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Windows 10 Upgrade Error

Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
2,079
I just recently had my system get corrupted from some various site I was visiting for various reason, which all lead to exploits that were pointed out by avast anti-virus. After the first failed attempt of removal with the Avast rescue disc and Portable apps I resorted to using a distribution of an Antivirus Linux even if that may not have been necessary. After that I had to resort to using the Windows disc to repair the boot option because I tried to repair it with a distribution of Linux, which apparently was not such a good idea. However, even after running sfc afterwards I was still unable to repair all the corruption easily or by conventional means, so I backed up all my files and did a factory restore with the restore disc I created when I got the laptop. Now I have a clean install to do the Windows 10 upgrade, but I'm getting the following error no matter which option I choose when running the media creation tool:



What can or should I do now?
 
Using an administrator account? Running the program as admin?
 
To elaborate.. running the program as a standard user, even with admin privileges will cause this error.
 
Exit the program and then delete any potentially hidden "$WINDOWS.~BT" folders and similar (might be two of them) and try the upgrade again. It should then work.
 
Exit the program and then delete any potentially hidden "$WINDOWS.~BT" folders and similar (might be two of them) and try the upgrade again. It should then work.

That might work, but Microsoft told me and is telling me on their website to update Windows 7 completely by making sure their are no more updates to apply. Then make sure I've installed service pack 1 or SP1 if not already using it as well as make sure I'm using at least Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 and not RT or 8.1 RT. When that didn't seem to help Microsoft said they needed my product key to activate my reservation. When I couldn't find it or give them one that wasn't blocked even though I have a genuine copy that came with my new Dell M6800 that I just got a few months ago, which I tried to supply by using ProduKey. That didn't work and they told me to call dell, so I did and Dell told me to find my Windows 8.1 Product Key because they don't keep them on file for the customer. Now it seems I just need to find it and I haven't yet.
 
Ok, first question:

What OS was installed on that laptop when you bought it/got it delivered/unboxed it/turned it on the first time? The COA sticker in the battery compartment should readily tell you which OS it is/was and it will also give you a Product Key (which in reality is pretty much useless). You said Windows 7 but then you said Windows 8.1 so I can't quite understand which one was on the laptop when it was brand new and turned on the first time.

If it's Windows 7 and you have the Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD from Dell then what you're more than likely going to have to do is a clean install of Windows 7 making it "factory fresh" basically - it will already have Service Pack 1 installed (it'll say so on the disc, Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or something very similar) so that's a non-issue. Once that's installed you'll need to use Windows Update to grab all the latest drivers for the hardware and all the latest updates - the downside here is that this will take some time as there are nearly 1.8GB of updates since Windows 7 SP1 was released, and it'll take several reboots to get fully updated as well. Some devices in the machine may not have driver support from Windows Update, as well, and those drivers would need to be located at Dell's website (support.dell.com) and installed.

Once all of that is done and yes it's a damned chore to do it, believe me I know, then you would be able to upgrade to Windows 10 which will take even more time to get done. Once that's done, and Windows 10 is installed it should show as activated - if you do the upgrade process correctly you will never be asked for a Product Key because it's using the Windows 7 key to do the upgrade.

If you at some point had upgraded to Windows 8 or 8.1 that doesn't matter right now, what matters is the OS that the laptop was shipped with pre-installed which needs to be done cleanly using that reinstallation disc Dell provided, then fully updating it, then installing the Windows 10 upgrade.

My advice, if you do get all that done properly and Windows 10 gets installed and is working fine and shows it's activated after the upgrade would be to - right then and there - install Windows 10 by doing a clean install after you perform the upgrade one time because that's the requirement to take advantage of the Windows 10 free upgrade offer. Once it's been installed as an upgrade you can cleanly install Windows 10 on that same machine anytime you want and never worry about entering a Product Key - you can skip the key entry both times it asks (click Skip the first time, click 'Do this later' the second) and it will cleanly install the OS and it'll be activated as soon as you're online.

