Vista Premium installation issues on XPS410

Hi I have the same problem with my xps410 doing just the upgrade 3 times same error: Worker Thread............So anyway I change RAID SETTING from RAID ON  to autodetect,  it will not boot with autodetect enable. Dell has RAID ON by default even with systems that have 1 hard drive as I have. Scroll down the Vista thread you'll see my post and some related issues. You can try it though by Hitting F2 during startup, you'll enter setup menu, arrow down to ???? I think you can figure it out from there....I know you arrow down about 4 or 5 lines ,hit enter you'll se raid on  and  autodetect arrow over to autodetect hit enter it present you with some options: save/exit, .......you get the picture? I hope so. So after you save and exit it will boot up or attempt to......if you get a blue screen just power down, startup,  F2 and change it back to RAID ON.  I'm glad I couldn't do the upgrade at this time.....a lot lot of people are have problems with Vista and  a lot people who bought system with Vista don't won't it and are trying to put xp over vista. With that said, I not gonna try again until May or June. I'm real happy with my system as it is. XP RULES!!!!!

I just got an XPS 410 with Vista installed and Vista is just plain lousy. I have basically no software that is Vista compatable (except for some games). I want to put XP on the machine but it won't let me. I get a blue screen with a bunch of explanations that mean nothing to me. I did get another sata drive and I am going to switch drives and install XP on the new drive and let the Vista drive sit in the machine and gather dust. I refuse to use Vista until it is worthy of being called an OS......

Thanks.  I am tempted to try but reading other posts, I am concerned and might want to wait a little bit.  XP was working fine but I wanted to see what Vista was all about.  I even tried to revert the drive back to an earlier date (before Vista was started) and the system won't allow it.  When the computer boots up, I get a partial Vista startup then it keeps booting up and down.  This is frustrating.

Jack,

I've got a 4 month old Dell XPS 410 here that came with XP (of course).  When I decided to put Vista on my machine a month ago, I had the exact same error message that you described. 

 

You may know (from reading these boards) that (not everyone) but MANY people have experienced problems with the Intel chipset boards.  If you don't use raid, and don't need it, AND you also are willing to do a clean install of your OS after you back up your personal stuff, then I would suggest the following:

 

Go into your BIOS by hitting the F2 key during startup....just keeping gently tapping that key until you see the BIOS in front of you (versus the OS desktop).  Now navigate to the drives folder, next go to the Sata Operation subfolder.  Look inside there and you will see (on your system) that there is a "raid on" and "autodetect" setting. 

 

Most likely, your pc is set to "raid on" EVEN if you don't have a raid array and EVEN if you only have one hard drive.  This is just the way Dell installs and ships these systems.  Anyhow, open the Sata Operation subfolder and toggle the switch from "raid on" to "autodetect". 

 

Notice, you will NOT be able to boot your current OS when you change this setting.  However, it doesn't really matter if you have already backed up all your information and you are ready to do a clean install.  One other thing, you might want to visit the following web site.  This is good reading AFTER you have changed your BIOS and are ready to do the actual installation of Vista.  This is a great reference on doing a clean install, which I highly recommend.  Btw, I have the same machine as yours and went through a lot of problems.  Everything is running great now.  Anyhow, here's that link to take a look at:

 

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_upgrade_clean.asp

 

PS- You might want to print the link above once you read it so you'll have it handy during the install

Hi,

 

Had similar problems to all of above. Updated BIOS from Dell site for XPS410. Installation went fine after that. Vista also runs well after some driver updates. I like the new OS. Not sure it's WOW, but like it anyway.

Thanks Scott.  I took your advice and turned BIOS to Autoselect and followed the link you provided and installed Vista Premium without the key code.  All works well however, as I followed the instructions to install the upgrade version, I get a message "Windows could not configure one or more system component.  To install windows, restart your computer then restart the installation".  I called Microsoft and they advised that my HP printer did not have the proper driver.  They helped me update the drivers.  I restarted and attempted to do the upgrade again and again, same message.  I realized that my Digital Camera had a conflict so I removed it and still having the same message.  I cannot upgrade and I'm afraid that after the 30 days, I won't be able to use it anymore.   Any advice ???

Hey Jack,

Sorry to hear you've had problems with the 2nd part of the Vista installation (converting your non-licensed version to the upgrade version).

 

The first thing that comes to mind is why Microsoft didn't advise you to unplug all of your peripherals, except the essentials of course which include your mouse and keyboard.  It is best not to have all that other stuff attached before you've got a licensed version of Windows up and going.  Having said that, I cannot say this will solve your solution by unplugging your printer, camera, etc.  It is possible there are other issues.

 

The Vista upgrade is designed to be installed from the desktop of a qualified licensed windows copy.  (This is supposed to include Vista itself as Paul Thurrott's web site states).

 

If you cannot get the upgrade to start from the desktop of Vista (unlicensed) then I would suggest reinstalling your licensed version of Win XP first (just the windows itself without reinstalling all of your other programs).  Hope this works for you.

 

As I mentioned before, I would print those instructions from Paul Thurrott's web site first so you can reference this information.

Regards,

Scott

 

Thanks Scott.  I ended up calling Microsoft last night and they were no help, they referred me back to Dell.  The Dell technician helped me with the reinstallation of XP (as you described).  Once that was complete, I installed the licensed upgrade version of Vista (with BIOS turned ON).  I am glad to report that the installation was a total success.  Of course, The Drive had to be reformatted so I am starting from scratch but all works well so far.  Thanks for all your guidance and assistance.

Glad you got Vista going on your machine, Jack.  Btw, assuming that you are not using raid (don't have a raid array), was there any particular reason that the Dell tech rep told you to reset the BIOS to "raid on"?  I am just curious.

 

Didn't ask or really care at that point Scott, (it was 1am).  I was so frustrated and was glad that someone from Dell was actually willing to assist.  By the time all was said and done, it took over 3 hours.  The Dell technician suggested not to make any changes to factory settings (he actually was concerned that I made changes to the system without contacting Dell XPS service support first).  He commented that since the XPS 410 was Vista Capable (I purchased in October 2006), the upgrade should have worked WITHOUT making any changes to the BIOS.  I have to agree that he was right in his statement since everything is working well with no issues to report.  However, as expected, I had to update drivers especially for PCCillin.  The Windows XP version I had (version 12 was not compatable).  I called Trend Micro and they were extremely helpful and assisted me by upgrading it to version 14 which is Vista compatable.