Search results matching tag 'vista'

Full System Over Upgrade?

Nickum32 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:40:52 GMT

Hey, I have just got my copy of the Windows 7 Upgrade disc. I'm upgrading from XP 32-bit, and every time I attempt to upgrade I get an 0xC0000005 error, as I have previously posted on the Windows 7 forums. I didn't get anything that helped me, and I was wondering if it was worth it to sell it and get the entire Windows 7, or format my HDD and reinstall XP and then 7 over it. All help is appreciated, Thanks!

External Hard drive improperly identified by Vista

Bullmar — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:48:07 GMT

I am using an Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop with Vista Home Premium. I bought an external USB hard drive from Western Digital.

It is Model #WDE1U5000N and it supposed to be a 500 Gb drive. When I received it, the instructions stated that the drive was preformatted for NTFS file system. All that was needed was to connect it to the computer and Vista would recognize it.

I used this for backing up my computer. Then I received a warning that I was running out of space. The problem that I just discovered is that the drive was identified as a WD 5000AAK drive with only 261 Gb of capacity. It is recognized the same way on another XP computer.

Western Digital Support told me the problem was with my system. Dell told me the problem is with the hard drive. Can anyone help me to solve this problem? Should I have reformatted the drive before using it?

USB HDD not recognized as volume

Brainiacxiii — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:53:23 GMT

I took the hard drive out of my PS3 and replaced it. Now I want to re purpose the PS3 drive for short term backups. When I connect the 2.5" HDD to my PC drivers are only loaded for a USB mass storage device, and recognizing the device by some serial number. The most important function though doesn't work. The drive isn't assigned a drive letter, IS NOT visable in disk management either.

It is present in the device manager, because xp does load drivers for it, but Im thinking the drivers are worthless.

The same problem happens on Vista.

The Drive funtions fine in the PS3, the drive appears as a safetly remove hardware option.

This is the second encluser to have this problem so I don;t think it is the enclosure.

BIOS are fine (limitted options though cause of DELL)

I think it might be that the PS3 drive is blocked from the pc but penty of users have re purposed there ps3 drives like i am trying to do. Thanks.

Acer not honoring free Win 7 upgrade on new laptop

ptmcg — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:31:43 GMT

I just bought a new Acer laptop for my daughter's college graduation present. I bought it on June 26, the first day of the Win 7 Upgrade Option program. I made sure to buy a system with Vista Home Premium, so that it would qualify for upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. I saw that Acer was a participating manufacturer in this program, so when I ordered my system, I was pretty confident that things would go smoothly.

When the laptop arrived, I went to Acer's site. I found the page to register for the free upgrade program, and entered the serial number of the new laptop. I received a message that Acer does not support this model for the Windows 7 upgrade. This was pretty distressing. One of the main reasons I picked this system was that it had a version of Vista that was more than just the basic home version, to make sure that it would qualify for an upgrade. And I waited until the first day of the upgrade program before buying my system.

Then I thought, "well, I guess I should have done my research first." So I went to Acer's site to find their list of the models that DO support this upgrade - there isn't one! In fact, here is the FAQ from Acer's site:

How do I know if I am qualified for the Windows^® 7 Upgrade Program?
Supported models purchased between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2010 are eligible for the Windows^® 7 Upgrade Program. To verify eligibility, create a new order on this site and enter your serial number.

The only way to find out if your laptop qualifies is to buy one first, wait until it arrives, and then enter the serial number on Acer's website. It feels like I'm entering one of the contests on the inside of a soda bottlecap!

I have sent several e-mails to Acer's customer support. All I get back are form letters stating:
1. They are happy to report my computer is still under warranty (I should hope so - it's not even a month old!)
2. Acer does not support this model in the free Vista->Windows 7 upgrade program
3. Have a great day/time! (grrrrrr!)

This feels like a bait-and-switch to me. I followed all of the criteria of the program: purchased a late model laptop, one with a qualifying version of Vista, and ordered within the qualifying time window. How do I know if any Acer laptops will qualify, short of buying one of each and putting in all their serial numbers?

I would return the laptop, but it is actually a decent system. Plus, I already upgraded Vista to latest bugfixes over Windows Update, made my recovery disks, and installed Office 2007. So if Acer doesn't do the right thing and honor this upgrade program, I will have to just order an upgrade myself. But I sure feel taken advantage of.

New build:AMD720be,Biostar790x and Vista 64bit

oldBF — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:31:35 GMT

Hello, new to the forum here, sorry if this ends up in wrong sub forum...seemed the closest....am building new PC: AMD720be, Biostar790xAM3,
2x2gb Mushkin ddr3 1333.