I know all this is troublesome but basically it's got to be done one time to get it out of the way. A fully updated Windows 7 install on that machine is going to consume a lot of space on the storage + having Windows 10 upgraded just consumes more. Yes it'll leave all the old Windows stuff in the Windows.old folder on the C: partition but even so, a clean installation of Windows 10 (if that's the OS you really want to use) will be the best solution overall - that's my opinion and it's shared with a lot of other people as well. It's not the best solution for everyone but in this situation if you're going to be forced to do a clean install of 7 to get the upgrade to 10 then this is the recommended solution.

Also, if the originally installed operating system turns out to be Windows 8 or 8.1, that's what the DVD that Dell included should say and so should the COA sticker in the battery compartment. The process I just outlined for Windows 7 to Windows 10 works exactly the same way: clean install 8/8.1, upgrade to 10, then clean install 10.

Good luck, regardless.
 
Ok, first question:

What OS was installed on that laptop when you bought it/got it delivered/unboxed it/turned it on the first time? The COA sticker in the battery compartment should readily tell you which OS it is/was and it will also give you a Product Key (which in reality is pretty much useless). You said Windows 7 but then you said Windows 8.1 so I can't quite understand which one was on the laptop when it was brand new and turned on the first time.

If it's Windows 7 and you have the Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD from Dell then what you're more than likely going to have to do is a clean install of Windows 7 making it "factory fresh" basically - it will already have Service Pack 1 installed (it'll say so on the disc, Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or something very similar) so that's a non-issue. Once that's installed you'll need to use Windows Update to grab all the latest drivers for the hardware and all the latest updates - the downside here is that this will take some time as there are nearly 1.8GB of updates since Windows 7 SP1 was released, and it'll take several reboots to get fully updated as well. Some devices in the machine may not have driver support from Windows Update, as well, and those drivers would need to be located at Dell's website (support.dell.com) and installed.

Once all of that is done and yes it's a damned chore to do it, believe me I know, then you would be able to upgrade to Windows 10 which will take even more time to get done. Once that's done, and Windows 10 is installed it should show as activated - if you do the upgrade process correctly you will never be asked for a Product Key because it's using the Windows 7 key to do the upgrade.

If you at some point had upgraded to Windows 8 or 8.1 that doesn't matter right now, what matters is the OS that the laptop was shipped with pre-installed which needs to be done cleanly using that reinstallation disc Dell provided, then fully updating it, then installing the Windows 10 upgrade.

My advice, if you do get all that done properly and Windows 10 gets installed and is working fine and shows it's activated after the upgrade would be to - right then and there - install Windows 10 by doing a clean install after you perform the upgrade one time because that's the requirement to take advantage of the Windows 10 free upgrade offer. Once it's been installed as an upgrade you can cleanly install Windows 10 on that same machine anytime you want and never worry about entering a Product Key - you can skip the key entry both times it asks (click Skip the first time, click 'Do this later' the second) and it will cleanly install the OS and it'll be activated as soon as you're online.

I know all this is troublesome but basically it's got to be done one time to get it out of the way. A fully updated Windows 7 install on that machine is going to consume a lot of space on the storage + having Windows 10 upgraded just consumes more. Yes it'll leave all the old Windows stuff in the Windows.old folder on the C: partition but even so, a clean installation of Windows 10 (if that's the OS you really want to use) will be the best solution overall - that's my opinion and it's shared with a lot of other people as well. It's not the best solution for everyone but in this situation if you're going to be forced to do a clean install of 7 to get the upgrade to 10 then this is the recommended solution.

Also, if the originally installed operating system turns out to be Windows 8 or 8.1, that's what the DVD that Dell included should say and so should the COA sticker in the battery compartment. The process I just outlined for Windows 7 to Windows 10 works exactly the same way: clean install 8/8.1, upgrade to 10, then clean install 10.

Good luck, regardless.

