Windows 7 Win 7 upgrade hangs at 86%

crispbasilisk

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Joined
May 6, 2010
I am trying to upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Win 7 Ultimate using a DVD bought at retail. The upgrade process hangs while Gathering programs and settings, always at the 86% mark. Yesterday it hung at 6:00 PM and I let it run overnight -- at 9:00 AM next day it was still hung. No error message, no shutdown, just sitting there waiting.

Following suggestions from various sources I have tried working from an empty start folder in Vista, and from a clean boot in Vista. Neither made any difference. I have turned off antivirus and taken down the firewall. My system is approved for upgrade by MS. I have tried starting the upgrade program from Vista safe mode and by booting from the DVD, but was not allowed to continue. I have done everything suggested by MS as a prelude to upgrading.

My computer is a Dell Inspiron 530.

I know I am not the first person to encounter this problem; I hope some subscribers to this forum have found a solution that they can pass on to me.
 
Hi crispbasilisk, (cool nik)
is the actual DVD ok? Also you mentioned something about trying to install from a 'clean boot'? Does this mean you tried to change the boot order and boot from the DVD? If not then I'd try that. Just make sure that CD/DVD is top of the boot order and remember to press any key when prompted..
 
The easiest way would be a clean boot install (format partition) from 7 DVD - however, it's a little more work installing everything again.
 
Hi crispbasilisk, (cool nik)
is the actual DVD ok? Also you mentioned something about trying to install from a 'clean boot'? Does this mean you tried to change the boot order and boot from the DVD? If not then I'd try that. Just make sure that CD/DVD is top of the boot order and remember to press any key when prompted..

Thank you, kemical. Another cool nik -- are you organic or inorganic?

The DVD is fresh from the box. I see no damage, How would I know whether it is OK or not?

The term "clean boot" came from someone on another forum. It entails closing down the start menu and also all services except those provided by MS. It's done through msconfig.

However, I did change the boot order in bios to open Vista and the upgrade program from the DVD. But after a few pages I was told that couldn't work, I had to boot Vista the usual way.
 
Totally organic lol...

As for your boot problems can you not back up what you can and just perform a 'clean install' (otherwise known as a 'custom' install). We have had many posts from users who upgraded from either xp or vista and found that this presented problems. The only cure was to re-install using the 'custom' method.
 
It may be a driver problem. Have you disconnected all external devices you can? Have you tried turning of devices in the bios? Basically, remove or otherwise disable any devices you can that are requiring drivers.

Look in your \Panther directory for a file called setupact.log. You may have to copy it to the desktop to read it, but look at the last part to see if any errors show up, such as drivers not loading.

This site lists some of the log locations for different situations you might check for install problems.
 
Totally organic lol...

As for your boot problems can you not back up what you can and just perform a 'clean install' (otherwise known as a 'custom' install). We have had many posts from users who upgraded from either xp or vista and found that this presented problems. The only cure was to re-install using the 'custom' method.

I chose the upgrade approach because it sounded simpler and cleaner. But as the days pass I have a feeling that I made the wrong choice. However I'm not in a hurry, and I will try some of the tips and tricks people have been sending me and will report back if something works.
 
I chose the upgrade approach because it sounded simpler and cleaner. But as the days pass I have a feeling that I made the wrong choice. However I'm not in a hurry, and I will try some of the tips and tricks people have been sending me and will report back if something works.

Cool.. Let us know how you get on.. :)
 
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