Need a healthy install of Vista in order to do Win 7 update?

About two months ago, one of the automatic Windows updates seems to gave gimped my computer so that most of my software won't run (I get error messages of various types as soon as I try to start the programs).

I was having no trouble at all with this computer, until I turned the machine on one morning and it went straight into Quicktime on startup and then froze, instead of going to my desktop. I noticed that Itunes no longer worked, and of course the updated version of Itunes requires SP2

After a monumental struggle I finally managed to get SP2 installed, but that made no difference.

I am ready to give up on Vista altogether. Can I run the Win 7 update if my Vista is gimped, or should I just can the whole thing, wipe the hard drives clean, and have a complete Win 7 install? I'm concerned about losing my Norton install if I do that.

Edit: I should add that my partner's Vista laptop did exactly the same thing at around the same time, which is why I suspect a Windows Update as the culprit.

I would strongly suggest a clean install of Windows 7 no matter which way you do it, rather than an "upgrade." All you need is a legal copy of Vista installed on the computer. This is assuming that Vista isn't corrupted to the point that Win 7 can recognize it. Yes, you would lose your Norton, but you should be able to reinstall it if your subscription is up to date. Do a little looking to find out how to reactivate it first.

Have you tried to do a System Restore to a point prior to the issues popping up? Or uninstalling the update that you think might have cause the problem?

Update always says it's creating restore points, but I don't know where they are located. Otherwise I don't think I have any way way of creating a system backup (files, yes, but system, no).

I long for the old GoBack days.

***Using Windows 7 or Vista System Restore***

To perform a System Restore, you have to bring it up. It usually located in All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. Use System Restore to locate a Restore Point prior to when the issues began and follow the prompts.

I did an upgrade from Vista Pro to 7 Ultimate, mainly so I wouldn't lose my download game activations (which were lost anyway). But, I was pleasantly surprised when after a week or so my PC began to boot in half the time.

Windows 7 has a way of keeping my hard drive completely defragged - I haven't had to manually defrag since I installed it.

I think a clean install is the best way to go - but the upgrade worked well in my case.

And Win 7 does create a file called windows.old which is supposed to retain all you old files for restoration to the new install.

I am in pain when I'm waiting for my XP drive to boot up after getting used to my 40 second Win 7 boot time!

Here are some tips to upgrading from Vista to Win7 using an upgrade disc
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

I strongly suggest you do the clean install. It sounds like you may have some malware, or at the very least some misconfigured files. I wouldn't recommend keeping those. Best to start fresh.

Draclvr,
I'm not sure why your XP is taking more than 40 seconds to boot unless XP is having trouble detecting some of the newer hardware. My 6 year old computer booted XP in about 40 seconds when it was new. After playing so many games on it, it's slowed down a bit, but it still doesn't take much longer than that.

It did the same thing in the old case with the old hardware. And I've trimmed the msconfig startup to only the basics. The 160 GB disc is pretty full, so maybe that has something to do with it. Who knows! I just go get a cup of coffee in the meantime.

I think every version of Windows runs slower when the disc is too full. And if you didn't do a fresh install, that could do it too. It may be looking for hardware that was in the old computer.

Oddly enough, every version of Windows I've run seems to bog down when free space falls below 40% - even on todays large capacity drives.

I think I only have 40 GB free, so that's probably it. Plus, Jenny may have a point that it's looking for it's old hardware too.