Microsoft blames Windows 7 upgrade mess on .....

[Night Hawk]

Microsoft blames Windows 7 upgrade mess on user confusion

Error is 'by design' when users try to upgrade from 32-bit Vista to 64-bit Windows 7

By Gregg Keizer
October 26, 2009 12:41 PM ET

Computerworld - Microsoft yesterday blamed user confusion for the problems many have encountered trying to move from Vista to Windows 7 after buying a discounted upgrade offered to college students.
"Digital River and Microsoft are aware that some customers from the Windows 7 Academic Store had difficulties completing the download or installation of the product," said a Microsoft support engineer identified as "Michael" in a message posted Sunday to the company's support forum.
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Digital River fulfills download orders for Microsoft's $29.99 Windows 7 upgrade offer to students. Several hundred users have said that they were unable to upgrade from Windows Vista to the new operating system after purchasing, then downloading, a Windows 7 upgrade, from Digital River.
"We are aware that consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64-bit version of Windows 7," Michael said.

Last week, users reported that an error message prevented them from unpacking files downloaded from Digital River. The message read: "We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded."
"This error occurs when you are in the unloading phase of the 64-bit Windows 7 download process and are running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows XP or Windows Vista 32-bit," Michael added. "This is by design, as you cannot launch setup for the 64-bit version of Widows 7 while running a 32-bit operating system."

More at: Microsoft blames Windows 7 upgrade mess on user confusion

 

[2Cold Scorpio]

Wow, that's kinda low.

Still, I didn't really find the whole upgrade process of Windows 7 complicated at all. *shrugs*

 

[MrDeviance]

Upgrading is the most useless feature microsoft has ever put in their windows oeses.
I never used it.
I rather format drive C and install anew.
Who doesn't have at least 2 partitions, one for windows and one for the other things, deserves to lose every file!

 

[pparks1]

The whole upgrade process is not difficult, it was more the fact that Digital River didn't provide an ISO file which could be easily used to make a bootable cd. Instead, the installation was intended to start from within a running copy of Vista....and thus the problems since a 64-bit app cannot run in a 32-bit only OS.

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Upgrading is the most useless feature microsoft has ever put in their windows oeses.
I never used it.
I rather format drive C and install anew.
Who doesn't have at least 2 partitions, one for windows and one for the other things, deserves to lose every file!

Thats a bit harsh, most average users don't even know how to, or want to do that kind of thing.

Most would rather just do an upgrade to save themselves the trouble. Think of how many people would complain if there wasn't an upgrade feature at all.

 

[jimbo45]

Upgrading is the most useless feature microsoft has ever put in their windows oeses.
I never used it.
I rather format drive C and install anew.
Who doesn't have at least 2 partitions, one for windows and one for the other things, deserves to lose every file!

Hi there - Guten Morgen

I think you missed the point here.

The user was complaining he couldn't run the application to unpack the 64 bit files on a 32 bit system. Never mind about actually installing the stuff. (Setup.exe needs a 64 bit system to run).

Why digital river didn't make these as bootable ISO's I don't know -- but as an ex militiary Engineer what do I know about installing software.

A possible get around is to extract the boot record and create a bootable ISO / usb thumb drive as shown in the tutorials in these boards, and then boot from that to install the product.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[z3r010]

From what I have observed over the last few days, I think MS really should stop Digital River giving out the download in the current format as that alone has been the only stain on an otherwise perfect launch.

 

[Dinesh]

From what I have observed over the last few days, I think MS really should stop Digital River giving out the download in the current format as that alone has been the only stain on an otherwise perfect launch.

This is exactly what I feel. Digital River is creating a bad impression on new users who are trying win7.

 

[smarteyeball]

It wouldn't be a MS release without some sort of shenanigans somewhere

 

[Tommyd]

Well, I went from 32 bit Vista to 32 bit Win 7 with the student offer, and had no problems at all.
However, on the Digital River site, I saw no warning that the 64 bit download would not work on 32 bit machines, and would need the disk kit to make it work.

 

[F1FAN]

its allways best just to clean install with a new os. i found that out when going from vista to the RC with upgrading then did a clean install with the RTM from the RC and noticed a big start up time difference.

