Can't upgrade to Ulyimate although advisor says I can!

I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram and
an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2. I
eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
(Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any mention
of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec audio
card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so it
probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard disks
(2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.

However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is greyed
out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
possible!

I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it installs
just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it should
so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally is
what I want.

Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went out
and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try to
upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
different ways of getting it to work.

Thanks
Edward

Hi Edward,

For the best results, I would recommend a clean install of Vista. Before you
do that, you need to make sure that all your data is backed up safely. I
recommend that you use one of your SATA disks for both Vista and programs
(these will need to be reinstalled to ensure that they work properly) and
that you use the other disks for data storage. Once you have safely backed up
your data, you are ready to install Vista. Follow the instructions in my post
'Clean Install Windows Vista Using Upgrade Media', also in this newsgroup
(dated 9/21/2007). Please note that you may have to check the websites of
some of your programs for updates to enable them to run in Vista. I include
links for my post, Realtek and Nvidia for convenience.
Dwarf

http://www.microsoft.com/communities...9-5eb74dcf2be7

http://www.realtek.com.tw/

http://www.nvidia.com/page/home.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dubai Ed" wrote:

> I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram and
> an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2. I
> eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any mention
> of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec audio
> card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so it
> probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard disks
> (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
>
> However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is greyed
> out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> possible!
>
> I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it installs
> just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it should
> so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally is
> what I want.
>
> Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went out
> and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try to
> upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> different ways of getting it to work.
>
> Thanks
> Edward

Note "...since I have office XP Pro installed so it
probably thinks it's a business machine...." has no bearing on Vista
Ultimate installation.

Booting from the Vista DVD will not (usually) offer an "uprade" option -
install Vista from with Windows to upgade.


"Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
>I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram
>and
> an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2.
> I
> eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> mention
> of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> audio
> card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so
> it
> probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> disks
> (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
>
> However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> greyed
> out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> possible!
>
> I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> installs
> just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> should
> so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally
> is
> what I want.
>
> Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> out
> and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try
> to
> upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> different ways of getting it to work.
>
> Thanks
> Edward

Hi,

Any chance you purchased an OEM generic full version? Those do not upgrade,
they only do a clean install to a formatted disk.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
>I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram
>and
> an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2.
> I
> eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> mention
> of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> audio
> card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so
> it
> probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> disks
> (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
>
> However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> greyed
> out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> possible!
>
> I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> installs
> just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> should
> so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally
> is
> what I want.
>
> Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> out
> and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try
> to
> upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> different ways of getting it to work.
>
> Thanks
> Edward

Hi Dwarf - Thanks for your comprehensive reply - the reason I am avoiding a
clean install is because I already tried that to a different volume to see if
the transfer files and settings utility would work properly but it doesn't
and I end up with a much less than perfect system so that's why I was
desperately trying to upgrade my existing (and in perfect working order) Win
XP Pro. And before anyone asks why I should want to upgrade if XP is working
fine it's because Vista is fabulous for media applications and I do a lot of
video editing etc.

"Dwarf" wrote:

> Hi Edward,
>
> For the best results, I would recommend a clean install of Vista. Before you
> do that, you need to make sure that all your data is backed up safely. I
> recommend that you use one of your SATA disks for both Vista and programs
> (these will need to be reinstalled to ensure that they work properly) and
> that you use the other disks for data storage. Once you have safely backed up
> your data, you are ready to install Vista. Follow the instructions in my post
> 'Clean Install Windows Vista Using Upgrade Media', also in this newsgroup
> (dated 9/21/2007). Please note that you may have to check the websites of
> some of your programs for updates to enable them to run in Vista. I include
> links for my post, Realtek and Nvidia for convenience.
> Dwarf
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/communities...9-5eb74dcf2be7
>
> http://www.realtek.com.tw/
>
> http://www.nvidia.com/page/home.html
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Dubai Ed" wrote:
>
> > I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram and
> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2. I
> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any mention
> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec audio
> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so it
> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard disks
> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
> >
> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is greyed
> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> > possible!
> >
> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it installs
> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it should
> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally is
> > what I want.
> >
> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went out
> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try to
> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> > different ways of getting it to work.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Edward

Thanks for replying AJR.
It was the upgrade advisor that suggested upgrading to Ultimate rather than
Premium and I can only guess it did that on what is essentially a "Home" PC
is because it found a copy of Office Pro which would normally only be found
on a business machine.

