Windows 7 - Upgrade Unsuccessful -Reboot Loop
Hello,
For those who have attempted to perform an upgrade to Windows 7 and encounter a reboot loop, Microsoft is aware of this issue and is currently being investigated.For more information please refer to the thread below.
Please continue to check this thread for updates as they are available.
Thanks
Michael
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.- Changed TypeMichael - Microsoft SupportMicrosoft Support, OwnerFriday, October 30, 2009 1:23 AMinfo
- Changed TypeKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, December 02, 2009 8:37 PManswer
1 person got this answerI do too
Answers
Hello,
We have identified a resoltion for some of these reboot loops. Please see the steps below for details:
We will start by booting into Windows Recovery Environment using the same steps above. I will list them again here for completion's sake:1. boot using the Windows 7 installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and hit "Next"
3. Click on "Repair Your Computer" link at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows RE.NOTE: Do not click on “Install Now”
4. Choose the OS to repair, and take note of the Drive Letter assigned to the operating System.
5. You should see “Windows 7” and D:\ (the drive letter may be different)
6. Click Next and you should see a list of the recovery tools
7. Click on “Command Prompt”
8. You will see “X:\Sources” in white on a black background, you can type commands hereOnce you have booted into WinRE please follow the steps below:
1. Type "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
2. Type "dir /s /p", and look for the words "is too long".
3. If you don't see "is too long" on the first page, press a key to get the next page
4. Look on the second page for "is too long".
5. Continue to press a key to advance in pages until you find all the strings "is too long". (This may take quite a few pages to get to the end)NOTE: You may see more than 1 entry that has "is too long", please take a note of each entry as we will need the folder names in later steps.
Once you have identified all the folders with "is too long" we will need to move them into a temp location.
7. Type "move" followed by the path of the folder, then the name of the temporary location to move to:
EXAMPLE: MOVE C:\USERS\BOB\DOCUMENTS\DOCUMENTS C:\TEMP
8. Once all the invalid folders have been moved, repeat step 1 and 2 to verify that there are no other folders with "is too long"
9. Once completed, restart the computer and you should be able to successfully boot into Vista.
10. Once back into a working Vista, open "Computer" and navigate to C:\Users and open your username folder.
11. Right click on each folder one by one and choose "Properties".
12. Click on the Location tab and confirm that the path shown is correctly displaying the path for this folder.Example: The properties / location of C:\Users\BOB\Documents should have the same correct path listed on the location tab "C:\Users\BOB\Documents".
13. If any folder's location is not correct, click on "Restore Defaults" and repeat
14. Once all the folders have been corrected, please reboot the computer and retry the upgrade process again.
I have unlocked this thread, please let me know if you see success with the above steps.
Thanks!
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below!- Marked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, December 02, 2009 8:37 PM
- Unmarked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorMonday, December 07, 2009 11:13 PM
- Marked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorMonday, December 07, 2009 11:13 PM
All Replies
Hello,
We have identified a resoltion for some of these reboot loops. Please see the steps below for details:
We will start by booting into Windows Recovery Environment using the same steps above. I will list them again here for completion's sake:1. boot using the Windows 7 installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and hit "Next"
3. Click on "Repair Your Computer" link at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows RE.NOTE: Do not click on “Install Now”
4. Choose the OS to repair, and take note of the Drive Letter assigned to the operating System.
5. You should see “Windows 7” and D:\ (the drive letter may be different)
6. Click Next and you should see a list of the recovery tools
7. Click on “Command Prompt”
8. You will see “X:\Sources” in white on a black background, you can type commands hereOnce you have booted into WinRE please follow the steps below:
1. Type "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
2. Type "dir /s /p", and look for the words "is too long".
3. If you don't see "is too long" on the first page, press a key to get the next page
4. Look on the second page for "is too long".
5. Continue to press a key to advance in pages until you find all the strings "is too long". (This may take quite a few pages to get to the end)NOTE: You may see more than 1 entry that has "is too long", please take a note of each entry as we will need the folder names in later steps.
Once you have identified all the folders with "is too long" we will need to move them into a temp location.