I have questions about potential issues with Vista. I do have XP pro....I hear it won't upgrade to Vista Premium 64bit(?). So am considering OEM....if that will do.

I hear that if I later want to change video card or sound card or HDD...or almost anything, Vista won't re-activate. Then found article (can't recall exactly where) that Vista allows 10 changes.Which story is true? Then I found post about Vista and 720 cpu...they are not compatible? The person said they re-installed, but did not say whether it was Vista, cpu or another cpu that was mentioned? I am tempted to give up and just use good 'ol XP pro, but then I can't upgrade later...would have to clean install....not impossible, but not a good choice either, IMO. I can live w/o 64 bit (for now). I don't need excessive "MS Windows" related problems, but likely gonna get a few, anyway. Trying to keep grief to a minimum (lol).

I need to start build by this weekend so if I order Vista from Newegg (good prices, of course) I need to do it pretty much, ...now.....

And if I do decide to go with the old XP copy (it's been activated on an old PC which is being changed over to Linux....yeah!) will I run into activation issues even though XP will only be on new machine?

Can anyone offer any insight? Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks in advance! :)

Vista OEM install, do I really need OPK?

EScott — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:54:51 GMT

I am building a new PC and decided to save a few bucks on the OS. I bought Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM version. The package says I need to install it with the MS OPK. After reading lots of stuff on the MS site and downloading the OPK image, and some instructions, I am more confused than ever. It looks like a long process before I can even get to the point of installing Vista with the DVD. I haven't opened the OEM DVD yet, in case I need to return it. My question is this - can I just install Vista with this OEM DVD like I would a retail version, or do I have to use the OPK? It looks like more trouble than it is worth to me, and I am considering just buying the retail version - but that seems like a waste of money. Thanks in advance for comments.

specs of the system will be: Asus P6T6 WS Revolution, Core i-7 940 CPU, Mushkin 3x2GB RAM

Vista Installation Won't Identify Hard Drive

solodude23 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:30:24 GMT

So I just recently put together my new rig which can be sceen below. Anyway - everything checks out fine. Computer turns on, Power and HDD LED lights come on, all integrated devices check out in BIOS (including the HDD). However, during the beginning of the Vista 64bit installation, it cannot see the hard drive to install on. I've tried installing SATA drivers from both the provided Gigabyte CD and the Gigabyte Mobo Driver Page but even after trying both, the Vista installation still will not see my hard drive.

Additionally, I used Q-Flash to update my Mobo's BIOS to the most recent version (F9) which also did not solve the problem.

Anyone with experience that can help me out here? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks.

AMD 720 and Vista Compatibility

KireXion — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:04:17 GMT

I recently purchased an AMD 720, to try it out on my current system.

ASUS M3N78 Pro (rev 801), AMD 9950, 2 G-Skill 4 Gig sets, Vista Ultimate 64

When I installed the 720, Vista consistently received errors with "digital cable registration" and media sharing. Programs such as Zune would refuse to launch without instantaneous errors. Put the 9950 back in, no problem. I'm at a loss here...

Re: New Computer: Weird Boot Problem and Lock Ups

dextercowley — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:43:52 GMT

Hi. First of all, thanks very much for the help. I ... think ... I have fixed both problems so I wanted to report back.

1. Intermittent Lock-Up Solution

This turned out to be a bad RAM stick that was diagnosed by running the Memtest86 as recommended by GmsCool. I had to run it a couple of times, including overnight, to find the problem. I removed the bad stick (had to find it by trial and error) about 2 weeks ago and haven't had a problem since.

2. Booting Problem

After searching for "Windows failed to start", I found this post: http://thevistaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=11677. I did what he recommended, as follows:

Start → cmd.
Ctrl+Shift+Enter to enter cmd as administrator.
cd \windows\system32
bcdedit
displays as Windows Boot Loader path as \\Windows\system32\winload.exe
Do following command
bcdedit.exe /set {current} path \Windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
This changes the path to use the boot directory.
This … seems … to have fixed the problem. (2 for 2 so far!)

So, thanks again and I hope this helps someone with a similar problem.

Is This Normal? 64bit Box = 32bit DVD?

aPC — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:38:53 GMT

I bought an OEM copy of Vista Home P. 64-bit and when I opened it, the DVD says "This disc contains 32-bit software only". I thought it was a typo or something and proceeded to install, only to find out everything is in 32-bit...

Am I supposed to use Alt. Media on this 32-bit key or is the 64-bit installation 'hidden' on this DVD?

Thanks for reading.