Hi Bob - I am at a loss to explain why/how you have remnants of XP included in your Mint installation, it shouldn't happen. Did you install with the Live disc running, using the "Install Linux Mint" option on the desktop?
Do you recall which 'Installation Type' option you selected during the Mint installation, you should have chosen "Erase disk and Install Linux Mint".
We can completely erase the hard drive first, using DBAN: http://www.dban.org/ BUT that shouldn't really be necessary. I'd hazard a guess that you maybe missed a step, or selected an incorrect option, along the way. Follow the installation guide available from the following link and see how you go: http://www.tecmint.com/linux-mint-16-installation-guide/
If XP remnants still show up, we can then use DBAN to completely wipe the drive clean and start over.
Cheers... Jim
Hi Jim, Thank you for the helpful reply.
"Did you install with the Live disc running, using the "Install Linux Mint" option on the desktop?" Yes, I did.
Do you recall which 'Installation Type' option you selected during the Mint installation, you should have chosen "Erase disk and Install Linux Mint". No. I didn't. Aye, there lies the rub!
This explains it all, thanks a lot. I just never noticed that little "erase disk.." facility... I will now get the installtion guide, and start over.
Cheers mate!
BallyIrish
Hi Jim,
No, Linux is not for me. I gave it a try after removing my XP Home, and found it dull and colourless, no doubt due to my lack of understanding of the OS - so I blame myself, not Linux. Thank you for the assistance anyway. Those who find Linux to their tastes, know how to use it, I don't.
The interesting part is that, using Manage>Disk Management, I deleted the partitions Linux Mint made, then slow formatted the C:/ drive and reinstalled XP Home SP 3 and all Microsoft Updates - at the same time overclocking the Intel Core 2 Duo quite some, using AS Rock's overclocker. Reinstalling all my Program Files, Outlook Express etc etc took most of four days. Reports by Belarc Advisor and Secunia were true as to everything being up to date.
So I have my XP back, and it's as "fast as a ferret up a drainpipe", as dependable as ever, and, full of life and colour with a whole set of new 1920 x 1080 HD wallpapers.
Finally, I have never yet had a virus on XP during my twelve years of dependable use; what happens after April 2014 remains to be seen! But I still love the old lady, wrinkles and all - it's her personality, you understand...
Hi Bob,
Now you have an inkling as to why Linux's desktop market share remains at a measly 1.6%. I've installed various Linux versions over the years, never really taken to it myself. I'm sure familiarity has a lot to do with it but there are other factors too. At least you gave it a go mate... well done!!
I still love the old lady, wrinkles and all – it's her personality, you understand…
LOL. Actually, yes, I understand entirely.
I have never yet had a virus on XP during my twelve years of dependable use
Which goes to show that you have employed a common sense approach to your online activities. Just bear in mind that past experience may not be entirely relevant in today's (or tomorrow's) environment. Malware has gotten a lot smarter over the years while XP's security measures remain set in the past.
Just keep maintaining that cautious approach, don't use the XP machine for anything critical, such as online banking or online purchases, and you should be okay. Unless, of course, the machine ends up ensnared in some botnet or the other. 
Cheers mate... Jim
I enjoyed your reply Jim; made me feel better about my sad experience with Linux.
And thanks for the good advice. I stay away from bad areas on the internet, have a good sense of what may be a scam, and scrupulously avoid suspicious stuff. I have had quite a few phishing emails, which I've recognized as such. Being an old trout fisherman, I do take my hat off to the skill with which they cast their phlies!
My eldest son, a chartered accountant, stayed with Windows 98SE all the way through the XP era. Only when he emigrated to NZ did he upgrade to Windows 7. It was just too much to transfer all his clients' records to a new PC at that time. As you rightly say, malware then wasn't what it is now - in these times you won't get away with it!
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