Nightmare upgrade with Hewlett-Packard

Posted Sun December 6, 2009 12:00 pm, by Jeffrey S. written to Hewlett-Packard Company

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I purchased a Pavilion DV6-1238nr laptop which included a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it was released by Microsoft.
I was excited when the disc set arrived in the mail. I read the instructions and inserted the first disk which contained the drivers and whatever was needed to prepare for a smooth upgrade. After about 30 seconds, I was promptly met with a message that my computer did not qualify for the upgrade.
I contacted your customer support department via chat and was told that the wrong driver CD was sent to me. A new CD would be mailed out and I would receive it within 10 business days.
The second disk arrived. After I inserted it, there were a series of 3 tests which passed and I followed the on-screen instructions. As the setup continued, I received another report that there were several drivers and software programs that needed to be uninstalled before I performed an upgrade. I printed the report and followed the instructions.
After removal of the possible programs and drivers, I started the upgrade process again. I was prompted to insert the OS DVD and then the 3 hour upgrade process began. Everything seemed to go smoothly until the final reboot when I received a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).
The laptop automatically rebooted and I was shown a screen which notified me that the upgrade was unsuccessful and Windows was rolling back the upgrade to my original VISTA installation.
Never in the process was I prompted for the driver disc.
I researched on the internet only to find that many HP customers were having the same problem with installation - some were worse than mine with a total destruction of the OS and they had to wipe the C drive and install the original factory programs and OS.
I attempted a second upgrade using a "Clean" startup (recommended by microsoft) in which I entered MSCONFIG and disabled all startup items - which would possibly interfere with the upgrade.
I contacted HP tech support via email with a full explanation of the problem and was told that I am getting yet ANOTHER driver disc shipped to me. I felt as if I was receiving a "canned response" and my email wasn't completely read. What good would another driver CD do for me when I wasn't prompted for the drivers in the first place?
Why is it that so many HP customers who purchased laptops with the free upgrade offer are having the same problem?
I feel that HP shipped these PCs without thoroughly testing compatibility with Windows 7 leaving the customer to deal with the frustration of crashed upgrades.
In addition, the troubleshooting page on your website is missing a tremendous amount of possible causes for failed upgrades. It doesn't even include the information that I had to search for on Microsoft's website on using a "clean boot" before starting the upgrade.
The setup instructions were also missing various option choices that appear during the upgrade process leaving the consumer to guess as to which options to accept or reject.
I'm reluctant to call tech support for HP because I will probably receive the typical answer to erase my hard drive and perform a clean Windows 7 installation.

Update your website help page to include various troubleshooting steps PLUS important information that Microsoft recommends to ensure a smooth upgrade.
Make sure that your hardware is completely compatible. During the upgrade attempts, I was constantly told that the "Keyboard Filter" could interfere with the process and should be removed. Meanwhile, the control panel, software list, and hardware manager was not to be found.
Train your tech support to fully read emails and respond accurately - telling me that yet another driver CD is being sent to me doesn't give an explanation as to whether the 2nd driver CD was no good, or that I should have been prompted during the process to insert the driver CD, etc.

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Re: Nightmare upgrade with Hewlett-Packard by NathanG Posted Mon December 7, 2009 @ 10:21 AM Theres actually a disclaimer on the HP website somewhere that explains that the upgrade CD may not work with all models of HP. Good job to offer something free that not everyone can use. Just put XP on the laptop and forget about the windows 7. Or return it due tot he fact that it wont function. I have been on Win7 since it was released and I love it, not one crash, BSoD, issue. Definaltely 10x faster than vista. Reply Re: Nightmare upgrade with Hewlett-Packard by Samantha C. Posted Mon December 7, 2009 @ 2:41 AM I recently bought a BRAND-NEW HP comp that already has Wind 7 installed, I got the "Blue Screen of Death" 3 times in one day, so I exchanged it for another and the same this, so I returned the HP comp and got an ASUS. I spoke w/ a Microsoft rep and basically she told me that HP purchases the right to use Windows and that it is up to them to make it compatiable. HP has failed to make Wind 7 comp with their computers. Geek Squad at BB confirmed this when they ran a diagonstic on the comp. You may be stuck w/ Vista for a while until HP clears up their comp. issues. Reply Re: Windows VISTA to Windows 7 free upgrade nightmare by RowdyRetailer Posted Sun December 6, 2009 @ 12:09 PM Should have just stuck with Vista. I will always prefer Windows 98, but I like Vista just fine. Good Day Reply Security through obscurity by Donno Sun December 6, 2009 @ 2:00 PM and over in europe... by PepperElf Sun December 6, 2009 @ 5:27 PM Re: Windows VISTA to Windows 7 free upgrade nightmare by PepperElf Posted Sun December 6, 2009 @ 10:40 AM bleh windows. i'd say send it all back and get a mac ;) good luck Reply Yup by franese Mon December 7, 2009 @ 10:03 AM Apple isn't that great either by Sophiesdad Tue October 30, 2012 @ 7:45 PM