"Unexpected restart" while upgrading from RC2

[Guest]

After leaving the upgrade process of Vista from RC2 to the the latest build
found at MSDN overnight, I woke to find that the installer was unable to
restart automatically. The installer closed and I restarted the computer. It
boots into Windows Setup and continues the installation for a few hours until
it encounters "an unexpected error" and has to restart. After restarting, the
installer reports that "Installation was unable to complete because of an
unexpected restart. Please restart installation." So the computer restarts
again and boots into Windows Setup, only to be prompted by the same message
and restart again... and again... and again.

After trying a few times, I decided to just revert back to RC2. I did just
so, but not without encountering a BSOD (something to do with
DRIVER_IRQL_EQUAL_OR_LESS if I'm not mistaken) during the revert process!

Windows Vista overall seems OK but the installation experiences for me have
been a nightmare. My other computer (which I first tried to install Vista RC1
on), will get to the last process of installation and freeze. Beta 2 worked
but all latter builds (RC1, the public builds in between and RC2) failed. I
cannot see why Vista has already been labelled as "final". Another thing I do
not enjoy are the incompatibilities with programs/drivers/hardware/etc.
Backwards compatibility is never a bad thing. This has somewhat been fixed by
forcing particular (some customized) drivers to install. Official support
from Microsoft is also somewhat non-existant - especially for non-US
residents.

Anyways, back to the main problem... I have ensured that the checksums are
correct. I did a CRC check while burning the image onto DVD.

Thankyou for reading and thankyou again if you try to help. Thanks Microsoft
for coding Vista but there is still much to be done.

 

[Guest]

Ah, I forgot to quote setuperr.log:

2006-12-19 08:42:42, Error CSI
00001032@2006/12/19:16:42:42.771 (F) [63]"ERROR: InstalledResository property
for ITarget not initialized"
[gle=0x80004005]
2006-12-19 08:53:14, Error [0x064044] IBSLIB
CreateSetupBlackboard:Failed to create/open Setup black board path is
[C:\Windows\Panther\SetupInfo] GLE is [8][gle=0x00000008]
2006-12-19 08:53:14, Error [0x0601d2] IBS
InstallWindows:CreateSetupBlackboard failed GLE = 8[gle=0x00000008]

The time stamps say 8 o'clock but I'm pretty sure the real errors came at
around 3 o'clock. Maybe they're logs of the errors I encountered that
morning...

Oh, one more thing: the Vista Upgrade Advisor and even the Windows Installer
itself did not report any critical problems - nor should it since I was able
to upgrade from XP to RC2 before anyway.

 

[R. C. White, MVP]

Hi, ALZ.

"The latest build" of Vista is the final, RTM, "GOLD" version! And I
believe that is the only version now available on MSDN. RC2 was the final
beta build. And the "upgrade" path from beta to RTM is not supported - even
for US residents. You'll need to do a clean install of Vista RTM.

If you haven't already deleted WinXP, you should be able to upgrade from
WinXP to Vista RTM. But not from any beta build to RTM. And this is not a
secret; MS announced it long ago and it has been restated frequently.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Mail 7.0 in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I am using the "GOLD" edition, or, as Microsoft refers to it, "RTM", build
6000.16386. You say the upgrade option from any beta builds is not available
but technically, release candidates aren't considered to be a part of the
beta cycle - also supported by the fact that the upgrade option is available
to me.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I am using the "GOLD" edition, or, as Microsoft refers to it, "RTM", build
6000.16386. It has the SHA-1 checksum of
"B71E04564CA22E4D9928E59298EFF87CF62B382B", which I just ran prior to
posting. You say the upgrade option from any beta builds is not available but
technically, release candidates aren't considered to be a part of the beta
cycle - also supported by the fact that the upgrade option is available to me.

