Install All messed up - with Ubuntu - HELP

I had dual-boot Vista and Ubuntu on my laptop.

I tried to upgrade to Windows 7 without touching Ubuntu. I am not sure if Ubuntu was the culprit but my upgrade failed and I could not boot back up with a Vista CD. I could not do a Restore because it says there is no restore saved. I booted it up with Windows 7 DVD and came to the failure screen. It offers a 'Repair' option, I tried and I got a 'blue screen'.

Now, I have no way out. It seemed that the only option now for me is to RE-INSTALL Vista anew. However, my Ubuntu is still there and I am supposed to install Windows first before Ubuntu.

Good recipe for a worse mess. What should I do? Do I need to erase my whole hard disk to start over?

Please HELP! I'm quite desperate.

Thanks

Thank you so much for your quick response.

Yes, I ran compatibility check prior to install. No problem was reported.

I don't remember being prompted to create a restore disk at time of install.

I could have been astral traveling and missed both :-(.

I guess I do need to reinstall Vista and leave Ubuntu alone. After Vista is back, then reinstall Grub.

So starting back from the beginning, what should I do this time to get a successful Windows 7 installed?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Mimi

Hi Robert,

It seemed that I do need to do a new install of Vista. If I need to do a new OS install, I might as well install the new Windows 7 instead of Vista.

What do you think?

Many Thanks

Nokoyashi said:

Thank you so much for your quick response.

Yes, I ran compatibility check prior to install. No problem was reported.

I don't remember being prompted to create a restore disk at time of install.

I could have been astral traveling and missed both :-(.

I guess I do need to reinstall Vista and leave Ubuntu alone. After Vista is back, then reinstall Grub.

So starting back from the beginning, what should I do this time to get a successful Windows 7 installed?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Mimi

Mimi;

Yes, you posted again before I could reply. Sorry, I am just too slow!!

It is difficult for me to say what to do as I don't know why 7 wouldn't install. If you want 7 I wouldn't go back to Vista. I would try 7 again.

Backup, backup backup! I don't use Vista but 7 offers a backup utility that will save your files as well as an "Image" of your hard drive that can be restored if things go wrong. I assume Vista has something similar?





Did you use the "Easy Transfer Wizard" to move your settings from Vista to 7? What kind of backup did you make before installing 7?

And yes, if you need to reinstall Vista, you can reinstall Grub afterward to resume dual booting.

Please let us know what you want to do?

Cheers!
Robert

Hi Robert,

Thanks again so much for the quick reply and advice.

Whether I do a new Vista or a new Windows 7 install at this point, there is nothing that I can backup, right? Currently, I cannot boot up successfully with or without Vista or Windows 7 DVD.

I am in limbo and getting 'blue screen'.

I decided to install Vista anew using the original Vista install DVD that the manufacturer provided. Before I get to the "Where do you want to install Windows" screen, I got this error:

"Windows installation encountered an unexpected error. Verify that the installation sources are accessible, and restart the installation.
Error code: 0xE0000100"

I repeated and got the same error. I must be in it real deep :-(. I cannot even using the original Vista install DVD to reinstall Vista anew.

What should I do now? Please help!

Many Thanks.

I Googled your error code: Error code: 0xE0000100 and found lots of info like this:

Error message when you use Windows Vista Setup to try to create a partition: "Error code: 0xE0000100"

You can try to correct your issue with some of this information.

If you are going to just install Windows 7 and have no data left to loose, there are several tutorials here that may help you with that. For example, you can delete the current Vista partition before reinstalling either Vista or 7 using the 7 Install DVD. Take a look and let us know what you think you can try?

Partition the Hard Drive in a Windows 7 Install

Quick Link to Tutorial Index

Cheers!
Robert

Please review my herein inserted Windows 7 Compatibility Report and kindly tell me if I can go ahead and upgrade my Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate.

My laptop has 1GB RAM but the report shows only 896 MB. Is this a show stopper to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks...Mimi

My Windows 7 compatibility Report ran on Vista.

Nokoyashi said:

Please review my herein inserted Windows 7 Compatibility Report and kindly tell me if I can go ahead and upgrade my Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate.

My laptop has 1GB RAM but the report shows only 896 MB. Is this a show stopper to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks...Mimi

Mimi;

My old Dell Latitude D505 does just fine on 1GB, but without Areo. So I have low expectations here.

Sorry I didn't see a link to your compatibility report. Some information here would help you get more specific replies: the make and model of your laptop for example, and your correct time zone. This is a global forum and it helps to know where, in general, you are. Also, if you click the "UserCP" link and go the the second link at the top left of your "User Control Panel", the "User Specs", if you put your laptop info there you only need do it once. Then who ever is helping at the moment can see what hardware you are using.

Try again with the link ... use the paper clip next to the white smilie face at the top to attach it?

Cheers!
Robert