As I mentioned in my initial note, I have tried all the installations by
invoking the Vista installation from WITHIN windows and NOT by booting from
the DVD.

Edward

"AJR" wrote:

> Note "...since I have office XP Pro installed so it
> probably thinks it's a business machine...." has no bearing on Vista
> Ultimate installation.
>
> Booting from the Vista DVD will not (usually) offer an "uprade" option -
> install Vista from with Windows to upgade.
>
>
> "Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
> news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
> >I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram
> >and
> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2.
> > I
> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> > mention
> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> > audio
> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so
> > it
> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> > disks
> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
> >
> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> > greyed
> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> > possible!
> >
> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> > installs
> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> > should
> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally
> > is
> > what I want.
> >
> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> > out
> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try
> > to
> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> > different ways of getting it to work.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Edward
>
>
>

Hi Rick - thanks for replying.

It definitely says "Upgrade" on the box and Bill never lies!

Just for kicks, I tried it on an XP laptop that I had to hand without
completing the installation and it definitely offered to either upgrade or
clean install.

Back to the drawing board........

"Rick Rogers" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Any chance you purchased an OEM generic full version? Those do not upgrade,
> they only do a clean install to a formatted disk.
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>
> "Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
> news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
> >I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram
> >and
> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2.
> > I
> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> > mention
> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> > audio
> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so
> > it
> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> > disks
> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
> >
> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> > greyed
> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> > possible!
> >
> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> > installs
> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> > should
> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally
> > is
> > what I want.
> >
> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> > out
> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try
> > to
> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> > different ways of getting it to work.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Edward
>
>

READ ALL of his post!!!!
He is NOT booting from the DVD!

I am sick and tired of you dopey idiots only 1/2 reading posts!

"AJR" wrote:

> Note "...since I have office XP Pro installed so it
> probably thinks it's a business machine...." has no bearing on Vista
> Ultimate installation.
>
> Booting from the Vista DVD will not (usually) offer an "uprade" option -
> install Vista from with Windows to upgade.
>
>
> "Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
> news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
> >I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of ram
> >and
> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP SP2.
> > I
> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause problems
> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> > mention
> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good registry
> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could safely
> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> > audio
> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed so
> > it
> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> > disks
> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and the
> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two HD's
> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
> >
> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> > greyed
> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> > possible!
> >
> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> > installs
> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> > should
> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which ideally
> > is
> > what I want.
> >
> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> > out
> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do try
> > to
> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can anyone
> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> > different ways of getting it to work.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Edward
>
>
>

Hi,

Then there is something installed on that system that is blocking it.
Perhaps an antivirus or antispyware application?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Dubai Ed" <> wrote in message
news:FD4C0E49-E94D-4281-B7C9-...
> Hi Rick - thanks for replying.
>
> It definitely says "Upgrade" on the box and Bill never lies!
>
> Just for kicks, I tried it on an XP laptop that I had to hand without
> completing the installation and it definitely offered to either upgrade or
> clean install.
>
> Back to the drawing board........
>
> "Rick Rogers" wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Any chance you purchased an OEM generic full version? Those do not
>> upgrade,
>> they only do a clean install to a formatted disk.
>>
>> --
>> Best of Luck,
>>
>> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
>> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
>> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>>
>> "Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
>> news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
>> >I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of
>> >ram
>> >and
>> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP
>> > SP2.
>> > I
>> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause
>> > problems
>> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
>> > mention
>> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good
>> > registry
>> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could
>> > safely
>> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
>> > audio
>> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed
>> > so
>> > it
>> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
>> > disks
>> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and
>> > the
>> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two
>> > HD's
>> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
>> >
>> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
>> > greyed
>> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
>> > possible!
>> >
>> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
>> > installs
>> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
>> > should
>> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which
>> > ideally
>> > is
>> > what I want.
>> >
>> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
>> > out
>> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do
>> > try
>> > to
>> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can
>> > anyone
>> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
>> > different ways of getting it to work.
>> >
>> > Thanks
>> > Edward
>>
>>