7. Type "move" followed by the path of the folder, then the name of the temporary location to move to:
EXAMPLE: MOVE C:\USERS\BOB\DOCUMENTS\DOCUMENTS C:\TEMP
8. Once all the invalid folders have been moved, repeat step 1 and 2 to verify that there are no other folders with "is too long"
9. Once completed, restart the computer and you should be able to successfully boot into Vista.
10. Once back into a working Vista, open "Computer" and navigate to C:\Users and open your username folder.
11. Right click on each folder one by one and choose "Properties".
12. Click on the Location tab and confirm that the path shown is correctly displaying the path for this folder.Example: The properties / location of C:\Users\BOB\Documents should have the same correct path listed on the location tab "C:\Users\BOB\Documents".
13. If any folder's location is not correct, click on "Restore Defaults" and repeat
14. Once all the folders have been corrected, please reboot the computer and retry the upgrade process again.
I have unlocked this thread, please let me know if you see success with the above steps.
Thanks!
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below!- Marked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorWednesday, December 02, 2009 8:37 PM
- Unmarked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorMonday, December 07, 2009 11:13 PM
- Marked As Answer byKevin HauMSFT, ModeratorMonday, December 07, 2009 11:13 PM
- I've tried this but unable to access 'Repair Your Computer' using the installation DVD so still waiting to use Windows 7. There must be a solution to this problem.
- I followed the instructions explicitly, and read the black & white screen for over an hour. There was nothing labeled as "is too long".
I am still stuck in an infinite loop that says “The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error” if I let the computer boot into either Windows 7 or the restore option. I can not get back to Vista.
If it has any significance, when first run, the Windows 7 upgrade (Vista Home Premium 64 to Windows 7 Home Premium 64) failed after about 6 hours when a window popped up and said that my hard drive was full (about 500 GIGS free!) and that the computer would restart and Vista would be restored.
I ran SpinRite from a bootable CD and my hard drive is fine.
I already sent my setupact.log and setuperr.log to Email removed for privacy as requested
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/02fecb91-462a-4d7a-9dad-d38f053ab587
I still eagerly await a solution.
Thank you for any ideas that you might have. - I have a similar problem, after backing up all DATA on my Dell 1555 Studio laptop which had Vista Home Premium 32 bit, I ran the Dell Upgrade advisor and removed the apps it indicated. Then inserted the Dell Windows 7 DVD and started the upgrade. I have done upgrades many time before so this one baffles me. Near the end of the upgrade the PC displays "Set up is Starting Services". Then it stops with an error window titled " Install Windows." "Windows could not complete the installation. To install Windows on the computer, restart the installation." OK is the only option.Then it says "Setup will continue after restarting your computer". It reboots to the Boot manager showing choice of Windows 7 or Windows Setup. Windows 7 restarts and does the same loop stopping at the Install Windows error window.Choosing Windows Setup boots to a Command window labeled Administrator:Cmd.exe.The message "This environment should only be used to recover from a failed installation. Type EXIT and press ENTER to resume installation.X:\$Windows.~BT\Windows\System32>What can I do?
- When I try to boot, I don't get the language option. It keeps giving me only the install or rollback and it just keeps going into the loop.
- I suspect some of you don't understand how to boot from the Windows 7 install DVD as this was not explained above. This first requires you to set your BIOS "boot order" to allow your PC to boot from the DVD. When your PC restarts, you should see an option to enter "Setup". Press the key indicated. Be fast or you'll be back in the reboot loop. It may even require pressing the key before you see the screen. In Setup, look for boot device priority, boot order. First boot device should be set to CD-ROM, 2nd boot device as the Hard Disk. Change nothing else in here...if you don't know what you're doing in the BIOS setup, its time to consult a professonal. Save the setup, exit and restart your PC with the Win 7 disk in your DVD drive. THEN follow the posted instructions.
Once you've recovered from your upgrade mess, you may wish to restore the boot order as it can save a few seconds from you boot-up time by by-passing the system checking for a boot disk before booting from the hard drive. A few comments. Re:
That didn't work for me. I had to reboot using the Windows Vista installation, then I could get to this point.
