Solved Clean install Vista activation problem

[SIW2]

Hi Jj,

Making an image is a good idea, as Rive points out.

However, if you have the time and inclination, Slipstreaming is quite simple , there is a tutorial here:

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/151606-vista-sp1-slipstream-installation-dvd.html

You can integrate drivers using vlite, I would do it separately, after creating the new slipstreamed .iso. and putting it somewhere safe.

Pick up the Vista files again from the desktop ( they will now contain SP1) and integrate the drivers.

SP2 is coming soon , so you will also be able to slipstream that as well, - as long as you have a dvd with SP1 already slipstreamed.

Hope it helps

 

[Jjohnson]

Update:
So far, killing services in msconfig didn't work. I am currently uninstalling CS4 to see if that changes anything. If not, it looks like I might be wiping this drive clean and doing this all over again .

With the upgrade, it gets to the point where it is starting Vista for the first time. When it does, some process is screwing it up and it rolls back to the original install. I just don't know and it doesn't give an error code or give a specific service that's causing it.

 

[Jjohnson]

Ultimately, I still had to wipe the hard drive and start from scratch. I think because I had installed all the updates that were post SP1, it was still causing an error in the Upgrade. Since all the updates were done in one day and there are no time stamps, there really was no way I knew of to decipher which was which. I think under normal circumstances this method would definitely have worked (in fact it had up until Vista did it's first start). I just wanted to thank both SIW2 and rive0108 for their quick responses and constant help. :D