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General discussion

Help me start over with a Windows 7 upgrade

May 14, 2010 8:09AM PDT
Question:

Help me start over with a Windows 7 upgrade


I installed the Windows 7 upgrade over the Vista software
that came with my computer using that option, rather than the
option of wiping the HD clean and the reinstalling all other
software after Win 7 was installed. Big mistake!

My experience with Windows 7 has been awful. I'll bet I've
had as many as 20 blue screens while using Win 7, and
probably as many freeze-ups. Even Norton's Utilities advises
me that my "System health is low" and scan the registry
(which I've done many times!)

How can I wipe this hard drive clean and then install my
Windows 7 upgrade now? Will Microsoft allow me a second try
using the Win 7 upgrade that I've bought and used once
already? Thanks for any advice.

--Submitted by Richard K. of Medford, Oregon


Here are some featured member answers to get you started, but
please read all the advice and suggestions that our
members have contributed to this question.

Starting over... --Submitted by Watzman
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=3304493#3304493

Starting over... --Submitted by Wolfie2k5
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=3305439#3305439

Yes you can. Here's how to clean-install Windows 7 upgrade. --Submitted by NoriNY
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=3304936#3304936

Your answer is----YES! --Submitted by warpete
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=3304569#3304569

Thanks to all who contributed!

If you have any additional advice or tip that you'd like share with Richard please click on the reply link and submit it. Please be as detailed as possbile when providing a solution. Thank you!

Discussion is locked

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A clean installation is better, but...
May 14, 2010 6:53PM PDT

Richard, in your question, you mentioned having received a great many blue screens, but gave no indication as to what the blue screens say. Therefore, I?m going to proceed with the part of your question where you ask how to wipe and do a clean installation.

In my experience, a clean installation of any operating system is better than an upgrade. The new OS doesn?t inherit any of the problems of the previously installed operating system. Assuming that your data is backed up, the process is simple: Place your Windows disc into your DVD drive and let your computer boot from it. When asked, just choose the option for a new installation of Windows 7. At some point, the installation process will ask for your Windows Vista installation disc to verify that you are eligible for an upgrade. And don?t worry: As far as multiple uses are concerned, you are allowed to install the same copy of Windows to the same machine as many times as you need. If in the unlikely event that the authentication fails, there will be instructions as to what to do next. Simply explain the situation to the representative and they?ll remedy the situation.

The exception to doing a clean installation is when drivers for Windows 7 (such as video, audio, networking, etc.) are not available from either the manufacturer of the computer or the vendor who supplied the component. I personally ran into this issue recently when I found that Compaq has not yet released Windows 7 drivers for any of my laptop?s components. Where video drivers are concerned, I found that Nvidia refused to install any kind of upgrade, suggesting instead that I refer to the manufacturer of my laptop. In that case, my only option was to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7.

If you run into the same situation, then start off with a clean installation of Windows Vista. If your computer came with Vista, then you should have a recovery CD or a recovery partition on your computer?s hard drive. If you?re uncertain how to access this partition and start the recovery process, then check your computer?s documentation or search online for the make and model of your computer, and the phrase ?how to restore? (be sure to use quotes with the phrase ? it makes a difference with the search results).

Where patches are concerned, make sure to install only Windows Vista Service Pack 1. Vista SP1 is necessary in order to continue the upgrade process. Ignore all of the other patches for now. Once that's complete, proceed with the Windows 7 upgrade by running the installation process from inside Windows Vista. Be sure to let it check for updates to the installation process.

Be warned that you will need several hours to complete this process, so be sure you?ve set plenty of time aside for it. In the end, and barring any unforeseen difficulties, you'll have a smoothly-running computer.

Good luck!

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clean Install
May 14, 2010 7:15PM PDT

Although you can, you don't need to wipe your HD to do a clean install. In face if you are using an upgrade version it would want an installed OS to make things easier.

Selecting the clean install instead of the upgrade install will rename your current windows directory to windows.old and proceed to install a clean copy of windows. Your old files can be deleted if you wish.

