After the factory restore you must install all the windows updates from Windows Update site. That will install all the service packs and updates necessary for the upgrade. OR--and this is much better-- You can boot directly from the upgrade disk and choose Custom Install instead of starting the upgrade from Windows Vista. You will have to reinstall all your programs and files after doing a clean install since everything gets deleted, but win 7 will run much better. Directions for a clean install HERE.
I'm hoping someone can help me figure this out, as it seems our warranty just expired. A few months back, due to some system errors, we had to do a PC restore on our laptop, setting it back to factory defaults. This happened after we tried to do the Win7 upgrade (through the dell disk), which failed. A few months later now, we're trying again, but when we try to run the installer (after running the Dell Upgrade Assistant), we get the error: "This installation disk isn't compatible with your version of Windows. To upgrade, you need the correct installation disk. For more information, check your computer's system information. To install a new copy of windows, restart (boot) your computer using the installation disk, and then select Custom (advanced)." Now, the only difference between our system now and when we first got it was the PC restore, which I thought was just supposed to restore it to factory defaults. It seems we can't upgrade to 7, which is much more preferable to Vista. I hope someone can help. I checked, the disk says for upgrades from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium, and our system is running Vista Home Premium. Note: I did check the FAQ at the top, and I hoped it'd have answers, but the link is dead ([URL]
Windows 7 upgrade disk won't work