When you try to upgrade a computer to Windows Vista, you receive the following error message:You experience this problem even if you have sufficient hard disk space to install Windows Vista.

Back to the top

This problem occurs if the active partition on the computer is a hidden partition. To install Windows Vista, the Windows Vista Setup program must put certain files on the active partition. However, if the active partition is hidden, the Windows Vista Setup program cannot locate this partition.

Back to the top

To resolve this problem, set the active partition to a partition type that is not hidden. For example, set the active partition to type 0x7. To do this, follow these steps.

Back to the top

If you are upgrading from another edition of Windows Vista

1.	Open Control Panel by clicking the Start button, and then selecting Control Panel.
2.	Click System and Maintenance.
3.	Click Administrative Tools.
4.	Double-click Computer Management. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
5.	In the navigation pane, click Disk Management under Storage.
6.	Select the volume that contains the existing Windows Vista installation. Typically, this is drive C.
7.	Right click the volume, and then select Mark Partition as Active.
8.	Click Yes to confirm the action Note At this point, the existing Windows installation will not be able to start until the remaining steps are completed.
9.	Close Computer Management.
10.	Insert the Windows Vista DVD.
11.	Restart the computer.
12.	Use the Windows Vista DVD to start the computer.
13.	Choose the desired language and keyboard settings, and then click Next.
14.	Click the Repair Your Computer link on the bottom left of the screen.
15.	When you are prompted to repar the startup data, click Repair and Restart.
16.	After the computer restarts, repeat steps 12 through 14.
17.	If your computer has a single Windows installation, click Next. Otherwise, choose the correct WIndows installation, and then click Next.
18.	Click the Startup Repair link.
19.	Click Finish when the repair has completed. The computer should restart to Windows Vista.
20.	Start the upgrade using the Windows Vista DVD.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the Diskpart tool, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Back to the top