If you have a Windows Vista computer and you try to upgrade it to Windows 7, you might end up getting a message like this if the upgrade fails:
This version of Windows could not be installed, Your previous version of Windows has been restored, and you can continue to use it.
Whoops! Well, that’s fine right? Just restart and you’ll be back into Windows Vista. Unfortunately, there are some cases where the upgrade process will start again and then end with the same error message.
No matter how many times you try, you end up in this reboot loop problem that you can’t get out of. But do not worry, your Windows Vista operating system has not been deleted!
Windows Vista has actually been restored, but Windows Vista was not set as the default booting operating system in the Boot Configuration Database (BCD). In order for Windows Vista to be loaded back, the BCD database has to also be restored to the previous version.
Here are the steps to get Windows Vista back to the default boot OS and get rid of the reboot loop.
1. First, choose Windows Vista instead of Windows 7 when you see the boot menu.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into your drive and exit the setup when it launches
3. You should be in Windows Vista at this point. Now open the command prompt by right-clicking and choosing Run as Administrator.
4. Type the following command at the command prompt and press Enter:
X:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All
“X” is the letter for the drive where you put the Windows Vista DVD media in. Now restart your computer and you should be good to go, no more reboot loop!
Other Reasons for Reboot Loop
If you have a restart loop problem with Windows 7 and it’s not related to upgrading Windows Vista, there could be other reasons that I’ll mention here.
1. First, make sure you disconnect all USB drives that may be connected to the computer! Everything! Why? Because it might be used for ReadyBoost and therefore causing Windows to try and boot from it.
2. If you computer restarted becuase of a system failure and now won’t stop rebooting, you might want to disable automatic restart.
You can do this by pressing F8 when your computer boots and then going into the Advanced Boot Options. Make sure to select Disable automatic restart on system failure and press Enter.
3. In some rare instances, it could be a problem with the display you are using. If you are installing Windows 7 as a fresh install and you are using DVI or HDMI instead of a regular VGA, it could cause the reboot loop.
4. An older version of the motherboard BIOS may also cause this problem. Make sure you update the BIOS on the system.
If you are still having the problem, post what you have tried to do in the comments and we’ll see if we can help resolve your issue!
I actually find that it is usually do to Roxio or other “crapware” or viruses that are on the machine before the upgrade takes place. If you are having issues make sure to run a few antivirus programs first (MS Security Essentials and Bitdefender), then I use PC decrapifier (www.pcdecrapifier.com). I’ve never found that an upgrade fails AFTER I running those two things.