XP Pro x64 Removal

[DHC120]

After spending three months building my computer, I thought I was being "cutting edge" and installed WinXP Pro x64.. What a let-down..
Needless to say, I want to remove this turkey of an O/S and "go back" to WinXP Pro (32bit).
I did not install "dual" operating systems (been there, done that, ain't worth it!), so all I have in the HDD is XP 64 bit. I tried to "Nuke & Pave" with my XP Pro (32bit) O/S Disk, but it will not bring up the "option" to "remove the 64 bit junk and reinstall the 32 bit O/S.. So, short of buying another new hard-drive and doing a "Clean Install", how can I get this 64 bit junk out of my computer??
Any help appreciated, all I ask is simple (2nd grade) termnology.. I'm a "Point & Click" guy, when somebody starts talking about "going into an ini file" or "boot from explorer", they might as well be speaking Greek, cause I don't understand a word of it!
Thanks.
Chas.

[LeftyAce]

Did you try a fresh install of 32 bit XP? In the installation you have the option to delete the existing partitions on the drive. Do that, and when you install 32 bit XP, it'll be the only thing on the machine.

(If that's what you already did, I'm confused as to why you say the 64 bit OS is still hanging around).

[alanebro82]

What exactly was wrong with x64? I have been using it for over a year and have had absolutely no problems (except for my power supply dying, but that isn't related).

Back on topic...

If you enter your bios and set boot priority to your DVD/CD drive and put in your 32-bit disk, it should boot up into the windows setup. When you are in that, you will want to choose "install" or something like that (NOT fix/repair). When it asks you about partitions/formatting, do a full format. Your install should start after that.

[DHC120]

Originally Posted by LeftyAce Did you try a fresh install of 32 bit XP? In the installation you have the option to delete the existing partitions on the drive. Do that, and when you install 32 bit XP, it'll be the only thing on the machine. (If that's what you already did, I'm confused as to why you say the 64 bit OS is still hanging around).

Lefty;
Chalk it up to a "senior moment".. At first I just inserted the 32bit CD to "install over" x64.. later that evening the remaining brain cell fired and said "Dummy, go into BIOS and change the boot sequence to CD first".. zapped the partition that held x64 (the only partition), did a "clean install" and everything worked out fine... been redownloading all my programs and reconfigering everything to my tastes, since..
Thanks for the reply.. I appreciate the help.
Chas.

[LeftyAce]

Glad you got it worked out :-)

[DHC120]

Originally Posted by alanebro82 What exactly was wrong with x64? I have been using it for over a year and have had absolutely no problems.

Alan;
Yeah, I figure out that I couldn't just insert the CD and go from there (see my reply to Lefty)..
On the "what's wrong" with x62.. to paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning.. "...Let me count the ways..." Mostly it's lack of ability to run several programs I like to use (mostly 32 bit stuff, but some, I found out, was "patched" 16 bit stuff.. Of course these programs are either not supported anymore or not supported in 64 bit, which kind of makes having this "whiz-bang" O/S fairly useless for me.. It might sound silly to some, but I have yet to find a photo program, as one example, that was as easy to navigate yet could do such detail work (that many high dollar photo programs can't even do) as the old Adobe Photo Deluxe! (Photoshop is junk in comparison)
Back to x64.. I thought I did my "homework" on the O/S, checking out what all it would do, etc. It wasn't until after I bought the O/S that I found some websites where folks like me "aired their gripes" about x64.. I really wish I had found that site before I spent the bucks on x64.. x64 is NOT, in my opinion, an operating system for even the "somewhat above average" user (especially web surfers like me ).. I thought it would be an advantage to have x64's ability to read a lot of RAM without "pausing", but the reality is, x64 actually ran slower than the 32 bit version of XP Pro (and it got worse after I downloaded MS's 350MB "Bloatware" x64 SP2 package and all of the "Security Updates").. go figure.
I do appreciate your reply and assistance.. Thanks.
Chas.