Its ok to reinstall windows, however after 5 reinstalls you will need to contact Microsoft to complete activation

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Windows 7 upgrade
May 14, 2010 7:50PM PDT

When I use any upgrade software I never install the previous version I just place the previous software disc in the disc drive, when the upgrade software is looking for previous installed versions, and this tells the upgrade version you have the correct software for the upgrade to be used. This means that I have no conflicts with previously installed versions of software.

All the Best

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Windows 7 upgrade solutions
May 14, 2010 9:23PM PDT

I had all kinds of problems after upgrading from Vista and Microsoft's techs only made my computer worse. I thought that all the needed drivers were in the Windows 7 software. NO THEY ARE NOT. Finally I went to my computer manufacturer's website. You need to upgrade your computer manufacturer's drivers. I have a Dell and the support page lists all kinds of driver updates. Make sure that the update applies to Windows 7. I had to download Dell's BIOS 8, along with several other downloads. Now everything is working just fine!

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Win &
May 14, 2010 10:50PM PDT

Do your upgrade but do not input the product key. When it has upgraded, then reinsert your upgrade disk and select custom install and let it do a clean install. That will wipe any crud still lurking from something else and give you a stable OS.

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Windows 7 reinstall
May 14, 2010 10:53PM PDT

You can reinstall your Windows 7 as many times as you want on the same computer. Just remember that you will be asked for the Product Key and you must use the same one that went with the original install. Insert your CD and when prompted select install. when asked for the Product Key make sure that you are using the same CD as originally used and that Product Key. Continue with the install and everything should be OK. You must have had a problem with your original install that created your problem, but a reinstall should help correct it. Good luck.

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Upgrading to Win 7 over Vista
May 15, 2010 1:07AM PDT

I tried the same thing and had difficulty with Win 7. I was advised to get a new harddrive for my laptop and do a clean install. Then format the Vista Harddrive, encase it and use it via usb for a backup. I followed this advise and did a clean install with Win 7 and found it is the best OS I have ever used.
Before you attempt this, write your win 7 download to a DVD RW (Bootable) and install your new harddrive. Start the computer and click F8 to bring up your bios. Set bios to boot from CD/DVD drive and you should be good to go.
If you don't want to replace your harddrive, you might want to check your harddrive for bad sectors and/or defrag the drive. To check for bad sectors, go to start-run and type in CMD. When the command prompt screen open type in chkdsk: f/r and hit enter. Let that run and see if there are any disk issues the computer if fixing and that should give you a good idea of what, if anything else you need to do to clean up your computer. Also, you can google your questions and get a lot of information relating to your questions about your computer.

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Windows 7 Upgrade
May 15, 2010 1:44AM PDT

Unfortunately the upgrade pack is just that, an upgrade that overlays 7 on top of vista. Hence if you have any problems (known or unknown) in-bedded within the underlying vista system software, any virus or corruption, this is just transferred to the upgrade and all hell breaks loose. However, the workaround is simple but time consuming. First wipe the hard drive and then reload clean copies of vista and all applicable service packs and updates. Do not load any other software. Once you have done this, you will then have a clean machine and you can safely reuse the upgrade pack. I had this problem and this solution worked perfectly.

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Windows 7 Custom Upgrade
May 15, 2010 1:53AM PDT

If you are going to simply start over, make sure you back up all of your important information. The easiest way to do a format upgrade is to boot from the upgrade DVD. When you restart your computer, make sure the Windows 7 disk is in the drive, and if your computer does not automatically boot from it, it will give you the choice to go to DOS, or to boot your computer from another source. Once you have done this, simply follow the directions for the CUSTOM setup.

