Can't choose a drive to install 64-bit Vista ultimate on

B

Bard

New Member
I have an Alienware m17x laptop that came with 32-bit Ultimate installed on it. I have tried using the 64-bit upgrade, but it says I cannot upgrade and must do an install. So I install and get to the
Where do you want to install Windows" screen. My hard drive is the only one listed (Disk 0 Partition 1) but the "Next" button does not open up.

I have pulled all the X64 drivers I can find on my support CD (since it gives an option to load drivers) but nothing seems to work.

Thoughts?
 

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System One

When trying to upgrade to 64-bit, I get prompted to do a fresh install of Vista (saying that I can't upgrade). When I try, it does not let me select the partition (the drive itself) to install Vista-64 on. Just "upgraded" to the full version of 32-bit to see if I can upgrade from there. There is also a message below the drive window saying "To use the product key you entered, start the installation on a computer that is running a genuine version of Windows". BUT IT IS ALREADY RUNNING SUCH A VERSION!!

Can't run the upgrade to 64-bit from within Windows (although when doing the install it will prompt that if you want to upgrade it must be from within Windows). trying to do the install now that I have a full-blown copy of 32-bit Vista running. No good. Still not allowing me to pick my hdd (well, it's selected but I can't click the "Next" button).

After looking more at it (and loading all the x64 drivers for my SATA that I can find) I began concentrating on the "genuine Windows product" phrase. With that at the forefront of my mind I got out of the installation, got back into Windows and Validated Windows.

Same issue.

After another hour of scrounging around the internet I checked (for giggles) to see if my Windows had been activated. It hadn't. I wasn't giggling. Why is it I could validate Windows without it being activated? Shouldn't validation have automatically activated it (and vice versa)?

Activated 32-Bit Windows Vista Ultimate then went back to the Install routine for 64-bit. Same thing.
 

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Hi Bard, welcome to the board.

I am sorry to bring to you that you are unable to upgrade from a 32 bit Vista OS to a 64 bit one, nor you can upgrade from a 32 bit XP to a 64 bit Vista or 64 bit XP. Clean install is a must.

Cheers,
Bruce
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E6850
    Motherboard
    EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 680i
    Memory
    4 x OCZ Platinum 1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
    Sound Card
    SB X-Fi X Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 23" 5MS
    Screen Resolution
    2048 x 1152
    Hard Drives
    2 x Barracuda 7200.10 320GB RAID 0 / 1 x 500GB Maxtor
    PSU
    Seasonic 600W M12
    Case
    CM Centurion 5
    Cooling
    air
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Compaq Presario/SR5113WM
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 1.9Ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N68-LA
    Memory
    PNY Optima Memory DDR2 2GB 2x1 kit
    Graphics Card(s)
    PNY Nvidia 8400 GS 256MB
    Sound Card
    On board RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer X163W LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 160 GB SATA 3G (3.0Gb/sec)
    7200 rpm
    Western Digital 160 GB IDE
    PSU
    Dynex 400w
    Case
    Nothin Special
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Standard 102 key with volume and sleep buttons
    Mouse
    Wireless Logitech LX7
    Internet Speed
    Comcrap 10mb cable
    Other Info
    Insignia 2.1 speakers, wireless Xbox 360 controller w/plug n play charger, Belkin wireless G + mimo usb network adapter.
I guess I'll just solidly confirm what the others already said, it's impossible to upgrade from a 32bit OS to a 64bit one, they are too different to allow that kind of simple upgrade. Basically, to upgrade between the different 32bit flavors (Premium, Ultimate, so on)is very simple since all the Vista variations just lock out certain areas depending on the version and an upgrade to a different version is as simple as unlocking these sections or behaviors, but going from 32bit to 64bit entails fundamental system changes and that makes an Upgrade impossible. Clean install is your ONLY option here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Personal Build
    CPU
    Intel E6750 Core 2 Duo
    Motherboard
    Asus Commando MoBo (P965/ICH8R)
    Memory
    4G's Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2 PC26400 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG 8800GTS OC2 320MB
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY (next)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x 22" w2207 LCD Monitors
    Screen Resolution
    1- 1680 x 1050, 1 - 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    3 x 500G SATA II WD Caviar HDD's
    PSU
    EnerMax NoiseTaker II 600W
    Case
    NZXT Lexa Classic (modified, dual doored & windowed)
    Cooling
    Zalman 9700 CPU cooler, 4-120mm fans, 1-90mm
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical Trackman trackball
    Other Info
    NZXT Lexa Classic Case, Zalman 9700 CPU Cooler, 2 DVD Burners c/w LightScribe (Sony, TSST), Enermax NoiseTaker II 600W PSU with Custom Chrome cable sleeving, Hauppauge HDTV TV Tuner Card, 5.1 Logitech Z5500 speakers, 15 in 1 Multi-card reader
Thanks all! I had to buy a full install (on top of the upgrade I had just purchased) but that did the trick. After some touchy issues with the Intel RAM drivers and BSODs, everything seems to be going along swimmingly :)
 

My Computer

System One

I guess my next question (which I am guessing the answer to is "no) is "Can I recover my emails, etc from the backup I did before all this hooplah began?"
 

My Computer

System One

Depends - did you delete the existing partitions and / o format the drive / partition? If you say yes to any of this - then no. If you say no, then you can - but you'll have to go through some work to get access to all your old folders and such. There should be a folder called Windows.old, and similarly, in Users, you should see (perhaps after enabling show hidden files and folders in Folder options dialog) your old user login folder. It is in there that the majority of your old stuff would be saved in.

If you shrunk the original partition and then installed x64 to its own partition, then it will simply be a matter of access the old partition and copying the appropriate directories and files - but all of this depends upon your mail client - and the ease of making this transition also depends upon your mail client.

I am somewhat familiar on how to do this in Eudora, and a pretty good 'expert' at Thunderbird - but if you were using Windows Mail, I cannot help you.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
    Manufacturer/Model
    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
Sadly, no. I backed up the information to a USB HDD. I did a full disk backup and a basic settings backup. When trying to restore anything from either I can find them via browsing but when I try to load it (going through the wizard) the "location cannot be found" (or something similar - left my USB HDD at home today:()
 

My Computer

System One

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