You don't have a <i>problem</i>, exactly ... it's just that WinME can't see or run on an NTFS partition. So if you installed WinXP as an upgrade, and converted to NTFS at the same time (or after the new OS was in place), there's no way to remove WinXP and have your previous installation of WinME left intact. You'll have to start over from scratch.
I'd suggest that you create a Windows 98SE <A HREF="http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm" target="_new">boot disk</A>, one that contains the FDISK and FORMAT utilities. Then enter the BIOS, and find the area that shows the list of bootable devices. Switch the first bootable device to the A: or floppy drive. Save your changes, and reboot the system.
Start the computer with the boot disk. Use the FDISK utility to remove any non-DOS partitions. Create a primary DOS partition, and make it active. Use the FORMAT utility to format the partition as FAT32, without transferring any system files, such as with the " /s" switch during the format. Reboot.
Change the boot order in the BIOS to start with the CD-ROM. Save your changes, and start the system with the WinME CD. Install the OS. When this is finished, change the boot order in the BIOS so that the first bootable device is IDE 0. Save your changes.
If for some reason you are unable to remove the non-DOS partition with FDISK, go to the website of the hard drive manufacturer, and download a disk utility, like <A HREF="http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm" target="_new">PowerMax</A> from Maxtor, <A HREF="http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp#dlgtools" target="_new">Data Lifeguard Tools</A> from Western Digital, or <A HREF="http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm" target="_new">Drive Fitness Test</A> for an IBM or Hitachi hard drive. Start the system with one of these utilities, and low level format (zero out) the hard drive. This will remove all data on the drive, including any partitions.
Then use the regular Windows 98 or 98SE boot disk to restart the system, and create the active, primary DOS partition, as previously mentioned.
I don't recommend that you use any of the manufacturer's utilities to actually partition or format the hard drive unless you have no other choice, as in certain situations this can cause unusual problems, due to the way the partition tables are written. This is <i>especially</i> applicable when using the Data Lifeguard Tools.
<A HREF="http://www.computerhope.com/sfdisk1.htm" target="_new">FDISK SIMULATION</A>
<A HREF="http://fdisk.radified.com/" target="_new">Ratified FDISK Guide To Hard Drive Partitioning</A>
Toey
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