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Unable to Upgrade from XP to Vista


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#1
MarkQuinn

MarkQuinn

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Note: I searched for this answer on the forums but no luck. I did extensive Googling but they almost all lead me to Miscrosoft's page which was little help.

Here's what's wrong: Purchased Vista Home Premium Upgrade today. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor chose it as the best software for my system.

The upgrade option is unavailable (grayed out). I get the following message:

Windows cannot determine if another operating system exists on your computer


It also states:

Upgrade has been disabled

- Windows cannot determine if another operating system exists on your computer. Try repairing the boot configuration, and then begin the installation again.


I found the problem at Microsoft's Help Site.

I attempted to solve the problem with the solution described in MS's article How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP.

The problem is, the article becomes extremely vague in terms of telling me exactly what I should do. Looking at my boot.ini, I certainly can't tell if something's wrong or if there's a problematic entry. I was hoping someone here could:

[boot loader]
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


I do have two hard drives, both running XP. I do not have them set up as dual boot however (never bothered learning how to do it). I don't know if this is part of the problem. I'm really inexperienced at all this.

One last thing. I WOULD chose the clean install, but I'm afraid to try that. A few weeks ago Gateway sent me a restore DVD with all the applications and drivers (WinXP) specific to my exact PC model. If I am not mistaken, a Vista clean install will wipe out all of the drivers and apps, leaving me with Windows Vista but no specific drivers (i.e. no way to log on to the net, etc.). To reinstall the specific drivers and apps for my system, I would of course need to use the Gateway DVD again.... Which would wipe out the hard disk, erase Vista, and put XP right back on my system. Catch 22?

Obviously I am missing something. I'd really like to try Vista but upgrade is unavailabe and I'm weary of doing a clean install. Can someone please give me some advice?
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#2
wannabe1

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Hello MarkQuinn...

The boot.ini file is referencing an incorrect directory and is probably the reason the upgrade is failing to initialize. The text in red below is the likely culprit. I'll need a little more information from you before we dare edit the file. From My Computer, open "Local Disk C:"...Is there a folder there named WINDOWS? Click Start, then Run, type %windir% and click "Ok". What is the name of the folder that opens...is it WINDOWS or WINNT?

[boot loader]
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
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#3
MarkQuinn

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Thanks for your help Wannabe1.

Yes there is a Windows directory, and following your instructions, the folder that opens is c:\WINDOWS.

What's next?

Thanks again.

Edited by MarkQuinn, 12 March 2007 - 01:28 AM.

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#4
wannabe1

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Open Control Panel and double click on the "System" icon. Under the "Advanced" tab, in the "Startup and Recovery" section, click the "Settings" button. In the window that opens, click the "Edit" button...a notepad window will open (boot.ini). Change the WINNT in the last line to WINDOWS or delete everything and copy/paste the edited text below into the notepad window. Then click on "File" on the toolbar and choose "Save".

[boot loader]
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

Close all open windows and try the upgrade again.
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