP install disc (if dual booting) and repair windows installation. FIXBOOT and FIXMBR worked fine for me.

repairing the widows install is a long way of doing it, and possibly a bad thing if the install doesn't go through well,