The laptop shipped to me with Windows 7 Pro SP1 preinstalled as the downgrade from Windows 8.1 Pro and a Window 8.1 Pro reinstallation DVD was included in the box as well as possibly on the recovery partition. I had to order the Windows 7 Pro reinstallation DVD later, which was free. However it was useless until I could find the Software Resources Disc with the Drivers and third party programs on it along with the Windows 8.1 disc, which also would have been useless without that disk because you don't have internet access without the drivers for any of the network adapters and there's no way your going to download them using Windows Update Considering this. If you really must know there is a useless Windows 8 sticker on the bottom of the laptop without a product key on it, so that doesn't help either. Basically If I want to obtain Windows 10 legally I have to provide my Windows 8.1 product key that was supposed to be included with the laptop, which I can't find if I ever had it. Therefore if I can't find the Windows 8.1 key I'll have to order another one from Dell or Screw it all and switch to Linux, such as Ubuntu or Linuxmint Debian if it gets that drastic.

Believe me they already frustrated me enough with this reservation crap anyway and with all these problems anyway. Especially with Dell not putting a sticker on the machine with the product key or tatooing it in bios, so that the Windows installation can recognize it and Microsoft won't block it. Out of the two I don't know who's to blame because if it's tatooed like it's supposed to and Windows is detecting it then why is Microsoft blocking it like a bunch of buttholes? Why can't Microsoft let me reserve my copy of Windows 10 as many times as I need to before I install it on the machine using that key prior to installation up to a year, like they claim they seem to allow? I was already cosidering a Dual-boot at least to Linuxmint Debian, so now I definitely might have a good reason to. However, if I install 10 after that I'm bound to have problems again because won't support that version, so I'll be forced to reinstall that anyway because it won't work with 10 from what I'm hearing.
 
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Note: this is a wordy post because I'm a wordy and detailed person so I hope you'll read it and take note of the information it provides which is accurate based on my experience.

-------------

The Windows 8 or 8.1 sticker doesn't have a Product Key on it because Microsoft changed how things work with Windows 8 and 8.1 - the key is embedded in the BIOS or the UEFI depending so people won't have to muck around with it anymore. When I say it's irrelevant, I mean it completely even though some people believe it's necessary. As far as the installation media is concerned, as long as you're using OEM branded media (the disc that comes with the Dell to install the OS on Dell hardware, HP for HP, and so on) the key will not be required because it'll never ask you for it during the installation process. Only if you're using non-OEM branded media (a Retail disc, or something from MSDN/Technet) will it prompt you for a Product Key.

People are focusing on the Product Keys entirely too much with Windows 10 and right now because of this upgrade offer they're not honestly required.

As for the reservation process, all that's doing is generating a hardware hash which is now being used for activation purposes replacing the need for a Product Key during this free upgrade to Windows 10 offer for the first year. You only need to do it ONE TIME on a given piece of hardware and that's that - the hardware hash becomes stored on Microsoft's servers and is used for future activation verification purposes on the same hardware after you've completed the Windows 10 upgrade. It's mandatory that the first installation of Windows 10 be done on a legit activated install of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 so again you're going to either install Windows 7 (my preference to start with) or 8 or 8.1 depending on what installation media you have.

The point here being: if you have Windows re-installation discs from Dell, whichever version of Windows it is (Pro, more than likely, since the Dell Precision M6800 laptop is a business class machine and would never come with Windows Home), if you do a clean installation from that media you will not need the Product Key for whichever version you're installing be it 7, 8, or 8.1. That's why it's called "OEM branded media" because it's designed to re-install the OS on the given brand of hardware - there's no reason to ask for the key because that's all covered by what's in the BIOS/UEFI during the installation.

Regardless:

You have a Windows 7 re-installation disc, and you have the resources disc - or you can visit Dell's support website using some other computer which I'll presume you have access to, even a tablet device of some kind, a smartphone, it doesn't really matter. Having said that, you can do a clean install of Windows 7 using the DVD that Dell sent you for free. You can then install drivers manually from the resources disc or from drivers that you downloaded manually from Dell's website - you only require a network driver (more so than anything else) to be able to get that laptop online so you can access Windows Update which will then handle most every driver necessary.

I own a Dell Latitude E6420 and there are perhaps 3 drivers that are not installed from the Windows 7 installation media: the Broadcom fingerprint reader (which I don't even have on this laptop but there's a chip that's part of the security suite and Broadcom will not allow Microsoft to use Windows Update to distribute their drivers, sadly), one driver for the SMBus Controller which is part of the Intel chipset, and one driver for the O2 media card reader (SD card slot) which also cannot be distributed through Windows Update.