We will start by booting into Windows Recovery Environment using the same steps above. I will list them again here for completion's sake:1. boot using the Windows 7 installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and hit "Next"
3. Click on "Repair Your Computer" link at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows RE.
Re:
NOTE: Do not click on “Install Now”
4. Choose the OS to repair, and take note of the Drive Letter assigned to the operating System.
5. You should see “Windows 7” and D:\ (the drive letter may be different)
6. Click Next and you should see a list of the recovery tools
7. Click on “Command Prompt”
8. You will see “X:\Sources” in white on a black background, you can type commands hereOnce you have booted into WinRE please follow the steps below:
1. Type "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
Don't type: "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
You need to type "c:"
Then I did the rest, and I did find a folder that was too long. It did't work to try to move the one folder that was too long (it was c:/users/ch/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/music/
or something similar, but it woud let me move c:/users/ch/music
and then I was able to rollback.
But now what? Should I try to do a clean install or should I wait for Microsoft to fix up this problem?
Please reply.
Christine
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below!- I suspect you think we are all a bunch of idiots! Yes I did this, and NO it didn't fix the problem. The loop is continuous whether you boot from the harddrive, the dvd, or usb. It just doesn't stop.
- followed the directions, yes i know how to boot from a cd, this still didnt work, i didnt find any "is too long"
- I am having this same problem and tried to do the fix, but I could find no instances of "is too long" or anything like that. I am still locked out of my computer, but i did stumble upon a way to access the files and copy them to a flash drive or whatever.
Boot with the installation disc, go to repair my computer/the recovery environment and there click "Load Drivers" on the very first screen. Then hit OK and you will have access to your files and can proceed to copy them so you don't lose them for good if a clean install is the only fix.
Based on viewing the files, it appears they are set up in the Windows 7 format. My question now is can we discover the issue causing this loop by looking at the files in this way? And if so, is there a fix that could be done to take care of the problem by deleting a file or copying another?
Let me know if there is any way to fix the problem from here, especially for those of us who can't get back to Vista using the earlier described fix.
- I have tried to upgrade from Vista Home Basic to Windows 7 three times and each time it rolls back to Vista. I wasted the entire weekend. I removed virus software and anything else that anyone has mentioned. I am using the 32 byte version. Help!
- Hi
As have others ... I have had problems with the upgrade ... I have managed to get clear the reboot once using the cd dir /s /p in MSDos ... copying my files to C:/Users/Name/Pictures ... and this enabled me to reboot and rollback to Vista ...
However ... I then tried to reinstall windows 7 and had the same problem again ... i.e. rebooting ... when I tried to use the cd dir /s /p command it would not let me MOVE to C:/Users/Name/Pictures etc ... so I did MOVE C:/Users/TEMP/PictureS however .. this did not solve the problem and I cannot make any further changes to C:Users/TEMP ...
Can you offer any advice as to how I might be able to stop the reboot loop and roll back to Vista and then when I have done this ... how I might install Windows 7 successfully.
Thank you - I have the exact same issue. I am upgrading a Toshiba laptop from Vista Home PRemium to Windows 7 Ultimate. I have the distribution CD's (not a download). I am getting the same reboot loop with the failed installation prompt you are seeing.
I have opened a support call on this, and after getting nowhere with a 1st level support person, who seemed to be unable to find a similar report of this problem in the system, I was scheduled for a call back from a next level technician tomorrow morning (11/20).
I will let you know what he/she has to say in that call. - Thanks everyone for your feedback, It's good to know how many people are fixed with the above steps and how many are not.
Please keep sending in your logs if you are still experiencing this issue, they are really helpful in identifying the other root causes for this issue.
Thanks,
Kevin
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below! - It took me a few tries, but your fix worked for me. I had the reboot loop problem, but now I have Windows 7 loaded successfully.
- Same here. I did the whole Upgrade Advisor thing, followed directions to a T and each time I can the message that the upgrade was not successful and so my previous version is being restored (thank God!). What's with this? Windows 7 is supposed to THE answer to all the problems we've had with Vista and now can't even do an upgrade. AND I do NOT want to do a clean install. Sorry. Done that too many times and it's a stinking pain. Sure am tired of working on problems with Windows. Maybe it is time to switch to MAC.
- I did not find any "is too long" entries but does this apply to my problem which is quoted from a previous thread?