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Microsoft still doesn't have it right
May 15, 2010 2:17AM PDT

I'm an IT who fixes PC's when time avails (I'm retired, and don't have that much free time.) Several weeks ago I had to fix a person's desktop, a new system from Dell, that had "Blackscreened." After mucking around for a half hour finding out what Microsoft had changed AGAIN (my first Win7 system), I started the safe mode system restore process. Restore history showed that a microsoft update had been done. I worked my way back in time restoring and it wasn't until I restored to the time BEFORE the update that the PC worked again. Thank you Bill. Personally, I thought the Win7 interface sucked (as did the Vista interface). The explorer layout STILL SUCKS. All of my PCs are running XP Pro, and until I reach a point in time when a program that I need to run does not run on XP, I see no reason at all to upgrade. That is my standing advise to everyone who asks me, period! XP Pro systems, both desktop and laptop, are still very available; I buy refurbished systems through the Dell Auctions for friends, get fantastic deals for them, and set their XP system up the way they want. Nobody needs all of the "features" that Win7 is offering/cramming down your throat.

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Clean install
May 15, 2010 3:12AM PDT

Both my mom and dads computers had Vista on it, and both were always bmessing up-my moms computer I had to reinstall Vista 6 times in less than a year!
So when Windows 7 came out, we bought it ASAP and installed it. I too just tried the "upgrade" from windows Vista to Windows 7 option. It didnt work that way on either computer. So I started over again, this time selecting "clean install" and everything works fine. Even though it is a "clean install", iWindows 7 creates a folder called "Windows old" under your program files, and thats where you will find your old programs, pics, files, etc.
As far as erasing the drive first, I highly recommend trying Webroots software. Webroot window washer you have to buy to get it, but it comes with an option to completely erase the drive at different security levels. I believe it works because it takes a long,long time.But Like I say, you have to buy Window Washer to use that option I think. There maybe free ones you can use right here on CNET

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Yes you can. Here's how to clean-install Windows 7 Upgrade.
May 15, 2010 4:12AM PDT

Microsoft does say that you can perform an in-place upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 so long as both are the same level of versions and you do not go from 32 bit Vista to 64-bit Windows 7 or vice versa.

To answer your question, first, back up all documents, pictures, videos, and music files you have on your current computer, and unplug or turn off all USB / FireWire devices. In addition, take out all cards in PCI slots except the video card. The less in and out the computer, the more likely you get a successful installation.

Turn on the computer and place the upgrade disk in your DVD drive.

Restart the computer and look at your screen carefully as it reboots. Before getting to the Windows logo screen, you should see an option to change the boot order. Each BIOS is different but for instance it may say "F12: Boot Sequence". Or that option may be inside another option that you initially see during the reboot. Hit the key on your keyboard to enter the boot sequence page of your BIOS. If the screen quickly changes and you miss the chance to hit the key, do not freak out. You can reboot the computer and try again. Once you open the boot order page, you should see that the first or second boot device is set to SATA hard drive. Change the first boot device to CD/DVD drive so that your computer boots from the Windows 7 upgrade disk.

The computer will start loading files from the disk. ALWAYS be patient and do NOT play with your keyboard or mouse except when you are asked questions.

When asked, choose Custom Installation (Advanced), not Upgrade.

After a while, you will see a screen showing all hard drive(s) installed on your computer and they'll ask which hard drive you want the operating system installed on. Highlight the drive and click on a small button Drive "Options" or something along the line which appears in the button right of the same screen. Then DELETE the hard drive, then FORMAT. This completely wipes out everything that exists on your current hard drive.

Then install Windows 7 on the newly formatted hard drive.

When asked to enter your license key, do NOT enter the key. UNcheck the box for automatic activation of Windows. And click on Next.

After the installation is finished, go to:

Start --> Right click on Computer --> Properties.

There you can enter your license number. If your Windows is not automatically activated, follow the instruction there. They tell you to call Microsoft to activate it.