Thanks.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Sorry to disappoint you, but "beta" in this sense is shorthand for
"pre-release" software. It isn't the bits, it is the license. Beta and RC
product keys are "evaluation" pk's and evaluation software is not eligible
for upgrade pricing for the release version. When you enter the upgrade
edition product key you most likely will get a message to the effect that
the copy of Windows you are upgrading does qualify (or requires a full
edition, or some such). You really can't expect to qualify for a discount
based on what you paid for an RC. Nice try, though.

 

[Guest]

I didn't even enter a licence - at least, not yet - but still, it would allow
the installation but run into an "unexpected error". Thus, the real problem
would not lie with the licence, rather the actual installer - unless it was
programmed to error upon detection of a beta build during the final process
in the upgrade.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You have an unrelated issue if you are seeing an error once Setup has
started.

In any case, not entering a product key simply installs a full edition of
whatever product you selected from the drop down menu. That you can choose
the upgrade install option during such an installation is a byproduct of a
full edition's upgrade functionality (upgrade-in-place), not of it turning
into an upgrade edition simply by your choosing an upgrade install option as
opposed to a custom install option.

Once you enter an upgrade edition product key in the attempt to activate the
activation will fail and the software will quit working after 30 day from
installation.

An RC1 or RC2 installation of Vista cannot be upgraded with a Vista Upgrade
Edition product key.

 

[Guest]

Perhaps I stated my initial problem in the wrong way. What I meant by
"upgrade" was the option to select "upgrade" instead of "custom". The MSDN
subscription also came with a retail ("full edition") key so that is not a
problem for me. My "unrelated issue" is the real issue I wish to resolve, and
these newsgroups seem to be the only appropriate place for any support for me.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

In that case, you are good to go. If the upgrade install option results in
an error then the RC1 software had an issue and you may have one of the RC1
installations that won't upgrade-in-place. MS has always said that could
happen. The recourse then is to use the Windows Easy Transfer wizard to
move your files and settings to intermediate storage and do a clean install
of Vista Gold. Not a bad idea anyway. I would not simply do a custom
install because it does not give a classic clean install. Custom install
does not reformat the drive. I would format the target volume because you
already know there is an issue. Format is under the Advanced Options. You
must boot with the dvd and start setup. The Advanced Options do not appear
if you start Setup from the RC1 desktop.

 

[Guest]

I was afraid somebody would say that. I would want to backup-and-format (or
use that "custom" option) but I'm not sure how smooth it would go. A mere
upgrade caused a few problems - imagine taking the other option.

I'm also a bit unclear as to the extent of Windows Easy Transfer and a
Custom Install. How much do they backup and how much do they replace? Would
all settings for all my programs used remain? I'm sorry if this is stated
elsewhere, I'll also check after I get back home from work. I don't really
have any intermediate storage to transfer to... I guess if I take that
option, I'll have to purchase one of those external hard drives.

Thanks for clearing things up so far.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

WET collects your files, settings, favorites, mail, and so forth from the
"old" computer. You can have WET make a file on shiny media or an extenal
hard drive, thumb drive, etc. The only thing it won't do for you is capture
your apps and reinstall them.

You then format the target volume. I recommend using the Vista format tool,
not XP. There are slight enhancements to NTFS that Vista supports.
Formatting with XP works fine, but I hear it is slightly better to use the
format tool on the Vista dvd.

After you reinstall Vista you run WET again and have it read the file you
made and transfer the stuff to the "new" computer. It doesn't matter
whether you install the apps and then run WET or the other way round.

Having an external drive is a good idea in general. However, check up on
whether WET supports spanning multiple cd's/dvd's. I seem to remember that
it does.

 

[R. C. White, MVP]

Hi, ALZ.

I was never able to upgrade to any Vista beta build - or to RTM. Most of
the times I installed Vista, the early screen said "Upgrade has been
disabled", or words to that effect. A couple of times Setup offered to
upgrade, but then complained that there wasn't enough space on my boot
drive. So I never was able to complete an upgrade.

But my understanding, from frequently repeated warnings in the beta NGs, is
that we should "never upgrade from any beta to RTM". I'm not sure whether
such an upgrade is not possible, or just not recommended.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Mail 7.0 in Vista Ultimate x64)