I am experiencing BSOD on my HP Pavillion dv5 laptop. The computer is 64 bit running with 4GB ram. I recently upgraded to Windows 7. It has been running normally for about a week. The computer seems to boot normally, I get the Windows logo (in the right screen resolution) and it goes to the login screen (which is the wrong screen resolution). I enter my password and shortly after that I get BSOD with a system_service_exception. I have attempted to perform a system restore to a point that I knew everything worked but that did not help. I tried booting in safe mode and get the same issue. I ran the start up diagnostics (by pressing esc during boot up) and the memory and hard drive test passed. I do not run any gaming software but the last thing I did on the computer before the issue started was play the online version of windows backgammon.
I am running Norton antivirus with definitions updated automatically. Does this apply to my issue which is quoted from a previous thread? I do not get continual reboots but do get constant BSOD. I did not find any "is too long" entries when I performed the above action.
I am experiencing BSOD on my HP Pavillion dv5 laptop. The computer is 64 bit running with 4GB ram. I recently upgraded to Windows 7. It has been running normally for about a week. The computer seems to boot normally, I get the Windows logo (in the right screen resolution) and it goes to the login screen (which is the wrong screen resolution). I enter my password and shortly after that I get BSOD with a system_service_exception. I have attempted to perform a system restore to a point that I knew everything worked but that did not help. I tried booting in safe mode and get the same issue. I ran the start up diagnostics (by pressing esc during boot up) and the memory and hard drive test passed. I do not run any gaming software but the last thing I did on the computer before the issue started was play the online version of windows backgammon.
I am running Norton antivirus with definitions updated automatically.- When I try to copy the logs I keep getting "The system cannot find the path specified. I am using the drive letter that the computer says windows 7 is installed. I tried to go from the command prompt to the dir c:\$windows.~bt\panther\setupact.log and the path cannot be found, I substitued d: for c: just in case and got the same thing.
- Again I tried to upgrade and to those comments that make some of us out as being comuter illiterate, I retired as a computer tech and have never experienced so much trouble as I'm having upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium from Vista Home Premium. Worked on Windows 95 to XPs and done it all. Hardware, changing motherboards, software, whatever. I have reformatted, reinstalled, updated. NEVER have I experience the message I wrote on Sunday, 11/22. This should be a simple upgrade.
I just spent at least 6 hours removing programs suggested, removing my protective programs, and all for naught. My problem isn't reboot loops. But couldn't find any sensible answers anywhere else anyway. Sure hope Microsoft comes up with a solution in a hurry.
I tried this and didn't find any 'is too long' entries. I don't have the option to return to Vista anymore, all I have for Vista are the Recovery disks for my Gateway laptop but they won't run now that windows 7 is partially installed. I am considering doing a clean install from my upgrade dvd but I am worried about running into problems with the product key. Have other users successfully completed a clean install from an upgrade dvd and been able to activate their product key?Hello,
We have identified a resoltion for some of these reboot loops. Please see the steps below for details:
We will start by booting into Windows Recovery Environment using the same steps above. I will list them again here for completion's sake:1. boot using the Windows 7 installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and hit "Next"
3. Click on "Repair Your Computer" link at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows RE.NOTE: Do not click on “Install Now”
4. Choose the OS to repair, and take note of the Drive Letter assigned to the operating System.
5. You should see “Windows 7” and D:\ (the drive letter may be different)
6. Click Next and you should see a list of the recovery tools
7. Click on “Command Prompt”
8. You will see “X:\Sources” in white on a black background, you can type commands hereOnce you have booted into WinRE please follow the steps below:
1. Type "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
2. Type "dir /s /p", and look for the words "is too long".
3. If you don't see "is too long" on the first page, press a key to get the next page
4. Look on the second page for "is too long".
5. Continue to press a key to advance in pages until you find all the strings "is too long". (This may take quite a few pages to get to the end)NOTE: You may see more than 1 entry that has "is too long", please take a note of each entry as we will need the folder names in later steps.
Once you have identified all the folders with "is too long" we will need to move them into a temp location.