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Help me start over with a Windows 7 upgrade
May 15, 2010 6:06AM PDT

Hi
I had exactly the same problem with my upgrade from Vista to Win 7. I cured the problem by doing the full install instead of the upgrade. There was no problem with Microsoft doing it this way. The only thing is that you will delete your programs/settings etc so you should do a backup first and then restore your files, folders, programs etc. It takes a lot longer to do it this way but at least the result is a working operating system. If I were you I would wait and see if there are any other suggestions first and use this as a last resort. Hope this helps.
Regards Phill

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Using a new hard disc drive to 'upgrade' to Win7
May 15, 2010 6:10AM PDT

I rebuilt my computer hardware last summer, and installed Windows 7 in December. The absolutely best way to "upgrade" is to install another, new hard disk drive. $50 or so will get you another small internal drive, perhaps 250 to 500 Gb or go larger if you can spend more. After you have the new drive installed, install Windows 7. This, of course, is a clean installation.

One of the advantages of this method is that all your created files would be available to applications running in Win7. Simply navigate to them as usual, but remember the new drive with Win7 installed is, as always, your C: drive . Your created files formerly on C: will appear on a drive with some other letter, perhaps D: ... Hopefully, Win 7 will also include all the drivers you need.

Another advantage is that you have the potential to have a 'multiboot' configuraton, meaning you'll have the choice of booting Win7 or WinXP. This is important, since some of your application software may not even run in Win7. If I remember correctly I did nothing extra to enable multiboot. When you boot a black text screen offers you the choice of operating systems. Read more at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Install-more-than-one-operating-system-multiboot ...

IF YOU HAVE WIN7 PROFESSIONAL or ULTIMATE,
OR WOULD UPGRADE TO WIN7 PRO....
AND IF YOUR CPU CAN SUPPORT VIRTUALIZATION ....
Going a step further, you can configure your Win7 Pro to run WinXP as a virtual machine in Win7. There's a BIOS setting to adjust and a couple of files to download and run/install in Win7 to enable virtualization. By the way, this IS NOT some exotic configuration best left to experts. It is quite simple and feasible for even intermediate users. Why do this? Remember those software apps that wouldn't run in Win7? They should install and run in this virtual XP environment, called WinXP Mode, but drivers will not. For example my very old version of MS Office installed and runs fine. Learn more at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7 ...

All this runs very well but it is not perfect. It may present some holes to fill in the Win7 environment. You may have some hardware that does not work for lack of a driver, that you might download to fix this problem. For example, I have an scanner that didn't work because the manufacturer had not released a Win7 driver. I had to reboot into WinXP to scan. Not fun, but infinitely better than not being able to scan. Finally I found a driver that was upgraded from WinXP to Win7 offered by a private party. This saved me the hassle of rebooting to XP, but something like this is risky and it has hung the system. Better is a Win7 scanning software app that works great.

Regarding software that doesn't run in Win7 after you install it, you'll need to obtain replacement software. Versions of an app that runs in Vista may work. The software publisher may have an upgrade available to you for a small price or free, or you might have to purchase new software, or use shareware.

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Dual Boot
May 15, 2010 9:08AM PDT

While I think it is not a bad idea to install a new drive, why not since they are inexpensive, and who doesn't need a little extra space, it is not necessary for a dual boot. Even XP could be dual booted on a single drive.

Cheers

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Why I Stay in the "Hotel Mojave"
May 15, 2010 8:49AM PDT

"Outload" your important files to an external drive, Wipe your hard drive, and re install, as follows:
1. Windows 7
2. Authenticate the O/S online with the same product key. If it won't Authenticate, call the M/S "866" Phone # and explain that you are doing a "repair" - they should let you in or give you a new Product Key to get in as a general rule.
3. Re Load any missing drivers from your computer manufacturer. website.
4. Re Load your programs from discs or websites.
5. Re Load your important files to the appropriate programs.
You should now have a well functioning Windows 7 machine.
For the record I have NOT done this on the Acer 6920 I am typing this on, though I have updated a Vista 64 Machine "bought on the cusp" with free Windows 7 Upgrade. Was NOT quite as easy as advertised, took 2 tries and about 4 Hours to get it right as an "in-place" upgrade. That is why I stay in the "Hotel Mojave" on this machine, my experience with Windows 7 has been positive, overall a better O/S than Vista - yet I cannot justify the $120-130 to upgrade this machine unless I went to a 64 bit O/S. Upgrading my 2007/8 era MacBook Pro was more like it, $29 + tax and shipping - FOR A DISC and DOCUMENTATION and it was "Good to Go" with "Snow Leopard 10.6.3" Of course, with Macs - Think "Mercedes" - You get "Whacked" up front on the price of the Machine unless you buy it or trade it used - which I did. From what I've seen, upgrading to 7 from XP is worthwhile, from Vista Not So Much at current economics unless it was a machine sold with free upgrade, or you were a Student that got the $29.95 deal while it was available. No doubt my next Windows Machine will be 7/64 bit as decent laptops are available for less than $400 in that configuration. 'Til then, I remain in the "Hotel Mojave." -S-