As this laptop has dual Intel network adapters (an Intel Gigabit NIC and an Intel 802.11n Wi-Fi card) those drivers are covered by what's included with the Windows 7 installation media and then upgraded to newer versions when Windows Update is accessed.

So you install Windows 7, get the network driver installed (wired or wireless, whichever one can get you online with your Internet connection), hit Windows Update again and again and again to get fully updated (you'll end up grabbing like 1.8GB of updates and reboot several times till there's just nothing left). After that, you can check Device Manager once more to verify you have drivers in place for all the hardware - again, use the Windows Update drivers first then install remaining ones from Dell's support site if necessary.

When you're all done and Windows 7 is up and running and updated and ready to roll, then you upgrade to Windows 10 by any method you want: use the Media Creation Tool they're providing to do an immediate upgrade, or create the ISO, or create the USB stick, it's your choice at that point.

Assuming everything goes off without a hitch, and after Windows 10 is installed and running and you've verified it's activated (look at the System Properties page) you can then wipe it completely clean and do a clean installation of Windows 10 on the hardware and go from there and again a Product Key will never be required to do this, for any reason.

If I was there with you and had those re-installation discs I could get Windows 10 on that laptop in under 3 hours, clean installed, running as pristine as possible. Your Precision M6800 isn't all that different from my Latitude E6420 in many respects save for more powerful CPU and discrete GPU but overall it's still primarily a similar platform. In fact, I could use the discs you have to reinstall Windows 7 on this laptop of mine and then upgrade to Windows 10 without issues - that's how similar they are.

I've done this process close to 180 times in the past 3 weeks now (clean installs of qualifying products, upgraded to Windows 10 to take advantage of the free offer, then wiped that and done the clean install of Windows 10) and I still have yet to require a Product Key - over 80% of these installs have been done on OEM hardware with the remaining portion being custom built machines using Retail versions of the qualifying products.

I know it's complicated, and I know it can be a chore to get it all done, but the steps above are basically how it's being done not just by me but many many other people and the end result is Windows 10, cleanly installed on their machines, activated and running without issues.

I hope you're able to get it all worked out.
 
Note: this is a wordy post because I'm a wordy and detailed person so I hope you'll read it and take note of the information it provides which is accurate based on my experience.

-------------

The Windows 8 or 8.1 sticker doesn't have a Product Key on it because Microsoft changed how things work with Windows 8 and 8.1 - the key is embedded in the BIOS or the UEFI depending so people won't have to muck around with it anymore. When I say it's irrelevant, I mean it completely even though some people believe it's necessary. As far as the installation media is concerned, as long as you're using OEM branded media (the disc that comes with the Dell to install the OS on Dell hardware, HP for HP, and so on) the key will not be required because it'll never ask you for it during the installation process. Only if you're using non-OEM branded media (a Retail disc, or something from MSDN/Technet) will it prompt you for a Product Key.

People are focusing on the Product Keys entirely too much with Windows 10 and right now because of this upgrade offer they're not honestly required.

As for the reservation process, all that's doing is generating a hardware hash which is now being used for activation purposes replacing the need for a Product Key during this free upgrade to Windows 10 offer for the first year. You only need to do it ONE TIME on a given piece of hardware and that's that - the hardware hash becomes stored on Microsoft's servers and is used for future activation verification purposes on the same hardware after you've completed the Windows 10 upgrade. It's mandatory that the first installation of Windows 10 be done on a legit activated install of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 so again you're going to either install Windows 7 (my preference to start with) or 8 or 8.1 depending on what installation media you have.

The point here being: if you have Windows re-installation discs from Dell, whichever version of Windows it is (Pro, more than likely, since the Dell Precision M6800 laptop is a business class machine and would never come with Windows Home), if you do a clean installation from that media you will not need the Product Key for whichever version you're installing be it 7, 8, or 8.1. That's why it's called "OEM branded media" because it's designed to re-install the OS on the given brand of hardware - there's no reason to ask for the key because that's all covered by what's in the BIOS/UEFI during the installation.