7. Type "move" followed by the path of the folder, then the name of the temporary location to move to:
EXAMPLE: MOVE C:\USERS\BOB\DOCUMENTS\DOCUMENTS C:\TEMP
8. Once all the invalid folders have been moved, repeat step 1 and 2 to verify that there are no other folders with "is too long"
9. Once completed, restart the computer and you should be able to successfully boot into Vista.
10. Once back into a working Vista, open "Computer" and navigate to C:\Users and open your username folder.
11. Right click on each folder one by one and choose "Properties".
12. Click on the Location tab and confirm that the path shown is correctly displaying the path for this folder.Example: The properties / location of C:\Users\BOB\Documents should have the same correct path listed on the location tab "C:\Users\BOB\Documents".
13. If any folder's location is not correct, click on "Restore Defaults" and repeat
14. Once all the folders have been corrected, please reboot the computer and retry the upgrade process again.
I have unlocked this thread, please let me know if you see success with the above steps.
Thanks!
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below!- Well now, lets see here. You said they know about it. I called two days ago and the tech I talked to had no clue. She talked me into a clean install and I have been reinstalling and copying data files ever since. When you have a TB of info it takes a long time. This I feel Microsoft does not care about. Just making their mony and giving us a crappy product.
- Kevin:
I sent my logs to Email removed for privacy on November 12, 12 days ago.
Is there any way to know if they were ever analyzed and if anyone at Microsoft might have an idea for a fix?
I did not find any "too long" file names anywhere in my c:\users directory, and again today, I manually looked at each subdirectory under c:\users. There were no long strings or other suspicious files or directories.
Thank you for you help.
Ira W
On November 14, I posted the following in this thread:
I followed the instructions explicitly, and read the black & white screen for over an hour. There was nothing labeled as "is too long".
I am still stuck in an infinite loop that says “The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error” if I let the computer boot into either Windows 7 or the restore option. I can not get back to Vista.
If it has any significance, when first run, the Windows 7 upgrade (Vista Home Premium 64 to Windows 7 Home Premium 64) failed after about 6 hours when a window popped up and said that my hard drive was full (about 500 GIGS free!) and that the computer would restart and Vista would be restored.
I ran SpinRite from a bootable CD and my hard drive is fine.
I already sent my setupact.log and setuperr.log to Email removed for privacy as requested
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/02fecb91-462a-4d7a-9dad-d38f053ab587
I still eagerly await a solution.
Thank you for any ideas that you might have. - Hi Ira,
We have received all the logs that were sent to the alias, and we very much appreciate your participation and your patience.
We're still working to analyze the logs and see if we can nail down additional solutions we can suggest.
Thanks!
Kevin
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below! - I have already returned Windows 7 and will wait until I buy another computer which is usually every year or two since I'm always wanting "better". Thank you for your input and Aloha. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
- I too am having an issue similar to this.
I get the message "Boot manager missing. Ctrl-alt-delete to restart." on a black screen.
- Edited byKatie Lynn Thursday, November 26, 2009 2:37 AM
- Well I think I have a similar issue. I think the install process finished but my computer is freezing up trying to do the "first run." If I start in safe mode it says "installation can not continue please restart in normal mode" etc etc. At that time however the screen is showing "windows is starting up for the first time" but obviously can't continue. Now restarting in normal mode it shows the new windows 7 logo, then the screen goes black, I can see the mouse and move it but nothing else happens no matter how long I wait.
EDIT: Ok I figured out what was going on and I feel stupid now. I am running 2 monitors, 1 is my TV for watching video. Now, in VISTA before this upgrade installation my 2nd monitor was disabled (i only turn it on for movies) however windows 7 apparently turned the feature on during installation and everything was showing on my tv... which i was using to watch NBA basketball lol :/ To compound the issue (and somewhat excuse my stupidity) the computer was starting up my regular monitor, showing the windows splash, and THEN switching to my TV for some reason. Anyways, thought I'd mention it if anyone else uses 2 monitors :/ - I know the feeling. Done all that is asked and at the end of the day "unsuccessful" restoring previous.
Came here looking for help and answers but nothing.
Microsoft wants our money but when problems with their product show up do they ALL hide. - Greetings! I too have installed a genuine Windows 7 (32- bit) upgrade. While it appears that the software upgrade loaded successfully, I am unable to "shut-down" the computer. The reboot loop begins immediately after attempting to "shut-down" the computer.