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Try this first!
May 15, 2010 9:27AM PDT

Download and install Advanced Systemcare from Iobit. You can get it at cnet downloads for free. It is better than anything you can buy. Run it and reboot and there's a 90% chance your problems will be solved.
A fresh install is always the better option than upgrading. You lose any additional software that came with your system, but that's usually a good thing. I'm not certain that you can re-use your upgrade disk, check the other responses on that issue.

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Knowing how Windows works...you are SOL!
May 15, 2010 9:50AM PDT

The problem with "Upgrades" is just that -- They are "Add-Ons" to the original "CORE" of the operating system -- In your case, Vista. Vista was not well received by users, and even Microsoft admitted that it had a lot of glitches. Okay, so you decide to "Upgrade" which means...you STILL have the "Vista" Core, but now have applied a new set of "clothing" to it -- New bells, whistles, look, and a new feel -- But underneath, it's still Vista. Look at the Computers that are selling HOT now -- They come with Vista or Windows 7, but include a Windows XP/SP3 Downgrade (as Microsoft calls it) because folks just don't want or like Vista or it's twin, Windows 7. If you want to Wipe your drive clean, that's fine -- If you have a "System" to install. Your Windows 7 upgrade will not do the job because it must "overlay" a previous system. If you were okay with Vista.... stay with it -- And don't re-install the "Upgrade" or you'll have the SAME problems. Personally, I think you'd be happier with Windows XP-Professional. I've NEVER had a problem with it. I bought a "Vista" upgrade for it and started getting the same "Vista" problems everyone was talking about, so I wiped it out and re-installed my XP-Pro, and no problems since.

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Clueless, are we...?
May 16, 2010 7:11AM PDT

Whenever you install an UPGRADE, all of your OS related files get REPLACED with newer versions.

For what it's worth, Windows Vista is build 6000. Windows 7 is build 7600. While they ARE built on the same code base, they are NOT the same OS. The "Vista core" as you call it is replaced by the Windows 7 core. You can verify this by looking at the files before and after an upgrade. Right-click and select Properties on any file. You'll note that the version number of all files have changed.

When you do an upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, the only file(s) that stay the same (for the most part) would be the registry. And even the registry gets a going through to make changes wherever Microsoft changed things in the registry.

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Not Clueless -- But misunderstood....
May 16, 2010 10:34PM PDT

I understand what you are saying, however, as a programmer for many years (more than 25), I speak from experience. Each program, or even an operating system, starts with a "Core" -- Those bits and pieces of code that make up the heart of the program. The "Build" number, or as some call it, "Version" or "Revision" is simply to keep track of the latest re-write. Yes....absolutely, when doing an "upgrade", the old files are deleted...and several of them are simply put right back in place -- Not a Change made to them except the publishing date! This is what I meant about the CORE, and adding new clothing. Or you may find one or two files that have "changed" by maybe 1K in size as someone figured out how to FIX a flaw in the old code, but more than 90% of it is identical. Sit down with a disassembler and look for yourself!

