Computers - Vista Upgrade (Multi-Boot a Big Headache, Clean Install Fine)

Preparation

So I want(ed) to upgrade my Sony Vaio-VGC-RA810G from Windows MCE 2005 to Vista.  To start with I' m very careful because I have learned that upgrading is always associated with some risks and will not always go as planned.  I took the following precautions:

• Researched all upgrade options (Upgrade, Overwrite, Dual Boot) and decided to Dual Boot to make sure all my apps were available while I play and learn Vista.

• Installed a new 750GB Seagate SATA Drive as Drive 0 (replacing a 250GB drive) to assure I had enough storage for both Operating Systems and additional storage for data.  I have two more 750GB drives as Drive 1 and Drive 2.

• Downloaded and ran the Windows Vista Advisor from Microsoft to determine any incompatibilities.  Everything was fine except my Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000.

• Contacted Sony Support to ascertain whether my system will support Vista and what to look out for (They actually responded).  No issues.

• Backed up all my data and imaged my OS to an External USB 2 Drive

Replaced my 250GB Drive 0 with the new 750GB SATA drive and partitioned it in the following manner:

• Primary Partition 1: 50 GB to hold Windows MCE 2005

• Primary Partition 2: 100GB to install Vista

• Extended Partition, Logical Drive: 535 GB to hold Data (I keep all data on a separate partition from the OS)

Installed my Windows MCE Image and received an error that hal.dll was corrupt or missing. Reattached my old 250GB drive to boot and went online to research the problem.  There were numerous answers to the problem and the ones pointing to the the problem because of a new hard drive included repairing the boot.ini file or using the Windows SysPrep Tool.  Since I did not have a Windows MCE Boot Disk (Sony only provided the System Recover Disk) I used SysPrep on my MCE configuration, created another image and installed the new Image after switching the drives once more.  Upon reboot I received the same error message L.

Well... so I now could continue researching the problem and try to come up with a fix but I opted to just use the Sony Recovery CD and reinstall everything on the new Drive.  Since my image included software I really didn't use and has served me well for over two years a clean install was really not that bad of an option.

10 hours later I had installed the OS and all my applications, the system was tweaked and running perfectly.  I imaged the system and began the Vista Upgrade process.

The upgrade process went very smoothly using the Vista Ultimate Upgrade DVD.  I installed Vista as Dual Boot to Primary Partition 2 from within Windows MCE 2005.  The OS loaded fine and had automatically installed additional drivers for my Video Capture Card / TV Tuner (ATI TV Wonder 650) and Windows Updates.  The only device not found was the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 webcam.

I played around with the OS for a little while to become familiar with the Interface and then accessed my Data Drive to install the Logitech Driver.  I received a message that this drive and data were corrupted.  Wow! Trouble in paradise.

I rebooted into Windows MCE 2005 and the OS ran a Check Disk and deleted a ton of indexes on the partition Vista was installed on.  When MCE was running I was able to access my data just fine.

Went back into Vista and downloaded the Logitech Driver and ran it.  The install took a very long time and required a reboot.  Upon reboot I plugged in the camera but it was not recognized.  Furthermore I received numerous messages of corrupted data and drives.

So I wiped Drive 0 L.

I repartitioned Drive 0 again, installed the MCE image and began the upgrade process for the second time.  Once more the install went smoothly and Vista booted fine.  This time, however, it did not install the Updates and TV Tuner Drivers automatically although I checked that option so I downloaded and installed them manually using Windows Update.

Rebooted just fine and set up Windows Media Center.  On the next reboot, however, Vista performed a Disk Check, deleted a ton of indexes and finally stopped with the message that there was "Insufficient Disk Space to Fix MFT" (100 GB?).

Tried several reboots with the same problem including trying to start in Safe Mode.  Finally used the Vista Boot DVD and used the Repair option which ran fine and reported no errors.  I rebooted with the same problem.  The system would boot for a while then stop and restart L.

Now I have spent a significant amount of time trying to get this done and I'm tired.  I wiped my drive once again, partitioned as mentioned above and I'm running MCE 2005 with no problems J.

From here I will now wait a while and see if any others are experiencing the same issue.  I'm no sure if it's Vista or the Hard Disk or the PC and I really don't give a damn right now.  I consider myself lucky that I have not lost any data but I'm out $259.00 for the Update DVD.

I'm sure the problem will be resolved at some time or another but the bottom line is that I have never had as many problems as this time to install / upgrade an Operating System.  My advice: "Backup your Data" and hope.

To be continued... but so far...