Hi guys, glad to see some people are replying to this post. I just came back to check if someone replied. I will be posting soon about those that I said I would.
@DROFLEX: Dude, I know how you must feel. I mean, to shell out that much cash and all you get are frustrations, I really apologize for the inconvenience this issue must have caused you. But to answer your question (I thought it was), YES, THERE IS a way to find out what Windows HAS TO SAY about the error that you encountered during install. If Microsoft found out that I am telling you guys this, I will have no job for the rest of my existence. But, so what? Right? Microsoft has a heart too... and a lot of us still haven't slept very well since the launch just to make sure that you guys are happy with Windows 7.
Anyway, to find out what went wrong during the installation, hard-reset your system back into the screen where you get to click \"Install Now\". If you can still boot to Vista, this will be so much easier because you can use \"Computer\" (\"My Computer\" in XP) to navigate. On the screen with \"Install Now\" (by booting off the DVD), press Shift+F10. This will bring up the Command Prompt with Administrative Privileges. Go into $WINDOWS.~BT\SOURCES\PANTHER or if that's not there, go into $INPLACE.~TR\SOURCES\PANTHER. From there, type \"NOTEPAD SETUPACT.LOG\" and hit enter. THAT WILL TELL YOU A LOT OF THINGS! Scrolling down to the last entry should identify where you got stuck and why.
@DREW: Dude, that information is MICROSOFT CONFIDENTIAL - the CLEAN INSTALL with an upgrade disc thingy. But if you read thru my next posts - especially on the next one \"What do I do to prepare myself for upgrade installation?\" - a little common sense will answer that question.
Am really swamped right now, guys... so forgive me if I can't post anything else yet. I'll try to be back before 12 hours and post the \"UPGRADE READINESS\" checklist.