WIN7 Upgrade to 64bit – A Story to tell your kids about…..
Some workarounds list here for the following issues: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp
** Great post by Ed Bott about workarounds and real Win 7 Upgrade answers – CLICK HERE **
I have just made the transition to WIN7 from XP and I have to say its been a rocky road so far. So here is the story in case you want to use it for the show or possibly you can shed some light on the issues.
So early on I went from XP to WIN7 on my laptop with basically no issues using the RC.
Today marked my first venture into using a "UPGRADE" copy from XP to WIN7 on a desktop workstation… and lets say its been less than perfect.
#1 – Workstation Dell – Running OEM 32bit XP Pro with all updates.
#2 – RAID 5 Config SCSI drive array – 3 Total Drives
Ran Windows 7 Advisor just for fun and it told me no issues with Hardware or software. I was not expecting it to be perfect in any fashion but I was hopeful at the results.
Catch #1 – I want to upgrade to 64 Win 7 from 32 bit XP Pro…… Here is the issue I found - it will not let you use the upgrade media to do this. I put the DVD in for 64 and it said – This copy is not compatible. Ok no Issue I will do a fresh install….like it states on the WIN7 box.
Catch #2 – WIN7 cannot see the SCSI drives – No drivers available from the manufacturer for WIN7. Ouch
Removed SCSI array and replaced it with a Velociraptor WD drive mainly because I have been wanting to test one out and converted the box over to SATA…..
Fixed up the BIOS to see the SATA vs. SCSI array and we are off and installing WIN7….
"please input your windows Key"
I did this and it states key is invalid and can only be used for upgrades and does not present a way to verify an XP disk or a way to call for a new key….
Go to the MS support site and the site states – please run the WIN7 wizard and it will give you a regional phone number (well it does not actually do that in this case – It just tells you the license key is invalid)
So from what I can tell – the only upgrade that is supported is 32 bit to 32 bit or 64 bit to 64 bit, that is if either of those actually work as I have not tried them….. I am going to assume this will be a huge problem for all of us but hopefully I am wrong and its just me..
The best part is the box clearly states on the outside – If you are upgrading from Windows XP you will need to backup all your data and do a clean install – well that would be nice if it was supported..
I wonder if I call MS on Monday if they will send me out full copies like they did when I could not get my Vista keys to work on another machine… that was a least ending to a terrible upgrade when that happened last time.
I am also seeing File permission issues when using my DroboPro – I am going to assume this is WIN7 related:
So I am running into a strange issue with my Drobopro and Win7 – well other than the fact the network card i just bought to run iSCSI with does not support WIN7 drivers – thus need to buy a new card. So I went ahead and setup the Drobopro on USB just to get it rolling and technically that’s how it needs to be done on a full system redo anyway…
Now what I am finding is that every time I shutdown and restart all the files on the Drobopro are being marked as read only – this can be a major issue since I need to edit files etc on the Drobo – and Adobe Lightroom cannot even access them if they are marked as read only – we have an issue..
I am pretty sure this is a WIN7 problem but has anyone seen this? or have a work around for it?
I have unmarked the items as read only – then 20 minutes later when its done reassigning rights to those files its good to go – but then when the computer is shutdown and restarted the same permissions issue occurs and those folders and files are set to Read only….
Is it just me? Or did Microsoft not quite think out all the upgrade scenarios?
If you ever want to do an Enterprise computing show and need a real world small business perspective – feel free to let me know… I jumped into IT headfirst and its definitely not my forte – yet I am sure many can learn from my mistakes..
Brent Burzycki
www.burzycki.org
bburzycki@gmail.com
Filed Under: DROBO • Featured • Tech • Troubleshooting • WIN7
