If you are someone who bought Windows 7 from DigitalRiver or have the Student upgrade version of Windows 7, you might have run into the “Unloading the Box” error. The associated error messages with this error include:

We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded. Please check the folder properties to make sure that you have security permission on the folder to write files and that the folder is not read-only.

If you try to run the setup.exe file in the expandedSetup folder, you might get the following error message:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running. Check you computer’s system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

If you get the first error, namely “We are unable to create or save…”, this means your computer is running a 32-bit version of Windows and the version of Windows 7 is 64-bit. There is no solution to this problem other than making sure you get a 32-bit version of Windows 7.

You cannot upgrade a 32-bit Windows OS to a 64-bit version because each requires different hardware.

Also, if you get the second message, “The version of this file is not…”, it means the same thing as the first error message. The only difference is that you ran the setup program from the expandedSetup folder.

Another reason for the unloading the box error is because of corrupted install files. Most people with this error have downloaded setup files for Windows 7 from Digital River and the solution is to re-download the files.

You can log into your account and download the Windows 7 ISO files again by going here:

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/servlet/PromoServlet/promoID.46353900

If you need to return a 64-bit version of Windows 7 and get a 32-bit version instead, you can request this via this contact form:

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/servlet/PromoServlet/promoID.46353900

Another possible way to create your Windows 7 ISO image even if you get this error is to follow the instructions below.

1. First download a command-line from Microsoft called Oscdimg. You can download it from here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749036(WS.10).aspx

2. Now copy the Oscdimg.exe over to the C:\Windows\System32 directory and then open a command prompt.

3. Type in the following command to generate the ISO image:

Oscdimg.exe -u2 –b C:\<YOUR DIR>\expandedSetup\boot\etfsboot.com -h C:\<YOUR DIR> \expandedSetup C:\<YOUR DIR>\Win7.iso

Simple replace “your dir” with the path to the directory where you downloaded all the setup files from Digital River. Here is an example:

Oscdimg.exe -u2 –b C:\files\Downloads\expandedSetup\boot\etfsboot.com -h C:\files\Downloads \expandedSetup C:\files\Downloads\Win7.iso

Once you have your ISO image, you can burn it to a DVD and then use it to install Windows 7.

If you are still having issues with the error or you cannot get Windows 7 installed, post a message here and I will try to help! Enjoy!