Install Windows 7 from CD

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Hello all
I have an old Dell Generation 4 XPS with Vista Ultimate installed. I would like to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. My boot sequence is CD then HD. I do have a DVD drive but am unable to change the bios to boot from the DVD. Before I try doing the upgrade, I would like to know if there are any work arounds since I can’t boot from the DVD. I ran the upgrade advisor and it said my machine was compatible with Windows 7. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike Destefano

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What if you disconnect the CD drive and only show the DVD? Seems to me that Windows shouldn’t care if it’s a CD or DVD drive!

Hello all
I have an old Dell Generation 4 XPS with Vista Ultimate installed. I would like to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. My boot sequence is CD then HD. I do have a DVD drive but am unable to change the bios to boot from the DVD. Before I try doing the upgrade, I would like to know if there are any work arounds since I can’t boot from the DVD. I ran the upgrade advisor and it said my machine was compatible with Windows 7. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike Destefano

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My boot sequence is CD then HD. I do have a DVD drive but am unable to change the bios to boot from the DVD. Before I try doing the upgrade, I would like to know if there are any work arounds since I can’t boot from the DVD.

Does the BIOS not recognize the DVD?

Is it not listed in the bootable devices?

Joe

--Joe

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If you have enough hard drive space you could make a new, empty partition making sure it gets assigned a drive letter. While running Vista, put the Win 7 DVD in the drive and go to it in Windows Explorer. Execute the setup program and it should let you choose the new partition as the destination for Win 7.

This creates a dual boot but you can always get rid of Vista later if you like.

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It’s not clear what the problem is. You need not boot from the DVD to perform the upgrade (just execute it from your existing Vista environment as Bigaldoc descrobed), and unless you want to preserve your copy of VIsta you don’t need an additional partition in which to install Win7 (it will just replace your copy of Vista, and supposedly preserve sufficient information in a ‘WindowsOld’ folder to restore the Vista installation if you want to).

While it doesn’t seem applicable to this situation, I believe that it’s also possible to copy the contents of the Win7 installation disk to a hard drive and execute it from there using an existing Vista or XP system.

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It’s not clear what the problem is. You need not boot from the DVD to perform the upgrade (just execute it from your existing Vista environment as Bigaldoc descrobed), and unless you want to preserve your copy of VIsta you don’t need an additional partition in which to install Win7 (it will just replace your copy of Vista, and supposedly preserve sufficient information in a ‘WindowsOld’ folder to restore the Vista installation if you want to).

While it doesn’t seem applicable to this situation, I believe that it’s also possible to copy the contents of the Win7 installation disk to a hard drive and execute it from there using an existing Vista or XP system.

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Thank you to all, I will give Bill’s suggestion a try.

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HALT… Some where in Windows Secrets Fred Langa or somebody else has given step by step advice on how to do a clean install. You should do that. Also, if your Dell is capable then move up to 64 instead of 32. That’s what I’m going to do on Dell XPS M1330.
Recently, Woody has explained how to install from USB Drive in the latest Windows Secret newsletter. Follow that if DVD is not working.

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HALT… Some where in Windows Secrets Fred Langa or somebody else has given step by step advice on how to do a clean install. You should do that. Also, if your Dell is capable then move up to 64 instead of 32. That’s what I’m going to do on Dell XPS M1330.
Recently, Woody has explained how to install from USB Drive in the latest Windows Secret newsletter. Follow that if DVD is not working.

I think you should install 7 using a USB stick (4gb or larger needed) even if your computer boots to DVD. It’s the only way I install 7 anymore, must have done it 20 times now. If your computer supports booting to USB, I’ts the way to go. One thing you will notice is that the install will probably take less than 20 min from start of load to seeing the desktop, it’s really slick. There are a couple of ways to build the USB install. Just google “Install Windows 7 from USB” and pick the one you want.

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Thanks again for the replies. After posting my inquiry I saw the Windows Secrets article and will try it that way. Happy New Year.
Mike

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