Windows 10: Why can't I upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10

Thank you very much in the first.

I tried to upgrade my systems of PC from Win7 to Win10, and there is the error tips:
"Windows 10 installation has failed."

And then, I get another tips when I tried run /sources/setup.exe. (see screenshot below)




In factly, there are a few questions.

1st, How much space need to upgrade Win7 to Win10? My system's free space is 7GB now, is this reason?(see screenshot below)




2nd, I had change my personal folder from C:\Users to D:\Users using ROBOCOPY and MKLINK when I install Win7 at last year. This settings will let me upgrade failed? How to change my personal folder or keep this settings when I upgrade success?

Thank you, god bless you.

:)

 

Unable to upgrade to Windows 10

Why can't I upgrade from Windows 7 Starter to Windows 10?

 

Two Questions: Adding A Third (or Multi) Boot to My Computer AND Compatibility Test BEFORE Installing Windows 10

Andre, if Windows 7 and Windows XP are already in a dual boot, why can't I add Windows 10 thru the free upgrade? I think I am missing the sense of why this cannot be done. When I upgrade the Windows 7 to Windows 10, the W10 overrides or replaces the
W7, is that right? Thanks again for your help in understanding all of this ahead of the July 29th release date.

 

How did you do the upgrade? If you ran setup.exe from your installation media, make sure its 10 Pro and not 10 Home. Do you have service pack 1 installed?

 

Well, in order to upgrade Windows 7 to 10 you must first install Service Pack 1 for Windows 7. Then you must move all folders back to their original location. No need to also copy the data, just create the relevant folders (if you have deleted them) and change the default location back to the original. Then if 7GB free space is not enough, Windows Setup will ask you to connect a USB Flash drive or other disk with at least 9GB free to continue. Do that and you shouldn't have any problem.

 

I've moved my user folders like documents, Pictures etc to my D drive, and did the free upgrade with no issues. If you moved your actual user folder though, that may be an issue like spapakons mentioned.

 

Yes it is. I once tried to repair install Windows 8.1 on a computer that had a small SSD and we had moved the user folders and Program Files to D. It wouldn't let me unless I moved the folders back to their original location. Thankfully only the folders were required, not the data as the SSD didn't have enough space for them.

 

Not required if you are using an ISO file for the upgrade. SP1 is only required if you are attempting to use Windows Update for the upgrade.

 

What I am looking at here is why is the drive so limited on space? Having only 7gb free wouldn't be enough to begin with as well as the 40gb total suggesting a small drive of what type IDE or SSD? I knew the first SSDs were small. Or did you split a larger drive up and plan to upgrade 7 to 10 with 7 running on a small partition?

As for the need to upgrade first that would be optional not a mandate! Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

Often upgrade installs will come up buggy where you end up needing to start all over fresh anyways. Why not back everything up first and call it a day with a wipe and clean install of 10?! A look at the Disk Management tool would be a help for sure! And only seeing 7gb is also a good reason why the attempt to upgrade would fail. If you have any other storage drive plugged in that will need to be unplugged during either the upgrade or clean install since the 10 installer doesn't know enough to put the boot files and temporary installation folders on the OS drive when non OS drives are mixed in.

 

I wish it was always as fast as a day, but depending on the applications one wants to install and tweak and on the amount of data easily you need 2-3 days and a couple after to sort out any issues. So a format (clean-install) is not desirable when one has too many applications and data. An office PC might have only Windows, MS Office, Acrobat and it is OK. A home PC will have tons of other applications one wants to install, let alone two tons of data to backup. So I leave the clean-install as a last resort.

 

And that is why whenever trying out any newer version you would expect to see multiple clean installs at times and simply expect the single upgrade install to run perfect. The initial upgrade here back in July saw an immediate Repair Install before planning the fresh clean install when that came out buggy. Likewise the upgrade on a laptop saw no Start button, Setting screen totally blank, and no access to the AllApps(previously All Programs) section until the clean install already expected was seen to!

