Installing Vista Problems

If you buy a new machine then it probably has Vista pre-installed. However, if you have to install a fresh copy of Windows Vista, or upgrade an XP machine, Microsoft have made the operation even simpler than an XP install.

Before you start the actual Vista installation, check that the proposed computer meets the minimum specification. In the case of an upgrade from XP, you can place the Vista DVD in the caddy and from the install menu, click 'Check compatibility online'.

Alternatively, you could download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft's site. Once you have run the Advisor and read its report, you may need to upgrade your hardware.

Hopefully this article will help you resolve the installing Vista problems you are having.

Read this article if you are having issues with Upgrading Vista:

http://www.updatexp.com/vista-upgrade-problems.html


Vista Installation Problems and Notes:

The following is a collection of other peoples issues with Windows Vista upon installation:

The first thing is there is no more BOOT.INI file available in msconfig. So? This file was used to change your boot if you had multiple operating systems installed. Vista has something called BCEDIT which is not user friendly; I do not recommend using it. What can you do? what can you do? download Vista Boot Pro, this freeware program offers an easy to use interface, click the options you want, select the OS to Boot first and click Apply.

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I got the same error trying to install Vista Ultimate 64 bit with 4 gigs of RAM, had to remove 2 gigs to get the install to run, then did a windows update as soon as it was installed, shut down added the ram back in and that solved mine.

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I've (finally) managed to convince Vista to install.

In the BIOS settings, I located an option to set the boot order of HDDs (rather than just the device boot order- I set this to HDD first, then DVD drive), where I noticed the system was choosing my SATA drive first rather than the IDE drive I was trying to install onto. I changed this to use the IDE drive first, then tried to install (as an upgrade from XP Professional- I haven't tried doing a clean install). The OS then updated flawlessly.

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I also tried loading the Windows Vista 64 bit drivers for my NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI chipset. I put them on a USB thumbdrive and selected 'Load Drivers' during the beginning of the Vista install. Still no luck. Now it hangs at 13% expanding files.

My next step is exchanging my motherboard for a new one with a different chipset. I could have a faulty board or the board may not actually be compatible with Win Vista 64 bit.

    -UPDATE-

Exchanged the board for an Nvidia 680i chipset. Windows Vista now installed with no problems.

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Some other comments form Vista users:

- Windows Vista cannot install to Dynamic discs (which is the default when you add a new drive to XP): switch them to Basic before attempting a Vista install...

- Only update your BIOS if you have good warranty cover on the motherboard, or are feeling lucky....

- Unplug memory card readers before installing... 

- Check your memory with http://www.memtest.org 

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