Windows 7 Installation help.

[erchamion]

My laptop can run the RC perfectly. It's a VGN-FW150D Vaio.
But whenever I try and install 7 (Ultimate 32 bit), it seems to finish, then restarts and starts system recovery toold. This forces me to restore back to the stock Vista version. I've tried upgrading and clean installations after going back to Vista, and yet the same thing keeps happening. Can anyone help?

 

[erchamion]

Oh, also, the 7 DVD I've been using has been tried on other computers and has worked flawlessly.

 

[Saltgrass]

All I might suggest right now is check the Windows\Panther directory for a file called setupact.log and see if the last few entries might help you see what is going wrong. You may have to copy the file to the desktop to read it.

I am not sure how the Win 7 RC fits into your problem, but you know you cannot upgrade normally form an RC version.

 

[erchamion]

All I might suggest right now is check the Windows\Panther directory for a file called setupact.log and see if the last few entries might help you see what is going wrong. You may have to copy the file to the desktop to read it.

I am not sure how the Win 7 RC fits into your problem, but you know you cannot upgrade normally form an RC version.

I can't, because at the end of every installation, I'm forced to restore to Vista.

I mentioned the RC because I can run the RC without any troubles. I can't clean install from the RC or from Vista, and I can't upgrade from Vista.

 

[erchamion]

Also, I'm not sure if this is relevant or not, but there's a recovery partition on my HD. I've heard that that could cause problems. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[cybercore]

I can't, because at the end of every installation, I'm forced to restore to Vista.

I mentioned the RC because I can run the RC without any troubles. I can't clean install from the RC or from Vista, and I can't upgrade from Vista.

If you do a clean install, it'll never ask you to recover to Vista. Clean install with formatting hdd partition IS recommended .


( Clean Install Windows 7 - How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows 7 - Part 1 of 3 )

 

[erchamion]

If you do a clean install, it'll never ask you to recover to Vista. Clean install with formatting hdd partition IS recommended .


( Clean Install Windows 7 - How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows 7 - Part 1 of 3 )

I did try a clean install while running on Vista, and at the end of the installation it still opened up the recovery tools and told me to restore.
I never took out the partition, because it's where the recovery data is stored, and I was afraid that if I did and it failed, I'd essentially turn my laptop into a large paperweight.
Do you guys think this partition is the problem?

 

[cybercore]

To do clean install, you need:

1. Boot from the installation DVD
2. When you get to the window to select an HDD partition to install to, choose your partition and click on DRIVE OPTIONS => FORMAT IT (it won't take long as it does it the quick way)
3. Then click Next
4. The installation will go automatically, normally it takes a little less than an hour
5. During the installation it will automastically reboot, 2 or 3 times. Just leave your PC for an hour, when the installation gets complete, it'll boot up Windows 7.

 

[erchamion]

So if the installation screws up for some reason, I can restore using recovery disks, right?

 

[cybercore]

You can recover if you have:


a system image on an HDD partition

+

special software to install from that image

 

[Saltgrass]

You are saying the RC installed and ran fine on your computer. But the RTM will not install?

If this is the case, the recovery partition should do nothing more that it did with the RC install.

I can think of nothing that would allow for the RC to install and not the RTM.

It it were me, I would get another hard drive and try the install. Activating is another problem, but first things first.

 

[cybercore]

It it were me, I would get another hard drive and try the install. Activating is another problem, but first things first.

Very good idea, if you have a free hdd partition, then clean install there, leaving your Vista amd its backup untouched.