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Do Over
May 15, 2010 2:08PM PDT

The simplest solution is to re-install Win 7. Reformatting the hard drive will wipe the data out, but you shouldn't have to do that. Just go through the same process when you reinstall, BUT, when you are prompted, DON'T run the "upgrade" option. Instead use the "custom" option. This will eliminate anything on the drive and package all of your programs and apps. into a folder called "windows.old" so you really haven't lost any of them just be really careful when you reinstall them into Win 7 to keep from reinstalling any old malware from those files. And to answer your question about Microsoft, yes, they'll set you reinstall 7, it's just if you try to install it on a different computer that you'll run into issues. I hope that that will solve the problem for you.

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Windows 7 upgrade
May 15, 2010 3:54PM PDT

This should not be a problem. I have rebuilt my XP machine on a regular 6th monthly basis and had no problems with Microsoft. The same happens with Vista. The reason I do this, is because of the amount of junk ( e.g. registry and shortcut link that do not exist any longer. I have found great increase in performance, but remember to backup the files that are needed also have copies of the original software installation files.

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WHAT files are "important"
May 21, 2010 11:20PM PDT

I hear that a lot "important files".

IF you save ALL files created, it will be a lot easier to clean install. ALL files created involves more than what most people view as "important" and much more than what is in the "My......" folders
My clean install involves TWO partitions (BIG drive) - or as one mentioned TWO drives will work.

For XP my SYSTEM partition was 40GB - with W7 it is 80GB.
HOWEVER, for clients I make the C: drive 60% to 80% of the drive based on drive size
.
The reason: when I install programs, I install them on the D: drive. All "MY..." folders are on the D: drive. Everything else I want is backed up on the D: drive. -- Clients will not be able to handle this footwork consistently and all programs default to installing on the C: drive.

I have MOVED all folders showing LOCATION in the property window.
For XP it was only My Documents. For W7, you can move all but the APPDATA folder under your profile. Be sure to let it copy all files to the new location otherwise the original folder will be left and just confuse you since it performs no function after the move.

To make a complete backup (IMHO) one must copy all the folders/files left in the All Users and personal profile folders to the D: drive. NOTE: there are a few files which will not copy - they are system files and do not need to be copied so you can ignore/skip them.

Once there, off loading all those files to an external drive makes one's backup complete and easy. Recovering from a clean install or a crash install is then much less painful.

The only other thing you must be aware of is that some programs still insist on saving data and configurations in their install folder. Determining this is not trivial for most users, but if one can figure it out, these files must also be copied to the D: drive. In most cases the program won't allow moving their location. What I have done is to create a BAT file to launch the program. When the program is closed all the files created by the program are copied to my backup location on the D: drive by the BAT file.

The importance of this is that in most cases, after a clean install, on can simply reinstall the program and copy the config and data files back to their default location and the program runs as it did prior to the reinstall. IE, one does not have to go back thru all the config.

Take Firefox--all the work you have done loading extension, and building up history and bookmarks, etc. IF the user profile is copied off the C: drive, you can simply put it back after installing FF and you are back where you started from instantly. IE, copy everything from the xxxxxxx.default folder to the new xxxxxxx.default folder. Do not replace that folder name.

POP email is another big one.

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Starting Over...
May 16, 2010 6:27AM PDT

Richard...

Welp... Not quite sure what went wrong but, conventional wisdom for as long as I can recall suggests a clean installation of Windows is always best.

Now... Since you mentioned that the system had Vista on it previously, we can automatically (mistakenly) assume the machine was ready for Windows 7... I say this because there were some systems sold with Vista on them (early on) that didn't quite have the hardware to run Vista properly (The Vista Compatible debacle). Before running anything, I would suggest running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor which is available from Microsoft.com. This will tell you what hardware and software is and isn't ready to go with Windows 7.

Now then, a retail upgrade - meaning one that came in the box and is marked as such - is NOT limited to one installation - for that matter, NO copy of Windows is limited to one install/activation cycle. Even OEM versions can be reinstalled/restored numerous times. OEM/System builder versions are designed, however to ONLY work with that ONE machine. Retail copies are more forgiving. You can move your copy of Windows 7 to another machine - provided it's NO longer installed anywhere else.

