BSOD During upgrade from Vista Ultimate to 7 Ultimate

I've tried to upgrade from Vista Ultimate 32 bit to 7 Ultimate 32 bit numerous times now, all with the same result: a BSOD during the install process, which I get during (what I think is) the final step called "Transferring files, settings and programs."

The installation compatibility test warns me about my Nvidia drivers, which I've attempted to both remove and upgrade to the latest version, but that doesn't seem to make a difference (I still get the warning during the compatibility check, and I still get the blue screen). I'm not sure that's even the problem, either. I can't (easily) remove/replace the video card, since my mobo doesn't have onboard video, so I'd hopefully be able to avoid having to do that.

The error in the blue screen is a nebulous "REFERENCE_BY_POINTER" message. The technical information is "STOP: 0x00000018 (0x00000000, 0x86478030, 0x00000002, 0xFFFFFFFF)."

As a zip file, I've attached the setup log, error log, compatibility report, and what I think is the setup dump file, all of which I found in C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther (I believe that's the right place to look). The logs complain about BthMig problems, which I think has something to do with bluetooth, but I don't have any bluetooth peripherals. I've uninstalled things that I thought might have some bluetooth things in it, like MS Intellitype (maybe a stretch), but again, no difference.

System specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+, on an Asus M2N SLI Deluxe, with 4 GB of ram, and an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT. The hard drive I'm installing (upgrading) on has about 100 GB free.

If anyone could help point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it a great deal. Thanks in advance.

Moskie

Greetings! Moskie and Welcome to the Se7en Forums!

On one quick look at the "REFERENCE_BY_POINTER" error that seems to go back as far as Win 2000 there. STOP: 0x00000018 (parameter, parameter, parameter, parameter) REFERENCE_BY_

Error Message:
STOP: 0x00000018 (parameter, parameter, parameter, parameter) REFERENCE_BY_POINTER
Explanation:

This is a Windows 2000 Executive character-mode STOP message. This indicates that a failure occurred while referencing an object by what should have been a referenced pointer.
User Action:

If this is the first time you have booted after installing new hardware, remove the hardware and boot again. Check the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List to verify that the hardware and its drivers are compatible with Windows 2000. For information about the hardware, contact the supplier. If you are installing Windows 2000 for the first time, check the Windows 2000 system requirements, including the amount of RAM and disk space required to load the operating system. Also, check the Hardware Compatibility List to verify that the system can run Windows 2000. If Windows 2000 is loaded and no new hardware has been installed, reboot with recovery options set to create a dump file. If the message continues to appear, select the Last Known Good option when you reboot. If there is no Last Known Good configuration, try using the Emergency Repair Disk. If you do not have an Emergency Repair Disk, contact your technical support group.

Click to expand...

Another reference that seems to be unavailble at MSDN is supposed to be at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/w2kmsgs/1139.asp "0x00000018: REFERENCE_BY_POINTER" listed at Troubleshooting Windows STOP Messages

The latest MS information however dated Oct. 1, 2009 is seen on the MSDN page at Bug Check 0x18: REFERENCE_BY_POINTER which refers to an unspecified driver calling a kernel routine as described there.

You may have to deinstall all addon device drivers or perform a full custom install if this can't be resolved for an upgrade. The one thing that seems to stand out in the setuper.log is the "2009-10-11 17:39:22, Warning MIG Failed to retrieve cached user domain name from the blackboard." item as well as the frequent "26, Info MIG No culture names found under folder (C:\Windows\system32\*.*" items that repeat frequently.

One more is "2009-10-11 18:00:42, Warning [0x080386] MIG Failure while instantiating IPostGather for Plugin={ServerPath="Microsoft-Windows-BTH-USER\bthmigplugin.dll", CLSID={e0cbf06c-cd8b-4647-bb8a-263b43f0f974}, ThreadingModel=Apartment}. Error: 0x80004002".

The last seen most is "2009-10-11 18:25:14, Warning [0x080329] MIG Cannot find file: X:\Users\(edited out)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Stationery\*.*".