alexh

Hi,

I bought Vista Ultimate upgrade a while back and I discovered that MS changd the upgrade method. Now Vista needs to see a previous version of MS on the hard drive as opposed to just reading a disk in the CD ROM drive. Problem was, that Vista would end up on the last available drive letter (E in my case) and it appears that you could never fix this even if you later blew away the old OS. Nothing really wrong with booting from the E drive but it kind of rubs me wrong.

So, I discovered that there was a work around for this and installed and validated sucessfully by installing twice. Recently I decided to start fresh with the 64 bit version of Vista Ultimate upgrade and validation failed. I called MS and they told me that it failed because I did not have a previous version of Windows installed so it appears I need to start over. It appears they have plugged the workaround hole.

So, is there any way to install Vista upgrade so it ends up on C: drive? I can do a fresh install if necessary. One way would be to wipe my HDD and install XP on the D: drive although I don't remember if this is possible.

Another easier possibility may be to leave Vista on the HDD as is, install XP on the next available drive letter and then re-install Vista on the C: drive. Do you think this would work?

Thanks for any help.

alexh

Holy crap,

I'm really screwed. You cannot install a 64 bit Vista upgrade from a 32 bit OS.

My real mistake was to buy an upgrade version. I qualified for an OEM but I didn't realize it at the time.

Is it possible to "surrender" a Vista key and exchange it for a full version or OEM version through MS?

ericeod

I guarantee 100% you can!


This is an easy fix. All you have to do is install from the disk, and when it asks for a install code, dont put one in. Make sure to choose the version you have though. Then after it is installed, it will be an evaluation copy. While in Vista, put in the upgrade disk and install as an upgrade. You will have the option to install a clean version . All the old files will be saved as windows.old in the C drive which you can delete after the second install.



DailyTech

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eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread ............... 4.0GHz CPU-Z

alexh

Thanks but the first time I installed with the 32 bit version I used this workaround successfully about 4 months ago.

Then, I had a MB failure and upon receiving my new MB, I decided to start over with 64 bit following the same workaround procedure you outlined. This time, validation failed. When I called MS, I expected that they would tell me it was because of the new HW but actually they told me it was because I did not install from a previous OS.

So it appears they have closed this loophole.

I'll probably go back to 32 bit. I can vouch that the Vista GUI under 64 bit seems noticeably more responsive.

I just noticed here that MS seems to say you can perform a upgrade from XP to Vista 64 bit by booting from the DVD.

Installing a 64-bit version of Windows Vista on a computer that is running a 32-bit version of Windows XP or of Windows 2000


Most Windows XP and Windows 2000 users have the 32-bit version of these operating systems. For example, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home, Windows Tablet Edition and Windows Media Center Edition only come in 32-bit versions. For these operating systems, there is no upgrade installation path available when you upgrade from a 32-bit operating system to a 64-bit operating system. However, you can perform a custom installation that uses an upgrade license.

After you purchase a Windows Vista DVD, follow these steps:1. Back up all the data and the settings by using Windows XP Backup.

Note You can also use Windows Easy Transfer. This back up program is available on the Windows Vista DVD. However, you must use the version that is on the 32-bit Windows Vista DVD if you want to use Windows Easy Transfer to back up a 32-bit version of Windows.
2. Insert the 64-bit version of Windows Vista into the system DVD drive, and then restart the computer.
3. Start Windows Vista Setup from the DVD when you are prompted.

Note You must start Windows Vista Setup by starting the computer from the Windows Vista 64-bit DVD. The installation package will not run on a 32-bit operating system.
4. When you are prompted during Windows Vista Setup, remember to select Custom as the installation type.
5. After installation is complete, you can restore the data from its backup location.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932795/en-us


Mine said upgrade is disabled when I ran from DVD but I'll try again.

ericeod

I originally started with Vista Home Premium 32. Then I got the 64 bit from Microsoft Alternate Media and installed the 64 bit the same way. I just installed 2 weeks ago on my ASUS P5E without any problems.

Give it another try, maybe something was overlooked, IDK. Remember to install from bootup with the first install, then with the second, do the install from within Windows.

Good luck

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread ............... 4.0GHz CPU-Z