A repair install attempt

[CZ]

FYI:

I just attempted a repair install on a test Vista RTM setup that did not
have any problems.
The results were not good.

The steps:
I booted into Vista and inserted the Vista DVD.
I selected Upgrade.
Near the end of the upgrade, it rebooted, and I selected the op system from
the multi-boot menu.
It tried to boot into Vista, then auto-rebooted.
Pressing F8 and selecting Safe Mode produced a message stating that I had to
boot via normal mode to complete the installation (normal mode causes an
auto-reboot).

I had Ghosted a copy of the vol before the test, so it only took a few
minutes to be back online.

Summary:
You may want to remember this before you put your faith in an in-place
upgrade as a repair install.

 

[Chad Harris]

CZ--

In fact you did not do a repair install of Vista; you did a dirty install of
Vista over Vista. And you apparently got a no boot Vista that begs for a
Startup Repair although you never explicitly said what your result was or
even said that you could not boot but I doubt you could after what you did.

This post does not make sense for a few reasons:

1) You had Vista RTM setup.
2) A repair install in XP would be done as an inplace upgrade--the terms are
interchangable and the way it's done is this by reinstalling XP from the CD.
This is done in a no boot situation, but it doesn't have to be a no boot
situation, as is the case with a startup repair in Vista.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/en-us

What you suggested is not the way an in place upgrade is done, rather it's
an install of Vista over Vista or what is commonly known as a "dirty
install" and it often has the result of a corrupted OS. What you reported is
not recommended anywhere. You didn't indicate exactly what your result was,
but I'm assuming you dirty installed Vista over Vista and you achieved a no
boot Vista which might have been repaired via a Startup Repair.

CH

 

[Rick Rogers]

Are you sure there isn't a hardware problem underlying this? What you
describe is a symptom of a hardware issue.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[CZ]

What you suggested is not the way an in place upgrade is done, ratheran install of Vista over Vista or what is commonly known as a "dirty
install" and it often has the result of a corrupted OS. What you reported is
not recommended anywhere.

Chad:

Note a previous post by Colin:
"You can just do an upgrade-in-place. If you have Vista Ultimate installed
and launch Setup from the Vista desktop you will have the option to do an
upgrade. That's how you do a repair install. The upgrade option is not
just for legacy editions of Windows or to a higher edition of Vista. You
can 'upgrade' Vista Ultimate to itself as well."

 

[CZ]

Are you sure there isn't a hardware problem underlying this? What you
describe is a symptom of a hardware issue.

Rick:

The computer dual boots with another install of Vista RTM that does not have
any problems.

 

[Chad Harris]

CZ--

I have a maxim that works pretty well for me that if Colin writes it--it's
going to be well researched, extremely well written, and always correct.
That holds up 100% of the time. I try to read as many Colin posts as I
can--it's good for my learning curve and perspective.

But if you look at the steps for an inplace upgrade aka Repair install,
you'll see that they don't run the upgrade from xp's desktop. And with
Vista, an inplace upgrade for a repair install would be run the way that
this MSKB is doing it--

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/315341/en-us

Colin was giving you directions for this but that's an upgrade of Vista
****from a previous OS, not from Vista:
www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeinfo.mspx

You tried to upgrade Vista from Vista, *rather than from a previous earlier
OS, and that's not the way it's done. Compare the two links.

Rick was concerned that you were trying to fix a known problem rather than
experimenting which is why he invoked hardware which is often in the
equation or the reason.

CH

 

[Chad Harris]

In my experience if you want to repair Vista, use Startup Repair or System
Restore from the Recovery link reached by putting in the Vista DVD and
restarting. Sometimes the F8 options will do it as in XP, but system
restore can work from the Recovery link reached by the DVD on the setup
screen when it won't from F8--and Startup Repair does not need a no boot
Vista situation to fix things that aren't working:

***WINDOWS F8 ADVANCED OPTIONS MENU (Available in XP and Works in Vista***

I have put every KB that contexts these
options here for you to look at if you need to.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.mspx

***Your first five options****

These options to recover in Vista are similar to XP although System Restore
is based on a system now from server technology.

1) I'd use the F8 options including the 4 safe modes to try to system
restore and I would use Last Known Good Configuration if they don't work. I
say four safe mode options, because sometimes one works when another will
not:

If you use safe mode command, the command for system restore is:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

This approach in Vista is the same as in XP and is based on Chapter 28 of
the XP resource kit and will soon be adapted to the Vista Resource Kit. The
MSKB that outlines this is here--yes it has XP in the title but these
options are available in Vista :

Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP [and Vista]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308041&Product=winxp

For Anxillary Reference in Vista: System recovery and reliability for IT
Pros
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/6b79f7be-555e-4fff-af53-c1c90d0a3fc41033.mspx

What to Do if Windows Vista Won't Start Correctly
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/f768809f-ed90-415f-a83f-89b42108b3551033.mspx

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/


How to Use System Restore from a Command Prompt
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279736/en-us

How to start your computer by using the Last Known Good Configuration
feature in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307852/en-us
___________________________________________________________________________________________

***STARTUP REPAIR IN WINDOWS VISTA***

1) You run the startup repair tool this way:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925810/en-us

How To Run Startup Repair In Vista Ultimate (Multiple Screenshots)
http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/vistaultimate/repairstartup/index.htm

Note The computer must be configured to start from a CD or from a DVD. For
information about how to configure the computer to start from a CD or from a
DVD, see the information that came with the computer.