That said, you can do any number of things. Assuming you've got all your data and music files backed up (and if not, be sure to do that FIRST before going any further!) you can insert your Windows 7 upgrade DVD and you CAN try an "in place upgrade". What this does is install Windows on top of itself as a means to repair any damaged/missing/corrupted files. IF that works, great, you can move on with life. However, if it doesn't, you can do a "clean install".

Insert the DVD into your drive and boot from the disk. The DVD should give you the option of doing a clean install. However, whatever you do, do NOT type in your product key NOR should you let setup look for updates.

Format the disk (you DID back your stuff up first, right?) and then install on a clean partition. Once you've finished, you will have a clean, trial version of whatever version of Windows 7 you've started out with. Now then, before you go ANY further... Launch the SETUP on the DVD again. This time, install an UPGRADE to the trial version of Windows 7. This time, use the product key when prompted. This will give you a clean, fresh installation of Windows.

A word of advice... DO NOT REINSTALL NORTON UTILITIES. What seems like eons ago, Norton Utilities WERE great. However, as things moved on from the realm of a DOS based into Windows based systems, Norton Utilities have gone from good to bad to worse. Norton has, IMO caused more problems than it's solved.

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Win 7 upgrade
May 16, 2010 6:46AM PDT

Zero fill your HDD using ''Disk Manager'' this wipes it clean 'you lose everything' then re-install your program

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Microsoft Instructions
May 16, 2010 2:41PM PDT
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windows 7
May 16, 2010 8:20PM PDT

when you say windows 7 is awful,you are totally wrong..vista should have been what windows 7 was.

It was a bad idea to install over vista!,its why you`re getting the blue screens.With w7 installed ontop/upgraded from vista may have caused you driver conflictions etc.

I would say do a complete format of you`re hardrive & Install W7.
Then install all the driver you need.You shold have no problem after that.

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But why does Win 7 bluescreen?
May 16, 2010 10:30PM PDT

Bluescreening Windows 7 is not easy. If it is a software issue than simply repeating the install and selecting a clean install will do the trick, and yes Microsoft will not have a problem here. But wait ? There is another way, read on?

If you have a hardware problem you are going to wind up with the same problem. Does norton say why there is a problem? There is a program you can use "ReImage", at reimage.com, that will check your install for software and some hardware issues. Despite the name it does not reimage your computer and it does cost money ($47) but I found it does work. I would do this first before you reinstall, Why? It is guaranteed to work or your $ back. Is it worth $47 not to have to reinstall all your applications and reload all your data? It also does a virus scan. If you do not have virus protection get one, I would run a few of them prior to running reimage, no one virus protection will get every virus.

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Upgrading to System 7 from Vista
May 17, 2010 2:37AM PDT

I also had a horrible upgrade experience and finally was advised to reformat my hard disk and do a clean install, which creates its own set of problems when all of your software needs to be re-installed, and in my case did not fix the problem. What I finally learned ( after spending too much time and too many $) is that Windows 7 is very sensitive to the BIOS Rev. In my case I found that Dell had issued 2 BIOS upgrades during the 4-5 months I had owned my system and suffered through Vista. Once the BIOS was upgraded to the most recent rev, Windows 7 began to perform as advertised - a clear improvement over Vista.

In my case I needed to go to the Dell knowledge base to download the revisions.

Good luck

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Windows 7 Upgrading
May 17, 2010 5:34AM PDT

1. Do not upgrade over the top of any other operating system.
2. Always do a complete, fresh install onto the hard drive.

I have tried running the back up/ upgrade thing on other PC's, Vista, and XP, and it is not worth the headaches, and problems that arise from this way of upgrading!

A fresh install, after formatting the drive is the only way to go if you want a stable, and clean running PC.
Oh, and always remember to back up and save any, and all docs, pics, movies, files, data you want to keep on an EXTERNAL drive, or disc.

Don't use any windows "backup" programs.