I have performed the various suggesstions posted on this forum without any success. It should be noted that I do not have any indication of "too long strings" in the command prompts. The reboot loop continues, the frustrations grow, and MAC commercials annoy me!
Does anyone have some other suggestions to rectify this problem?
Thanks, FW - So if I can't get Windows 7 to install because of this reboot loop problem, what am I supposed to do? I can't take the discs back to the store where I bought them and microsoft hasn't come out with a fix for it, so I'm sitting here with $199 worth of useless discs. Will calling support help me get my money back or help at all, or am I just out $199 and still don't have a new operating system.
- http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-vista/how-to-return-microsoft-products-for-a-refund/
See my reply further up. Aloha. - Thanks a lot.
- Hello:
This worked after 2 tries to reboot & both moving and then deleting the C:\Users\xx\downloads folder. I saw the same problem as described below, the downloads folder (which I had at the same level as the documents folder) had been multiple sub-directories named downloads - one under the other.
how do i now upgrade to Win 7 without an install?
- Hello Kevin,
I have now used your method twice to return to Vista from an unsuccessful upgrade. It works. However, I cannot send the files requested at the top because they are not created on the c or d drive when a boot into DOS.
can you advise on how to upgrade to Windows 7 without doing a clean install?
Thanks
Near the end of the upgrade the PC displays "Set up is Starting Services". Then it stops with an error window titled " Install Windows." "Windows could not complete the installation. To install Windows on the computer, restart the installation."
"The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error...”
OK is the only option.Then it says "Setup will continue after restarting your computer". It reboots to the Boot manager showing choice of Windows 7 or Windows Setup. Windows 7 restarts and does the same loop stopping at the Install Windows error window.Choosing Windows Setup boots to a Command window labeled Administrator:Cmd.exe.The message "This environment should only be used to recover from a failed installation. Type EXIT and press ENTER to resume installation.X:\$Windows.~BT\Windows\System32>
Already tried the is too long option, but dont find this string. I also noticed that after removing this issue windows vista will boot.
I do not have the option to boot to windows vista as mentioned above.
I opened a own thread (http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproinstall/thread/a2a2d2fc-8093-4abd-8455-08c3998a4a5c) and was redirected to this.
Also tried to disable all devices in bios and it doesnt help too.
Send my logs to the indicated address.
Still waiting for a solution. Getting very angry, because i need my laptop pc back working.
J- Kevin:
It has been nearly a month since I sent my logs. (SEE Your reply dated Wednesday, November 25, 2009 10:43 PM).
Is there any news?
Any other ideas about what I can try to either get back to Vista or complete the Windows 7 upgrade?
Thanks!
Ira W
On November 14, I posted the following in this thread:
I followed the instructions explicitly, and read the black & white screen for over an hour. There was nothing labeled as "is too long".
I am still stuck in an infinite loop that says “The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error” if I let the computer boot into either Windows 7 or the restore option. I can not get back to Vista.
If it has any significance, when first run, the Windows 7 upgrade (Vista Home Premium 64 to Windows 7 Home Premium 64) failed after about 6 hours when a window popped up and said that my hard drive was full (about 500 GIGS free!) and that the computer would restart and Vista would be restored.
I ran SpinRite from a bootable CD and my hard drive is fine.
I already sent my setupact.log and setuperr.log to Email removed for privacy as requested
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7install/thread/02fecb91-462a-4d7a-9dad-d38f053ab587
I still eagerly await a solution.
Thank you for any ideas that you might have. - I have a similar problem but the answers haven't reallty applied. I purchased home premium online and did the download exe. option (ignorantly not thinking that i should get the image file instead) and so when I was installing, my power cord came lose and I didn't realize it and the battery died. And so, I continue to get the "reinstall message" .I do not have a windows 7 disc and only have my disc from vista. I tried to repair it with that disc, of course didn't work. Then I tried booting linux to get the files, but since it re-arranged the files, not sure what all i needed .
Please advise
I probably should have waited until my finals were over to have an inoperable OS, but with that said, please help! - The too many user folders problem will fix the issue but I had to put the drive into another machine as a slave then browse the users folder and noticed that there was numerous amounts of "Desktop" folders so I removed all of them except for the first one then put the drive back and the roll back was successfull. I don't like Vista but will not upgrade yet as our business depends on this machine.