2) Restart the computer. To do this, click Start, click the arrow next to
the Lock button, and then click Restart.

This usually means that you enter bios setup by whatever key or keys
(sometimes there is more than one key that will do it for your model--go to
pc manufacturer site) and configure CD to be first in the boot order.

See for ref:
Access/Enter Motherboard BIOS
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

Note If you cannot restart the computer by using this method, use the power
button to turn off the computer. Then, turn the computer back on.

3) Set your language preference, and then click Next.

Note In most cases, the startup repair process starts automatically, and you
do not have the option to select it in the System Recovery Options menu.

4) Click Repair your computer.

5) In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click the operating system
that you want to repair, and then click Next.

6) In the System Recovery Options menu, click Startup Repair to start the
repair process.

7) When the repair process is complete, click Finish.

Additional References for Startup Repair With Screenshots:

How to Use Startup Repair:

***Accessing Windows RE (Repair Environment):***

1) Insert Media into PC (the DVD you burned)

2) ***You will see on the Vista logo setup screen after lang. options in the
lower left corner, a link called "System Recovery Options."***

Screenshot: System Recovery Options (Lower Left Link)
http://blogs.itecn.net/photos/liuhui/images/2014/500x375.aspx

Screenshot: (Click first option "Startup Repair"
http://www.leedesmond.com/images/img_vista02ctp-installSysRecOpt2.bmp

How To Run Startup Repair In Vista Ultimate (Multiple Screenshots)
http://www.windowsvista.windowsreinstall.com/vistaultimate/repairstartup/index.htm

3) Select your OS for repair.

4) Its been my experience that you can see some causes of the crash from
theWin RE feature:

You'll have a choice there of using:

1) Startup Repair
2) System Restore
3) Complete PC Restore

Good luck,

CH

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I was suggesting to John that it might work that way and we should see.
Obviously it doesn't.

 

[John Barnes]

:-((

I was suggesting to John that it might work that way and we should see.
Obviously it doesn't.

 

[CZ]

But if you look at the steps for an inplace upgrade aka Repair install,
you'll see that they don't run the upgrade from xp's desktop. And with
Vista, an inplace upgrade for a repair install would be run the way that
this MSKB is doing it--

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/315341/en-us

Chad:

Per that MSKB

Method one: is what I did (boot into op system, insert DVD, select Upgrade)
Near the end of the upgrade, it rebooted, and I selected the op system from
the multi-boot menu.
It tried to boot into Vista, then auto-rebooted.
Pressing F8 and selecting Safe Mode produced a message stating that I had to
boot via normal mode to complete the installation (normal mode causes an
auto-reboot).
Status: cannot boot into Vista via normal mode or via Safe Mode

Method two: I just tried (boot from DVD)
Booting from the Vista RTM DVD to do an install provides two choices:
Upgrade: which "has been disabled", and it is suggested that you run it from
within an op system.
Custom: which "does not keep your files, programs, and settings"

I chose Custom as a test and note the following:
The existing install was placed in the \Windows.old folder (9.43GBytes), and
a new instance of Vista was installed.
Here is a listing of the folders within the Windows.old folder:
Documents and Settings
Program Files
ProgramData
Users
Windows

Summary:
Apparently, in Vista RTM you cannot do a "repair install", but you can
retain your files by booting from the DVD and selecting Custom (which will
install a completely new instance of Vista).

In regard to Startup Repair:
I have seen the "could not detect a problem" response on several occassions.
From:
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/12/05/windows-recovery-environment.aspx
"Once loaded, the Startup Repair starts checking for potential problems to
see why the system failed to boot by grinding through the following
questions: Is the problem a missing or damaged boot configuration file? Is
the problem due to missing or damaged system files? Is it due to a missing
or damaged driver? An incompatible driver? An incompatible OS update? In
all of these cases, if a problem is found, the system will attempt to
correct the problem either by restoring a file using a cache of files (for
example, a corrupted driver file), using a system restore point, or
recreating a database using other data (such as rebuilding a registry hive
or the file system). The system will also detect and report a bad hard disk
or bad memory, but given that these are hardware issues, we can't do much to
fix them."

PS. time to Ghost back to my image of the Vista test install