Windows Upgrade problem

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Both I and a friend (I'll call him Burt) have our own copies of Windows XP
Professional w/SP2. My version is the full version that you can install on a
computer with no OS; Burt's version is an upgrade version only, meaning you
have to have an OS on the system and you can't boot from the CD like you can
with mine.

I notice my version seems to be an earlier one than Burt's and has fewer
features: My version doesn't place a My Computer icon on the desktop (the
kind you can right-click on and hit Properties to bring up Device Manager),
and I can't play certain standalone flash-movie files (like the kind you can
download from JibJab) on my version of Windows (it opens for the barest hint
of a split-second and then immediately closes again), while Burt can.

He loaned me his CD and I tried to use it to "upgrade" my version of
Windows. I got as far as the "Installing Windows" stage where the screen
cycles a whole series of "Welcome to Windows XP" features and a small meter
shows how much time remains in the installation. I did only an upgrade, not a
full installation. But I ran into a weird problem: The meter would stop at
"33 minutes remaining," all hard drive activity and CD activity would simply
stop... and it would hang like that indefinitely. If I reboot, it goes to
"Setup is now restarting," return to where it hung, and then begin hanging
all over again... hours and hours if I let it. I tried to delete the folder
of temporary files called $WIN_NT$~BT but it doesn't help. I had to install
my copy of Windows on my backup hard drive and start running it as my boot
drive.

Another problem-- because I had to disconnect the main hard drive and
connect the backup as the primary master before my computer would do the full
install of my copy of Windows on it, when I reconnected both hard drives, the
one I tried to do the upgrade on, it's "Documents and Settings\Myname" folder
is now inaccessible (the computer says it's write-protected) and it also
claims the folder is empty.

Is there any way to fix this problem? I returned Burt's copy of Windows to
him and have given up trying to do what I thought was an upgrade. Is there
any way to make it so I can once again boot to the old primary hard drive,
instead of having to slowly port everything over to the backup, and then
re-install all my programs? And is there any way to access the now
inaccessible "Documents and Settings\Myname" folder on the now-non-functional
hard drive?

Thanks,

Alan G.
 
Alan said:
Both I and a friend (I'll call him Burt) have our own copies of
Windows XP Professional w/SP2. My version is the full version that
you can install on a computer with no OS; Burt's version is an
upgrade version only, meaning you have to have an OS on the system
and you can't boot from the CD like you can with mine.
Click to expand...


Two points regarding the upgrade version:

1. You do *not* have to have an operating system installed to use it. The
requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous qualifying
version's installation CD, not to have it installed. When setup doesn't find
a previous qualifying version installed, it will prompt you to insert its CD
as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous version's CD, and follow the
prompts. Everything proceeds quite normally and quite legitimately.

2. Upgrade versions are bootable, just as the full version is.

I notice my version seems to be an earlier one than Burt's and has
fewer features:
Click to expand...


The only version differences that exist are Service Packs 1 and 2. If you
both have SP2, your versions are identical.

My version doesn't place a My Computer icon on the
desktop (the kind you can right-click on and hit Properties to bring
up Device Manager),
Click to expand...


All versions let you put the My Computer icon on te desktop, but it's
optional. Right-click on the desktop and choose Properties.Click the Desktop
tab, the click Customize Desktop. On the General tab, make sure My Computer
is checked.

and I can't play certain standalone flash-movie
files (like the kind you can download from JibJab) on my version of
Windows (it opens for the barest hint of a split-second and then
immediately closes again), while Burt can.
Click to expand...


Flash is not a WIndows component. You need to download it separately if you
want it.

He loaned me his CD and I tried to use it to "upgrade" my version of
Windows.
Click to expand...


An upgrade is from a prior version of Windows. You can't upgrade from XP
Professional to XP Professional. Exactly what did you try to do?
 
requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous qualifying
version's installation CD, not to have it installed. When setup doesn't find
a previous qualifying version installed, it will prompt you to insert its CD
as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous version's CD, and follow the
prompts. Everything proceeds quite normally and quite legitimately.

2. Upgrade versions are bootable, just as the full version is.<<

Burt's isn't. Don't ask me why. He tried to use it to put Windows on a new
hard drive, setting the computer to boot to the CD-ROM, and he didn't get a
request to put in a CD of a previous version of Windows. He just got the
message, "Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press any key."

Thanks for this tip, but when the computer store first upgraded my OS from
Windows 98 to XP for me (this was before the service packs), the My Computer
icon was placed on the desktop automatically. I don't know if this is a
feature particular to their CD's or if it's because my comp had a My Computer
icon from Windows 98 or what. Burt told me he got this icon placed on his
desktop automatically as well, with his CD. That's why I thought we had
different releases of the same software.

want it.<< <<

I had downloaded Flash and the files still wouldn't play. But, strangely
enough, I re-downloaded them and they play normally. I can't figure it out,
but that's one more problem solved.


Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User<<

I put Burt's CD in my CD bay. The autorun screen appeared and I clicked
"Install Windows XP." When I was asked whether I was upgrading or installing,
I clicked Upgrade, because I thought I was only adding some extra features my
CD didn't have, and because Upgrade said that all my files and folders and
programs would remain fully intact. I followed the instructions from there
and the CD began gathering the files it needed to do the operation. It then
rebooted my computer and went to the "Installing Windows" screen. The blue
meter that showed how far along it was, started at 39 minutes remaining, went
quickly down to 33 minutes remaining (definitely took less than six minutes
to do this), and just hung. All CD activity simply stopped, all hard drive
activity simply stopped, my comp simply idled and idled. I left it overnight
while I slept and it STAYED like that, idling at 33 minutes remaining. The
one thing that kept going was the running commentary on all the features of
Windows XP.

Now I can't boot to that hard drive anymore. Any time I try, soon as my BIOS
detects all my drives, it immediately announces, "Setup will now resume,"
returns to the point where it had first begun hanging and idling... and
begins doing it all over again. Hanging and idling, for hours and hours if I
let it. It just WILL NOT proceed past that point.

Is there any way to fix that so I can boot to that hard drive again? Also
while I am using this backup hard drive, is there any way to get to the main
drive's "Documents and Settings\Myname" folder that it says is inaccessible
(the message is, "Access is denied.") and write-protected? That is, if it is
in fact write-protected, is there a way to remove write-protection? If I hit
properties and uncheck read-only, it IMMEDIATELY restores the checkmark
automatically. But considering that I am also blocked even from READING the
folder, I guess it wouldn't help much.

--Alan G.
 
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