Thread: "Setup cannot locate the Windows installation you want to upgrade"

"Setup cannot locate the Windows installation you want to upgrade" error message:

When you try to perform an upgrade from Windows NT or an in-place upgrade from within Windows 2000, you may get the following error message after Setup copies files and reboot the PC:

Windows 2000 Product Setup

Setup could not locate the Windows installation you want to upgrade.

Contact your system administrator.

CAUSE:

Windows 2000 Setup executes the checks listed below to place the earlier installation you are attempting to upgrade. These checks are performed after the first restart when the upgrade wizard or Winnt32.exe to upgrade. If one of these checks fails, the error message is display.

• Setup looks for a suitable path to the registry files using the C:\Boot.ini file.
• Setup loads the System registry hive for every operating system entry found in the Boot.ini file and extracts the Setup\UniqueID:REG_SZ:C:WINNT\Unique_ID value.
• Setup compares the UniqueID entry in the System hive with the c:\$win_nt$.~bt\winnt.sif file's uniqueID entry under the section. once a match is found, Setup go on with the next step for that Boot.ini installation.
• Setup loads the Software registry hive of the installation found, and checks for a valid ProductID (PID).
• Setup checks for a %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. The Ntoskrnl.exe and Ntdll.dll files should be present.
• Setup checks for a %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder.

Recovering from failed system drive with nondefault %SystemRoot% folder

SUMMARY:

When Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 installation by booting from the Windows installation CD-ROM or, for Windows 2000, from the four Setup floppy disks, Setup does not prompt you for the name of the intended installation directory or allow you to change this name. The default installation folder for Windows 2000 is Winnt. The default installation folder for Windows Server 2003 is Windows. The default installation can not be determined or changed in Windows Setup except in the following locations:

• The Winnt or Windows folder already exists.
• You perform an unattended installation and specify the "TargetPath=" parameter in the answer file.
• You run Winnt32.exe from a working copy of Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003 and change the place in the Advanced Options settings.
The inability to complete the installation folder during Setup is usually a problem unless you have a system / boot drive failure or the original boot partition to restore to Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 reinstall contain. For a full system recovery to work, you need Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 is installed in the same drive letter: \ folder% System% folder as the original, and then to perform a full restoration to the original location, which will be the top of the newly installed Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 Server installation.

Use one of the following techniques to help in installing Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 in an vary %SystemRoot% folder.

• Perform an unattended installation using an answer file. Unattended installations, you can define the installation folder using the "Target = WINDIR" parameter. This can even be performed during the boot from the Windows installation CD-ROM as follows:

Using Notepad or another text editor, make a file called Winnt.sif having the following parameters, and then save the file to a floppy disk. Make confident the file name is Winnt.sif, and does not end with a .txt extension.

[Unattended]
UnattendMode=GuiAttended
OemPreinstall=No
TargetPath=OLDWINDIR <-Match the original folder name.

[data]
unattendedinstall=yes
msdosinitiated =0

• Use the Windows Recovery Console to make and format the new system/boot partition, and then make a Winnt or Windows folder. When Windows Setup meets the Winnt or Windows folder during Text-mode Setup, it prompts you to overwrite it or press ESC to use a different folder. Press ESC, and change the folder name to match your original %SystemRoot% folder name, and then keep on with the installation.

1. Boot from the Windows installation CD-ROM or the four Setup floppy disks, press R to repair, and then press C to start the Recovery Console.
2. Use the DISKPART command to partition a new drive.
3. Use the FORMAT command to format the partition. For example:
format drive: /q /fs:file-system (FAT, FAT32, NTFS)
4. Use the MAP command to display the arc path for the new partition and use it in the next step for the "TargetDevice=" entry.
5. Using Notepad or another text editor, make a file called Setup.log having the following parameters, and then save the file to a floppy disk. Make confident the file name is Setup.log, and does not end with a .txt extension.
[Paths]
TargetFolder = "\WINNT"
TargetDevice = "\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1" <- Set to your hardware configuration.
SystemPartitionFolder = "\"
SystemPartition = "\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1"
[Signature]
Version = "WinNt5.0"
[Files.SystemPartition]
NTDETECT.COM = "NTDETECT.COM","1805e"
ntldr = "ntldr","35567"
[Files.WinNt]

6. Boot from the Windows installation CD-ROM or floppy disks again, press R to repair, press R to repair using the "Emergency Repair process," and then press M for manual repair. In the next screen, clear all the options except Verify Windows System files, and then choose Continue. When you are prompted for the Emergency Repair disk, insert the disk you created in step 5 and press ENTER to continue. This makes a Winnt folder and then quits.

7. Boot using the Windows installation CD-ROM or floppy disks and do your new installation. Remember to press ESC to choose your new installation folder name when the time comes.