Windows 7 Problem upgrading Vista to 7

[justan]

Alright so heres the deal. I don't have a (working) cd/dvd drive. So I had 2 options. The USB method and the Virtual Drive method. I tried both and the same thing happens on both:

I'll insert the USB/Mount th .iso and it will ask me if I want to run "Setup.exe" for the installation/upgrade and I click it. Then it says "Check compatibility online" or "Install now". I've already checked my compatibility so I click install now. Then it brings me to the installation screen or w/e and says "Setup is copying temporary files..." then it goes on to "Setup is starting..." and it stays on the "Setup is starting..." page for about 30 seconds and then brings me back to my desktop. Can some one tell me what is going on here? Anyone with the same problem?

Thanks,

Justan

 

[busydog]

Alright so heres the deal. I don't have a (working) cd/dvd drive. So I had 2 options. The USB method and the Virtual Drive method. I tried both and the same thing happens on both:

I'll insert the USB/Mount th .iso and it will ask me if I want to run "Setup.exe" for the installation/upgrade and I click it. Then it says "Check compatibility online" or "Install now". I've already checked my compatibility so I click install now. Then it brings me to the installation screen or w/e and says "Setup is copying temporary files..." then it goes on to "Setup is starting..." and it stays on the "Setup is starting..." page for about 30 seconds and then brings me back to my desktop. Can some one tell me what is going on here? Anyone with the same problem?

Thanks,

Justan

You mention "your desktop" so I assume your are installing from XP or Vista. If you have bootable Flash Drive, I would install by setting your BIOS to boot to the USB. If you are indeed installing from XP or Vista, I'd copy the installation files to your HD and skip the UBS device. Further, I would neuter your current system by MSCONFIG and turning off all non-M$ services and disabling everything that is starting up. Reboot and then try your install. I'm not getting a clear picture of what you're doing but these are some suggestions.

 

[justan]

I am currently running Vista Home Basic. What I did first was restart the computer with the USB in and I set it to boot to the USB. I then got to the part where you can chose to either upgrade or custom install. I chose upgrade, because I want to keep my files, programs, etc. Once I clicked upgrade it told me to take the "disc" or USB in my case, out of the drive and then restart windows normally then insert the disc and continue with the upgrade. I did not do that step because I was told that was not necessary and that I could just start the installation with the USB in and windows running. Should I try that step?

 

[busydog]

I am currently running Vista Home Basic. What I did first was restart the computer with the USB in and I set it to boot to the USB. I then got to the part where you can chose to either upgrade or custom install. I chose upgrade, because I want to keep my files, programs, etc. Once I clicked upgrade it told me to take the "disc" or USB in my case, out of the drive and then restart windows normally then insert the disc and continue with the upgrade. I did not do that step because I was told that was not necessary and that I could just start the installation with the USB in and windows running. Should I try that step?

If you are upgrading from within Vista, don't try to boot to the USB. Set your BIOS to not boot to the USB and then run setup.exe from the USB from within Vista. (See my neuter comments above.) That said, you should do a clean install unless you want troubles during installation or later on. (Some Vista upgrades have been known to take 3-4 hours and end up in a continual re-boot situation.) If you can boot to the USB, choose Custom and do a clean install. If you want to keep your Vista install, create a partition for Win7 and it will set up a dual-boot situation.

 

[justan]

Well see thats what I was saying in my original post. I tried running the setup.exe from the USB. I click "Install now" and then it brings me to a screen that says "Copying temporary files..." and then it brings me to the next screen which says "Setup is starting..." and it stays there for about 30 seconds and then the installation stops and it brings me back to my desktop.

I would do a clean install but I currently don't have an external hard drive or USB drive to save all my files to, and can't really afford one right now.

I also would set up a partition and dual boot(which I have in the past, but made the partition VERY small just for testing out 7) but I don't have enough free space on my HD to have 2 OS's to dual boot.

 

[busydog]

Well see thats what I was saying in my original post. I tried running the setup.exe from the USB. I click "Install now" and then it brings me to a screen that says "Copying temporary files..." and then it brings me to the next screen which says "Setup is starting..." and it stays there for about 30 seconds and then the installation stops and it brings me back to my desktop.

I would do a clean install but I currently don't have an external hard drive or USB drive to save all my files to, and can't really afford one right now.

I also would set up a partition and dual boot(which I have in the past, but made the partition VERY small just for testing out 7) but I don't have enough free space on my HD to have 2 OS's to dual boot.

Sound like a catch-22 situation. You must have a very small HD. Try using MSCONFIG to neuter your install. Some app or service is likely causing your problem. Could be your AV, spyware program, or any number of non-M$ services.

 

[justan]

Yes the HD is pretty small, only 150 gigs. I did free up a bunch of space and I'm still deleting a bunch of stuff that I don't need. Do you know how much free space is needed just for 7 itself? Because I can set up a partition with out 10 gigs at the most. I'm fine with doing that until I can afford an external hard drive.

 

[busydog]

Yes the HD is pretty small, only 150 gigs. I did free up a bunch of space and I'm still deleting a bunch of stuff that I don't need. Do you know how much free space is needed just for 7 itself? Because I can set up a partition with out 10 gigs at the most. I'm fine with doing that until I can afford an external hard drive.

You better plan on at least 10 gig for X86 and 15 gig for X64 if you want to have ANY other programs running. I believe setup will tell you if your partition is not big enough for the version of your choice.

 

[justan]

Alright. Thanks for your help