Member Avatar for Michael_SB

I had a hard drive crash, which meant I had to install a new HDD in my Dell 64-Bit XPS 1350 (lovely computer). I had previously been running Windows 7 Ultimate Professional which I had upgraded from the OEM Win 7 Home Premium by means of a disk I purchased from my university.

Using the Recovery disk from Dell I installed Windows 7 Home Premium successfully on the new hard drive, but when I have tried to upgrade via my disk to Ultimate it installs the whole thing, says its complete, but when I reboot, tells me:

"This version of Windows could not be installed. Your previous version of Windows has been restored, and you can continue to use it."

I've installed the drivers from Dell's driver disk, but still to no avail. I've also used Driver Robot to update all my drivers.

I can't find a .dmp file anywhere under C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources

but I did find this file under
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther.

setupact.log https://www.dropbox.com/s/yzy7fhkxlzc235y/setupact.log

If anyone could please advise me what I need to do to fix Windows so it will upgrade properly, I would greatly appreciate it.

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Dani AI

Generated

Useful follow-up and troubleshooting notes based on this thread (thanks to and for the context):

When an in-place Windows 7 upgrade runs, completes, then rolls back, the usual culprits are: edition/channel/key mismatches (OEM vs retail vs academic/upgrade), regional restrictions on that product key/media, or a setup/driver conflict detected during the final phase. In this case the issue was ultimately a region-related restriction on the upgrade media, which is why contacting Microsoft produced the decisive answer.

Practical checklist for anyone hitting the same failure:

  • Make sure you launch setup.exe from inside the running Windows installation (booting to the DVD performs a clean install unless you explicitly run the in-place setup).
  • Confirm the exact key/channel printed on your packaging or purchase invoice (retail, OEM, upgrade, volume license, academic). Different channels behave differently during activation and Anytime Upgrade.
  • Inspect the setup logs in the Panther folder (the setupact.log you already posted is the right place) and search for ERROR, hresult or specific failure codes — those guide targeted fixes.
  • If the key is rejected and you suspect a region or channel issue, contact Microsoft Activation/Support first; phone activation often resolves legitimate licensing mismatches without risky workarounds.

If you must do a clean install with upgrade media and then activate with an upgrade key, the supported registry/activation sequence is commonly used (change the MediaBootInstall flag and rearm) — only use this when you have a valid upgrade license:

Set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OOBE\MediaBootInstall = 0
Run: slmgr.vbs /rearm
Reboot, then enter your upgrade product key and activate

A caution: attempting to bypass regional checks by spoofing location may contravene license terms and should be a last resort; contacting Microsoft for activation guidance is the safer route. If the machine is OEM, also consider obtaining Dell recovery media as an alternative.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

hello ,I will supply a link for how to install using a upgrade disk,read the info, and then follow Method #2
good luck

Member Avatar for Michael_SB

I neglected to add that the software always forces me to do an "Anytime Upgrade" with the following error message:

"To upgrade from one edition of Windows 7 to another edition of Windows 7, use Windows Anytime Upgrade. Cancel the upgrade, open the Start menu, and search for Windows Anytime Upgrade."

I understand this is a method to clean install, which will erase the previous installation, right?

Edited by Michael_SB
Member Avatar for caperjack

yes the link I posted is for a clean install and will erase old install , maybe try option #3 from the link ,

and if you mean anytime upgrade will delet old install and programs no it will not ,
I just used it last week to upgrade my win8 to win8 pro and lost nothing

Edited by caperjack
Member Avatar for Michael_SB

My current install of my OEM Win 7 Home Premium will not allow me to upgrade by disk (Option 3) to Win 7 Ultimate. When I try to do it, it forwards me to Anytime Upgrade. However, Anytime Upgrade does not accept my Product Key which is for a disc upgrade.
Therefore, option 3 doesn't work.

But I was able to upgrade when I did this before in 2009, with the same computer, same upgrade disk.

Member Avatar for Michael_SB

Problem solved. Contaced Microsoft, who told me it was a North/Latin American disk, but I've been upgrading in Germany. Used an IP masker, and upgrade worked a treat. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

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