 

[DeWire]

Upgrading is the most useless feature microsoft has ever put in their windows oeses.
I never used it.
I rather format drive C and install anew.
Who doesn't have at least 2 partitions, one for windows and one for the other things, deserves to lose every file!

+1`on that mate

Dave

 

[lnxtinman]

Upgrading is the most useless feature microsoft has ever put in their windows oeses.
I never used it.
I rather format drive C and install anew.
Who doesn't have at least 2 partitions, one for windows and one for the other things, deserves to lose every file!

the multiple partition crowd is getting smaller....most people back up files and what not to external usb hd's now. you can get a 1 tb for 110.00 now. i like my one partition 700gb hd just the way it is,,,,,,,,

 

[patio]

The Digital River customers should be given a direct MS link and proof of purchase for a clean/functional .iso...

 

[muzicman61]

Does anyone think Digital River might have simply distributed what Microsoft gave them?

 

[myzr7]

Does anyone think Digital River might have simply distributed what Microsoft gave them?

That is certainly possible. It is also possible for MS to step up and make it right. Blaming the problem on users is certainly not the answer.

 

[Night Hawk]

From what I have observed over the last few days, I think MS really should stop Digital River giving out the download in the current format as that alone has been the only stain on an otherwise perfect launch.

That summed that up correctly! For a novice user the concept of creating a bootable image or just a simple iso image to be made bootable later is unfamiliar to them. Plus the instructions as well as caution about cross platform installations obviously wasn't provided.

As far as the option to upgrade from a previous version the business world takes advantage of this option even more then simply seeing each machine down for a clean install of "everything" losing work time and even inconvenience for clients, customers, etc.. The novice unfamiliar with software/OS clean installs along with drive partitioning and formatting gets to keep existing programs intect while seeing the next new version go on.

The experienced user "with the time" always prefers one thing being a clean install. The next person to come along however doesn't always have that option especially when not working with a custom build but upgrading with preinstalled softwares on a premade system. They don't separate software disks for each program in order to start off fresh all over again.

 

[jimbo45]

its allways best just to clean install with a new os. i found that out when going from vista to the RC with upgrading then did a clean install with the RTM from the RC and noticed a big start up time difference.

Hi there
I think you have missed the point here.
The OP's problem was that since he had a 32 bit OS he couldn't run the 64 bit install (clean or upgrade) from his computer.

The ONLY way to do this is to have a 64 bit bootable media and do the install from the boot device.

Digital river as I and others have pointed out should have made the downloads available in the form of an ISO or supplied software to create an ISO from their download.

MS must take part of the blame - although they admitted they were surprised at how many people wanted to upgrade from 32 to 64 bit systems.

I'm surprised -- since nearly all PC type laptops (not netbooks) and work stations come with at least 3GB RAM now and are 64 bit capable so really MS should have looked on the 64 bit OS as the "default" version. To get the 32 bit version people should have to ask for this specifically rather than the other way around.


Incidentally on these forums there are tutorials on how to create an ISO and also how to make a bootable usb stick for installing W7 so if you did download from digital river you can still upgrade your 32 bit system to 64 bit by creating bootable media and installing.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Snufffed]

its allways best just to clean install with a new os. i found that out when going from vista to the RC with upgrading then did a clean install with the RTM from the RC and noticed a big start up time difference.

Actually I find that statement moot. one is an upgrade with multi other things installed. One is a Clean Install with nothing else installed.

That is like comparing Apple to Oranges.

 

[Snufffed]

Does anyone think Digital River might have simply distributed what Microsoft gave them?

That is certainly possible. It is also possible for MS to step up and make it right. Blaming the problem on users is certainly not the answer.

I feel the difference is "How many of these people really have the knowledge to understand or read. "YOU CAN NOT UPGRADE FROM X86 TO X64 VERSIONS." You must Do a CLEAN INSTALL.
The Forums are full of "people who do not understand that fact."
I would appreciate a posting of the actual download site, and all related references. DID THE COMPLAINING PPL READ ABOUT UPGRADE FROM X86 TO X64.
This is from the
BEFORE YOU BUY:

This product includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Make sure your computer is ready for Windows Anytime Upgrade. Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and suggest ways to resolve them.

Note: You can use Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade from one 32-bit version of Windows 7 to another and from one 64-bit version of Windows 7 to another, but you can’t upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows 7 to a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or vice versa.

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I don't think they the complainers have a leg to stand on.