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Del Dimension and WIndows Upgrade
I have a Dell Dimension 8250 with 2 GB of RAM and a 100GB hard drive. I formatted the hard drive, installed a fresh Windows XP Professional operating system (original Dell disk) and found the necessary drivers on the web to get everything to work - that is there were no driver issues shown in Device Manager. I checked the computer using the Windows 7 compatabiliy program and apart from a game port issue it appeared to be okay to go ahead with the Windows 7 full installation (but not upgrade). I then tried to install Windows 7 from a genuine Microsoft WIndows 7 Upgrade disk and got the fail message:
"Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install Windows, restart the installation."
Acting on advice from a non-Dell forum (which may not be correct) I tried to install Windows 7 via an initial upgrade to Vista Home Premium (a Dell disk) but got the same fail message during the process.
Therefore it appears not to be just a Windows 7 issue with the computer. Why it can install Windows XP and not Windows Vista or Windows 7 is a mystery to me. The computer is way out of warranty and so there is no way I can get advice direct from Dell.
Can anyone out there help?
kencoburn
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July 5th, 2014 03:00
There is no integrated graphics on the motherboard and so a graphics card is essential. However, the good news is that I finally worked out a solution to the problem. Earlier I said that Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor stated that my game card was not supported and that I intended to replace it later (after installing WIndows 7). This time I removed the card completely and WIndows 7 installed without a hitch. If I had done that earlier I would have saved myself a lot of time and the expense of a new dvd drive.
Thanks all the same for your help.
Philip_Yip
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July 5th, 2014 06:00
Great, thanks for letting us know the solution. I overlooked you had an additional card.
Actually I had a similar issue with a PCI card Ortec PCI Trump where Windows 7 wouldn't boot if the card was installed. I think Windows 7 was trying to use it as a graphics card.
Philip_Yip
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June 27th, 2014 04:00
Are you installing the 32 Bit version of Windows Vista and 7 or the 64 Bit version? I don't think the processors on these systems are 64 Bit compatible.
kencoburn
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June 27th, 2014 08:00
All operating systems are 32-bit - as is the current processor. Thanks for responding.
Philip_Yip
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June 27th, 2014 16:00
Others have got it to work:
http://daveclarkesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/installing-windows-7-ultimate-on-old.html
I would advise running full diagnostics in case there is an issue with the hard drive:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/f12-preboot-diagnostics/
Likely theres not but its worth a try as you managed to get XP up and running without issue.
Try wiping your hard drive with DBAN and running the installation again:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/securely-wipe-your-hard-drive-with-dariks-boot-and-nuke-dban/
Also press F2 to enter the BIOS setup and have a look at the SATA operation. Also does your installation media include Service Pack 1?
Philip_Yip
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June 28th, 2014 10:00
Try making a diagnostics bootable USB. I'm not sure if this system is too old to boot from USB. If it can boot from USB then you can create a bootable Windows 7 USB as instructed here:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/windows-7-sp1-iso-download/
You can then install from USB.
kencoburn
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June 28th, 2014 10:00
Thanks again for responding. I tried the preboot disagnostics (produced a boot cd from the iso image) but the disk would not boot - it left me with an underscore cursor on a black screen. I then tried another bootable cd in my dvd/rw drive and got the same result and so I suspect there may be a problem with the dvd/rw drive. As a consequence I will fit another dvd/rw drive when it arrives (purchased from Ebay).
The Dell Inspiron also has a cd/rom drive. I tried this other bootable cd in my cd/rom drive and it booted okay but when I tried the preboot diagnostics cd it failed to boot. I then tried this on my Dell Studio computer and again it failed to boot and so there appears to be an incompatibility with this iso image.
My thoughts at the the moment are that my dvd/rw drive is not functioning correctly (hence replacing) and that may have been the cause of the WIndow 7 upgrade dvd not working. I will give it another go when the new dvd/rw drive arrives.
One final point in response to previous advice, there is no SATA connection on my motherboard (only IDE) and hence no point in taking a look at the SATA operation.
kencoburn
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June 28th, 2014 11:00
The Dell Dimension 8250 BIOS does not have a USB boot option.
kencoburn
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July 4th, 2014 11:00
I have received my new dvd drive and tried to install the Windows 7 upgrade. Sadly I got the same error message (Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation. To install Windows restart the installation). Not surprisingly, restarting the installation produced the same error message. It is frustrating that the error message gives no clue as to why it failed. Any ideas?
Philip_Yip
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July 4th, 2014 17:00
Can you install without your graphics card?