I am having the same problem. I followed Microsoft's solution but couldn't find "is too long". Our home computer is now dead. Hurry up Microsoft and solve this problem!!!
- For a clean install, the following worked for me: Take the dvd out of the drive after the initial install is done and before it reboots the first time. Here is where I found my answer:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itproinstall/thread/876d552c-428b-402b-be19-adeab4fd618e- Proposed As Answer bySmitty21JM Thursday, January 28, 2010 6:28 AM
- I have encountered exactly the same kind of problem trying to upgrade my new Gateway laptop from Windows Vista to Windows 7 using the Gateway Windows 7 upgrade kit that was supplied free of charge.
Have you received any other direction on how to overcome this endless boot problem? - I am in exactly the same situation as jayrayjj, what is the answer that will work to overcome this problem?
- No changes for me...
I changed the disk in the notebook with another one and installed Windows 7 without any problem.
The orignal disk is here an i am still waiting for a solution.
J - Hi everyone,
I wanted to consolidate the existing troubleshooting that we have for this issue.
1. Perform troubleshooting for "nested" user folders that show (is too long).
Please see the steps at the following KB for details:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978421The steps at also discussed in the following thread:
2. If you have backed up your important personal files, and you have the original installation discs or setup files for the programs that you want to use with Windows 7, you can try performing a clean installation of Windows 7
Please see the steps at the following website:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-vista-to-windows-7-custom
3. Contact Microsoft Support
If neither of the above 2 options resolve your issue, you can contact support using the link below: http://support.microsoft.com
We are committed to updating this thread as new troubleshooting is identified for this issue.
thanks,
Kevin
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below! - Hi there Rocco T,
Just wondering if you have found any solution to your problem. I am very interested since I am getting the same endless loop problem. I have been told by Gateway that I need to do a "clean installation" of Windows 7, but that requires booting from the Windows 7 installation disc. I do not have that option coming up in my boot manager. It wants to boot from Windows 7 that must be 90% installed already before the problem started in completing the installation. Have you come up with any answers that work? - I went to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978421 and followed the steps explicitly.
I had previously looked at all of my c:\user directories and did not find any "too long", but tried the KB directions anyway.
On the KB article, under Step 2, item 5, it says, "If this command provides no data, this problem is not caused by shell folder redirection, and the remainder of the steps in this article should not be followed."
Well, I had no data displayed. I then tried c:\> dir /s | find "is too long" |more and there were no "too long" directories any where on my hard drive.
Look at my postings above dated Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:50 PM, and Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:08 AM.
Kevin acknowledged that my logs were received as requested by Microsoft engineers.
I again asked for help above on post dated Wednesday, December 09, 2009 4:14 AM
I went through the support site at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/install1 and called my computer manufacturer who sent me the upgrade disc, and they were absolutely no help, and referred me back to Microsoft.
I really do not want to do a clean install, as I have a lot of software installed on my Vista 64 Home Premium computer that would be difficult to reinstall.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas or suggestions. I still have not received any response about the error logs that were sent to Microsoft on November 12, at your request.
Please let me know what else i can do to either restore my Vista64 or complete the upgrade to Windows 7.
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Ira W
- Kevin:
I went to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978421 and followed the steps explicitly.
I had previously looked at all of my c:\user directories and did not find any "too long", but tried the KB directions anyway.
On the KB article, under Step 2, item 5, it says, "If this command provides no data, this problem is not caused by shell folder redirection, and the remainder of the steps in this article should not be followed."
Well, I had no data displayed. I then tried c:\> dir /s | find "is too long" |more and there were no "too long" directories any where on my hard drive.
Look at my postings above dated Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:50 PM, and Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:08 AM.
Kevin acknowledged that my logs were received as requested by Microsoft engineers.
I again asked for help above on post dated Wednesday, December 09, 2009 4:14 AM
I went through the support site at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/install1 and called my computer manufacturer who sent me the upgrade disc, and they were absolutely no help, and referred me back to Microsoft.
I really do not want to do a clean install, as I have a lot of software installed on my Vista 64 Home Premium computer that would be difficult to reinstall.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas or suggestions. I still have not received any response about the error logs that were sent to Microsoft on November 12, at your request.