Thanks again Rick.

If there was something blocking the upgrade I would have hoped that the
upgrade advisor would have spotted it however, I'm going to take your advice
and go through the system with a fine tooth comb and disbale anything that
remotely looks as if it could interfere and try again, hoping for the best!

"Rick Rogers" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Then there is something installed on that system that is blocking it.
> Perhaps an antivirus or antispyware application?
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>
> "Dubai Ed" <> wrote in message
> news:FD4C0E49-E94D-4281-B7C9-...
> > Hi Rick - thanks for replying.
> >
> > It definitely says "Upgrade" on the box and Bill never lies!
> >
> > Just for kicks, I tried it on an XP laptop that I had to hand without
> > completing the installation and it definitely offered to either upgrade or
> > clean install.
> >
> > Back to the drawing board........
> >
> > "Rick Rogers" wrote:
> >
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> Any chance you purchased an OEM generic full version? Those do not
> >> upgrade,
> >> they only do a clean install to a formatted disk.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Best of Luck,
> >>
> >> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
> >> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
> >> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
> >> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
> >>
> >> "Dubai Ed" <Dubai > wrote in message
> >> news:298E5199-1ED4-44B7-9C86-...
> >> >I have a home built PC with an Intel 3Ghz Dual core processor, 2GB of
> >> >ram
> >> >and
> >> > an Nvidia graphics card with non shared 256Mb or ram with Windows XP
> >> > SP2.
> >> > I
> >> > eliminated the progs that the upgrade advisor told me would cause
> >> > problems
> >> > (Nero and Norton) and also went through the registry to eliminate any
> >> > mention
> >> > of Nero, Ahead, Symantec or Norton and followed this with a good
> >> > registry
> >> > clean up utility. A second run of the advisor told me that I could
> >> > safely
> >> > upgrade to premium ( although I would need a new driver for my Realtec
> >> > audio
> >> > card) but reccommended Ultimate since I have office XP Pro installed
> >> > so
> >> > it
> >> > probably thinks it's a business machine. I have 4 300Gb internal Hard
> >> > disks
> >> > (2 SATA and 2 IDE) with one having two partitions one for the OS and
> >> > the
> >> > second for Data and the second HD stores all my progs. The other two
> >> > HD's
> >> > are used for back-ups and storage since I do a lot of video editing.
> >> >
> >> > However, whenever I try to ugrade to Ultimate, the upgrade option is
> >> > greyed
> >> > out and it displays a message on the bottom saying that upograde is not
> >> > possible!
> >> >
> >> > I have tried installing Vista on a spare internal hard drive and it
> >> > installs
> >> > just fine but the easy transfer gizmo doesn't seem to work quite as it
> >> > should
> >> > so I don't end up with a vista version of what I ran before which
> >> > ideally
> >> > is
> >> > what I want.
> >> >
> >> > Why am I being told I can safely upgrade to Ultimate (the reason I went
> >> > out
> >> > and bought it) when it doesn't allow me to when I try (and yes, I do
> >> > try
> >> > to
> >> > upgrade from inside Windows and not by booting from the DVD). Can
> >> > anyone
> >> > please help - it's driving me mad and I have wasted so much time trying
> >> > different ways of getting it to work.
> >> >
> >> > Thanks
> >> > Edward
> >>
> >>
>
>