Install stuck after product key input

[Guest]

I'm upgrading my XP Home to Vista Ultimate, no issues in compatibility check,
everything seems fine, except once I've typed in my product key the install
seems to stop. The hourglass cursor appears, and nothing happens after that.
I've left it like this for over two hours now.

I can ctrl-alt-del out of the install, and task manager says that it's
running. I've updated BIOS and other drivers pervious to this latest
attempt--please help?!

 

[Guest]

OK...literally 3 minutes after posting this, the T&C page popped up. Clearly
the old "call helpdesk and it'll sort itself out" adage proved correct once
again...

 

[Guest]

Ok, now it's been at "checking compatibility" for the past our or so. Is this
right? Surely it's not supposed to chug along like this??