Please let me know what else i can do to either restore my Vista64 or complete the upgrade to Windows 7.
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Ira W - I have a question and not sure in right spot but I am in the reboot loop. I can't go back to vista and it won't even restart...says the computer restarted unexpectedly which when I see it reload my screen flickers and that is when it comes up. When I go in to command prompt and put in what he says it tells me it isn't there. If I do a factory restore will this fix it and just take me back to Vista? I have some of my programs on a portable drive and know I will have to relaod everything but but there is nothing I can find to fix this and it is ticking me off!! I did the compatability and took off my itunes and web cam software. Any help out there would be much appreciated!
- I still cannot complete the upgrade to Windows 7 or restore Vista.
I posted my last request in this thread on January 3, and have not seen a response.
It is also 2 months since I emailed my error logs at your request, and have not had a response.
Is there any hope of restoring my Vista or completing my Windows 7 upgrade?
Thanks!
Ira- Proposed As Answer bySmitty21JM Thursday, January 28, 2010 6:28 AM
- I've got the same problem and would like to see an answer too. I can restore Vista but that's not saying much, lol. My boy has Windows 7 and it's great. Can't wait till I can upgrade mine. I'll keep an eye on this post. I would think there should be an answer soon.
- Hello, I new here, and I need some help, I bought Win 7 64 bit, new harddrive, and cpu etc. I am trying to do a fresh install on my system. i keep geting the reboot once the screen says starting windows, like a loop not sure what to do. I left it over night and when I woke up in the morning it was still doing that. Can any one help? windows professional 64 bit.
- I had done this but still getting issues.
- I too am having the exact same problem as Ira W.
A solution would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! For a clean install, the following worked for me: Take the dvd out of the drive after the initial install is done and before it reboots the first time. Here is where I found my answer:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itproinstall/thread/876d552c-428b-402b-be19-adeab4fd618e
This also worked for me! So simple no wonder microsoft screwed it up!- when i get to step 5 it doesn't give me the option of choosing an os i am booting from a flash drive how could i fix it this way? please help spent hours trying to solve this problem
- Kevin:
Thank you for all of your prior assistance, but it is now 3 full months that I have been waiting for a resolution to this infinite loop - upgrade problem. I had a then 3 month old computer (now 6 months old) that had the infamous infinite loop reboot that says that Windows 7 had an unexpected error (details in prior posts above). I do not have any long file names or directories. I have completed all of the tasks and fixes listed above in this thread and in the KB without success.
Prior to the attempted upgrade, I did run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, complied with the minor changes it recommended, and re-ran it until it found no problems. I also used the Microsoft Windows 7 Compatibility Center (www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/defau lt .aspx ) and either uninstalled, deleted, or upgraded any items it recommended prior to running the upgrade. A re-run of the Compatibility Center utility indicated that all of my possible conflicts were resolved. With the concurrence of both the Upgrade Advisor and the Compatibility Center, I proceeded to install the Windows 7 Upgrade.
The original error occurred after running for about 6 hours while upgrading from Vista Home Premium 64. The error that popped up said that my hard drive was full, and instructed me to reboot, and restore Vista. At the reboot, instead of restoring Vista, it says that Windows had encountered an unexpected error, and the cycle continues repeatedly. I have read all of the relevant KB articles, and several other threads here in the support forums, and attempted all of the fixes listed. Nothing has resolved the error and allowed me to either restore Vista or complete the Windows 7 upgrade.
I booted with a Spinrite disk which reported that my hard drive is fine, and has about 500gigs free.
I posted my first request in this forum (see above) on November 14, with a follow-up on November 25.
In early November you asked me to upload my error logs, which I did. You promptly confirmed that you received my error logs in your post (above) also dated November 25. I am still waiting for an analysis of what went wrong and how I can resolve the problem.
I inquired again on December 9, January 3, and January 16 (all above), and am still waiting for a resolution.
I DO have a backup of my critical data files, but had a lot of software installed that I would prefer not to have to reinstall if I did a clean install of Windows 7.
Kevin, is there any hope of coming up with a fix in a timely manner?
Thank you for your support.
Ira W
- i tried but when i got to command and put the cd c:\users then x:\sources does not change am i doing something wrong