When planning to be running a newer version you first start off "light weight" from the get go anyways sampling one app or software at a time to see what will go on and run correctly or if the need to see a newer version of such is a mandate. AV programs known for that as well as other softwares!

Once you have everything checked out and the Windows install upgrade or clean install is running in primo condition you then see the full system image back up made in case you have a meltdown of some type later. But always expect a few problems whenever moving into a newer version that first need to be resolved! Been there too many times not to know that one! At times I've even seen a few clean installs come out buggy not with 10 however but looking back on 9x and XP in particular there!

 

If you take some precautions, there is a high possibility for an upgrade to succeed and save you all the trouble of backup and reinstall everything.

Rule No 1: Always disable, or even better uninstall, the Antivirus! You never know when it will try to interfere and screw the process.
Rule No 2: Download any drivers beforehand since you might not have access to the internet after the upgrade (I had such experiences). If the driver is not exclusive to the new version, but also can be installed in your current version, it is a good idea to do it. Install any new drivers common to both versions before the upgrade to minimize incompatibilities.
Rule No 3: Uninstall any applications not sure they will work in new Windows. If any of them has a new version, uninstall it before the upgrade and install the new version after. Remove any customizations, overclocking and other settings that might cause problems.
Rule No 4: Disable any power saving feature during the upgrade! You don't want the computer to sleep or hibernate and interrupt the process!

Rule No 5: Uncheck the box "Search for updates during setup". No! Don't let Windows Update replace any working drivers with generic Microsoft ones. Better upgrade first and run Windows Update later!

Also have a look at this post.

 

When you are upgrading to something 3 versions newer simply installing drivers ahead of time simply won't work. You have to take into consideration compatibility issues first! With a clean install you would download but not install drivers on the spot but wait until the newer version is up and running first. The old "Rule of Thought" that applied to previous versions as far as downloading updates ahead of time doesn't seem to apply to 10 since that seeks out and downloads, installs the latest in most cases automatically and why even the tv tuner card here that waited a year(on Windows 7) with the first card(died along the way and was replaced back in 2011) for Vista 64bit updates was found working immediately with the upgrade to 10.

As for av softwares in most cases the upgrade install tends to see the av program removed as the set up is conducted without the desktop and apps even running. The av or firewall interference would be seen when trying to start the Setup.exe file manually not when booted live from removable media. The 2014 version of the AV software wouldn't even go on 10 when at first having sought out the 2016 beta(the finished 2016 version is now available) until the first clean install saw the 2015 version go on that.

Now as for seeing the C:\users folder become D:\users the request for a snipping view of the Disk Management tool to see how the drive(s) are layed out will be needed here to see why C is only 40gb in size with only 7gb free. Is that on a drive split up into multiple partitions which it sounds like not leaving enough space available for the OS primary which is preventing the upgrade to begin with?

 

That's the point! Not let Windows Update install any generic not working drivers! I would first try to manually install any manufacturer (OEM) drivers, (not Microsoft generic) and if it doesn't work or I cannot find OEM drivers, then I would let Windows Update find the remaining drivers. Antivirus can interfere any inappropriate time when performing an upgrade from a previous Windows version to 10, and I would not risk it! I disable it to be safe.

 

Well the problem is the 10 installer locates drivers often 8.1 in particular for things like the chipset and video card as well as other expansion cards actually picking up the wrong driver for the PCI tv tuner card discontinued model that originally saw only 32bit XP and Vista support until 7 was in beta. I ended up replacing fhe first two cards and so far the 3rd has held up, The 8.1 driver and app for a newer PCIe model apparently using the same chip went on and worked like a champ!

The Creative Console Launcher was a nice find lately when going to Creative to locate the 8.1 update and a no go until finding the "Unofficial" driver/app release on the forums. The driver pack and app bundled up is not supported by Creative at all but brewed up for those trying 10 and being stuck!