Vista DVD not recognized for installation

[whiwo]

I had been running Vista since it came out last year with no compatible
issues at all. However, there were several issues with performance and
finally late last year I gave up and went back to XP. Now that the SP1 is
available, I want to go back and install Vista, but for some reason, my
computer won't recognize the disc. It trys, but just can't load it. I've
tried other DVDs and have burned a couple and they all work fine. For
whatever reason, the problem is with the Vista DVD. Any suggestions as to
what to do next would be greatly appreciated.

 

[John Barnes]

It's a bootable DVD and needs to be in the boot priority order if booting
directly. Are you trying to install from the XP desktop? Give a little
more information so someone knows what you are trying and can help

 

[whiwo]

Sorry about that. First, I am attempting to install from XP to Vista.
Second, I've changed the bootable order placing my DVD burner first and my
hard drive second. It does the same thing when I put the disc in with the
system up. It tries to recognize the disc but never does. You can see the
activity when it tries to load. Third, I have a backup copy I created on a
third drive, but in order to restore it, I need to be able to boot from the
disc. It's a catch 22.

 

[John Barnes]

Sound like something has happened to your disk. Check for smudges and
scratches. Can you right click and explore the disk. If so, the index is
okay but the section with autorun is a problem. Since you are loading from
the desktop the boot section is not applicable, but if this is a full
edition you could try installing from the DVD to see how far you can get.
When you say install from XP to Vista, I assume you mean you are doing an
upgrade install.

 

[Jack]

It does not look the legitimate DVD disk to me!
Jack

 

[whiwo]

I can assure you this is a legitimate copy purchased through NewEgg. Those
that understand Vista, realize you have to boot from the disk in order to
install, upgrade and/or go into the repair option (which is the case here).
I ran Vista for most of the year and got frustrated with its slow response
and switched back to XP. Before I did that, I made a full backup on an
alternate hard drive, so that when the SP1 came out, I'd be able to restore
the original installation.

As for the disk, there are no scratches or smudges...it's in like new
condiditon. When all of my DVDs work perfectly fine, there is something else
going on. I'm starting to get the feeling this has something to do with
Microsoft and the way they encoded the disk. This is unacceptable, but I
will get to the bottom of this.

Thanks.

For future reference "Jack" if you don't have anything to offer, then please
shut the HELL up!

 

[John Barnes]

First, SP1 isn't currently available unless you are in MSDN etc. Public
distribution is later. You never said anything about a backup of Vista.
You certainly make helping difficult. Are you trying to open this from the
restored Vista or are you using the XP desktop. You still don't say what
version you are trying. To do a repair upgrade of Vista you need to boot to
the Vista desktop, not the DVD.
There is no Microsoft conspiracy against you. You just don't know what you
are doing and will not explain your situation step by step so someone can
help

 

[whiwo]

Okay John, let's try this again. First, I am currently running XP on my
desktop. I switched back to it in November because of speed issues when
transferring large files to my external hard drive I use for backup. Before
I reinstalled XP, I made a complete backup of my Vista system so that when I
was ready, I could go back and restore the original installation. It's that
simple. Regardless as to whether I want to install a clean copy or simply
restore the backup I made, you must be able to boot to the Vista DVD. I
cannot restore Vista through XP...it won't work. The autorun no longer works
on this disc, whether I'm booting to it or simply want to explore it from my
desktop. The disk is like new, purchased in January of last year with no
visible smudges, scratches, etc. As for the SP1, I am fully aware that it is
not currently available, but will be by the end of the month. Since I don't
currently have any open projects which would require massive transfers, I
thought I would go ahead and reinstall/restore whatever, Vista. I'm just
trying to ascertain as to why the "autorun" feature no longer works on my
DVD, when there's nothing wrong with my burner/player. I did everything
correct. I went into the BIOS to set the boot priority to the DVD player so
that's the first thing it picks up. When I do this with the disk inserted,
you can tell it's trying to, but cannot. What I'm asking is there a way I
can work around this. That's all I wanted to know. I guess I'll just pay
for the support and be done with it. Thanks.

 

[John Barnes]

From the desktop right click on the DVD drive and select explore. Then
choose setup.exe
From the DVD you do realise that you have to 'hit any key' to boot to the
DVD at the end of POST
You have to run your restore of the backup from the program that created it.
You can't do that from the DVD as far as I know.
You still don't say what version of Vista you are using. Upgrade - Full -
OEM etc.
Paid support seem like a good deal for you.

 

[whiwo]

Vista Ultimate; OEM...I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. I
cannot right click and "explore" off of my DVD drive. It has to recognize
the disk to do that. Normally, when you boot to the Vista disk, a message
will appear asking you to hit any key to go into installation. I don't get
that option. I tried hitting my space bar or enter right after the "post"
and I can see the DVD player light go on, so I know it's trying to read it.
However, all I get is a little blinking line. As for the restoral of the
image file I created in November, I can only do that by booting to the disk
as if creating a clean install. When that happens, you're given the option
to restore your computer from backup. Ultimately, the sole issue is why the
disk can no longer be read by my system when every other DVD works fine.

 

[John Barnes]

OEM should boot fine from the DVD. Before you pay for support, I would try
to run the disk in another computer. If it doesn't work there either, you
probably have a problem with the disk (Microsoft does have a program to
replace defective disks). Good luck.

 

[whiwo]

Thanks I'll do that.

OEM should boot fine from the DVD. Before you pay for support, I would try
to run the disk in another computer. If it doesn't work there either, you
probably have a problem with the disk (Microsoft does have a program to
replace defective disks). Good luck.