BleepingComputer.com: Vista Business Installation Failure

Hi guys,

I have a serious (unable to start windows at all) problem.

I am installing Vista Business on my machine which was runniing xp pro SP2.

I get a message which I can't read because it only flashes on the screen but it is to the effect that "Vista couldn't be installed - restoring the original system - please do not reboot at this stage"

It reboots and then just loops through start up and reboots again and again and again. I think it has been doing this all night.

I backed up all my files to an external HD using the windows back up utiliy which said it couldn't back up a few files - but these are of no consequence. It asked me to create a back up floppy but unfortunately I don't have a floppy drive on either of my computers.

Also I don't have my windows xp disk for this computer - only an older version which was installed on this computer.

All I want to do is restore the old system and forget about Vist until I get a new machine.

Can anyone help me restore my previous system please.

John Carter

To the best of my knowledge you will need an original XP Disk in order
to restore XP Pro. You Also need the Activation key for this purpose.

Your options include re-installing XP Pro, Checking your Hardware Against
Windows Compatibility, and/or Testing your hardware. The point is that many
things here are going to entail some painful decisions on your part.

Do you get a Blue Screen before the PC restarts? Does the system state a
Missing System32.dll ? These two are quite important. Also, does the PC
make any random beeping noises?

My Recommendation right now would be to test the system for Compatibility
using your Vista Disk, and Running memory tests. After that I would Test the
hard drive to see if it´s corrupt.

Let us know what you would like to do next.