Upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista Home Premium...

[Rick Rogers]

What is the text of the blue screen, Gary? When did it start? What were you
doing with the system prior to this issue? Did you install or upgrade any
software or the OS recently?

Hit F8 at boot to access the boot menu, can you load safe mode? How about
the last known good configuration?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Dorango]

Ross

A formatting and a clean install will be required either way,

No it won't, you can do an in-place upgrade from Vista > Win7 but it
is not the recommended method.

 

[Peter Foldes]

Ok smart one then how does he (as the OP asks) revert back to Vista. I gave the
right answer as did others

 

[Rick Rogers]

Um, if it's not reconmmended, then why does Microsoft provide this path?
While some recommend a clean install only, I rarely do. An upgrade will be
just fine if the system was working just fine to begin with. The vast
majority of failed upgrades are the result of a) upgrading a system that has
unsupported hardware, b) upgrading a system that has unsupported software,
and c) upgrading a system that is already having software/hardware issues.

When properly prepared for, upgrading a system is by far the easiest route
for a large number of consumers.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[JIM FUTRELL]

DID YOU BUY WINDOWS 7 OR DOWNLOAD IT FROM MICROSOFT?

 

[Rick Rogers]

Seeing as it's not available for sale yet, that question is kind of
pointless. The question, which Ross has already answered, is where was it
downloaded from - a legit or non-legit source.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
Vote for my shoe: http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Eric Von Zipper]

Ok smart one then how does he (as the OP asks) revert back to Vista. I gave the
right answer as did others

You said "either way". Does that not mean either doing upgrade or
downgrade requires a format? That's how it reads to me and the format
is only required for downgrading from Win7 > Vista.

 

[Eric Von Zipper]

Um, if it's not reconmmended, then why does Microsoft provide this path?
While some recommend a clean install only, I rarely do. An upgrade will be
just fine if the system was working just fine to begin with. The vast
majority of failed upgrades are the result of a) upgrading a system that has
unsupported hardware, b) upgrading a system that has unsupported software,
and c) upgrading a system that is already having software/hardware issues.

When properly prepared for, upgrading a system is by far the easiest route
for a large number of consumers.

I've never done it that way but you are correct that there should be
no issues so long as the drivers are compatible. Sometimes they are
not though and it causes people grief. Personally, I just like to
start off with a clean OS from scratch so it is my choice.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

No it won't, you can do an in-place upgrade from Vista > Win7 but it
is not the recommended method.

Not recommended by whom, precisely?

Granted, some people will always blindly recommend that one always
perform a clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS.
For the most part, I feel that these people, while usually well-meaning,
are living in the past, and are either basing their recommendation on
their experiences with much older operating systems, or are simply
inexperienced and uninformed.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost always be
successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent individual. I've
lost count of the systems I've seen that have been upgraded from Win95
to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP (usually with incremental hardware upgrades
over the same time period), without the need for a clean installation,
and that are still operating without any problems attributable to upgrades.

Additionally, since Vista's and Win7's upgrade "mechanism" differ
widely from that of earlier operating systems, why would you think that
the same "old wives' tales" would apply?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Eric Von Zipper]

Not recommended by whom, precisely?

Microsoft and most power users.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Um, if it's not reconmmended, then why does Microsoft provide this path?
While some recommend a clean install only, I rarely do. An upgrade will be
just fine if the system was working just fine to begin with. The vast
majority of failed upgrades are the result of a) upgrading a system that has
unsupported hardware, b) upgrading a system that has unsupported software,
and c) upgrading a system that is already having software/hardware issues.

When properly prepared for, upgrading a system is by far the easiest route
for a large number of consumers.

I agree completely with Rick's comments above, and would like to add
the following three points:

1. Unlike with previous versions of Windows, an upgrade to Windows XP
or later replaces almost everything, and usually works very well.

2. My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much
easier than a clean installation. You can always change your mind and
reinstall cleanly if problems develop.

3. However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the
need to backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting to
upgrade, it's always prudent to recognize that things like a sudden
power loss can occur in the middle of it and cause the loss of
everything. For that reason you should make sure you have backups and
anything else you need to reinstall if the worst happens.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Microsoft ....

Obviously not, or they wouldn't provide an upgrade path/method, now,
would they?

.... and most power users.

None I know. And certainly no experienced IT professionals will say
such twiddle.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Alias]

Good advice, but add free Microsoft Security Essentials to the list.
I'm sufficiently impressed by it that I've switched not only my own
systems but those of my clients from AVG.

That was stupid. Essentials hasn't been properly tested yet.

That's normally done during the install.

No, it's normally done after Windows installs unless you have a restore
disk from someone like Dell or HP.

That normally means going online, so malware protection should be
installed first.

Auto updates. Going on line does not mean you will get malware. You have
to use a program to go on line that can attract malware like Internet
Explorer or Windows Live Messenger.

Scan it, which is just what you want. Even software from legitimate
sources can be infected.

It scans while the install is happening and can screw up the install in
the process. I am not suggesting that one go on line with eMule and
start downloading pirated software. Get a clue!

Firewall only protects against attacks, not malware! It's essential,
but no substitute for a good malware scanner.

I never said it was.

Nice, but far from sufficient.

And how long have you been so ill informed?

So to sum up, the proper order is:

Install Windows
Install the MB chipset, audio drivers and video drivers.
Install the service pack if you need one.
Use Auto Update to install Windows updates.
Install all programs except anti virus and anti malware programs
Install all the devices
Install anti virus and anti malware programs and a third party firewall
if you don't plan to use Windows firewall.
If you have Office, go to Microsoft Updates, hope you past the genuine
test without a false positive, and set it to let Auto Updates download
and install Office Updates.
Disable any real time anti virus or malware apps temporarily once the
Office Updates are downloaded and before they are installed. Once they
are installed reenabled them.

Alias

 

[Alias]

It's been thoroughly tested in beta, is based on well-proven technology,
and has performed well in evaluations.


I prepare a driver disk before the install, and use it during the
install


That's how you get updates. Just because it's largely hidden doesn't
mean that vulnerable code isn't being used.


It's no more problematic than any other updates. Or are you seriously
suggesting turning off malware protection before installing any updates?


Are you rude by nature, or do you have to work at it?


Thanks for clearing that up.


How long have you been so rude?
I'm a security professional. You?


Bad advice.

It's worked since 1995 with all flavors of Windows on hundreds of
machines. You say you're a security professional and you used AVG and
now Essentials? LOL! Good one, chum. If you're really security
conscious, you wouldn't use Windows.

Alias

 

[Alias]

What do you use and recommend?

Kaspersky. I also recommend Linux.

Alias

 

[Alias]

Lots of smokers haven't gotten sick or died ... yet.
It's a silly risk to take.

Considering there is no risk, who's being silly?

I do.


You have no idea what you're talking about.

LOL! Keep dreaming.

I use several different
operating systems, using the best one for the job at hand. Windows is
only one of them, and isn't a security issue when safe computing is
practiced, as it should be on any OS.

As malware is always ahead of the malware detectors, safe computing with
Windows is an oxymoron. In fact, 3 out of 5 Windows computers are
infected and the hundreds of thousands of machines that have been
corralled into bot nets are all Windows machines.

Alias