Regardless:

You have a Windows 7 re-installation disc, and you have the resources disc - or you can visit Dell's support website using some other computer which I'll presume you have access to, even a tablet device of some kind, a smartphone, it doesn't really matter. Having said that, you can do a clean install of Windows 7 using the DVD that Dell sent you for free. You can then install drivers manually from the resources disc or from drivers that you downloaded manually from Dell's website - you only require a network driver (more so than anything else) to be able to get that laptop online so you can access Windows Update which will then handle most every driver necessary.

I own a Dell Latitude E6420 and there are perhaps 3 drivers that are not installed from the Windows 7 installation media: the Broadcom fingerprint reader (which I don't even have on this laptop but there's a chip that's part of the security suite and Broadcom will not allow Microsoft to use Windows Update to distribute their drivers, sadly), one driver for the SMBus Controller which is part of the Intel chipset, and one driver for the O2 media card reader (SD card slot) which also cannot be distributed through Windows Update.

As this laptop has dual Intel network adapters (an Intel Gigabit NIC and an Intel 802.11n Wi-Fi card) those drivers are covered by what's included with the Windows 7 installation media and then upgraded to newer versions when Windows Update is accessed.

So you install Windows 7, get the network driver installed (wired or wireless, whichever one can get you online with your Internet connection), hit Windows Update again and again and again to get fully updated (you'll end up grabbing like 1.8GB of updates and reboot several times till there's just nothing left). After that, you can check Device Manager once more to verify you have drivers in place for all the hardware - again, use the Windows Update drivers first then install remaining ones from Dell's support site if necessary.

When you're all done and Windows 7 is up and running and updated and ready to roll, then you upgrade to Windows 10 by any method you want: use the Media Creation Tool they're providing to do an immediate upgrade, or create the ISO, or create the USB stick, it's your choice at that point.

Assuming everything goes off without a hitch, and after Windows 10 is installed and running and you've verified it's activated (look at the System Properties page) you can then wipe it completely clean and do a clean installation of Windows 10 on the hardware and go from there and again a Product Key will never be required to do this, for any reason.

If I was there with you and had those re-installation discs I could get Windows 10 on that laptop in under 3 hours, clean installed, running as pristine as possible. Your Precision M6800 isn't all that different from my Latitude E6420 in many respects save for more powerful CPU and discrete GPU but overall it's still primarily a similar platform. In fact, I could use the discs you have to reinstall Windows 7 on this laptop of mine and then upgrade to Windows 10 without issues - that's how similar they are.

I've done this process close to 180 times in the past 3 weeks now (clean installs of qualifying products, upgraded to Windows 10 to take advantage of the free offer, then wiped that and done the clean install of Windows 10) and I still have yet to require a Product Key - over 80% of these installs have been done on OEM hardware with the remaining portion being custom built machines using Retail versions of the qualifying products.

I know it's complicated, and I know it can be a chore to get it all done, but the steps above are basically how it's being done not just by me but many many other people and the end result is Windows 10, cleanly installed on their machines, activated and running without issues.

I hope you're able to get it all worked out.

Thanks, but I don't know if this would have helped. Microsoft called me back and I explained that I was certain I have a genuine copy of Windows 7 SP1 and 8.1 that came with my Dell M6800, so they said they would speak to the software engineers and call me back. Before they did the reservation icon suddenly was appearing in the system tray, which I didn't notice until they called me back a second time. After pissing around with the Media Creation tool I finally let the technician take control of my machine and he messed around installing more updates for some reason even the reservation icon was there.

He restarted my machine too after installing the most recent updates and then I ran sfc one last time to confirm that my system wasn't corrupted before upgrading, which he agreed to call me back or have me call him back. After eating I called him back, but got transferred to sales to confirm the email reservation, which I didn't need to and found out all I had left to do was start the install by clicking on the icon in the tray and answering a few questions. After downloading Windows 10 by clicking on the icon in the system tray and letting it configure as well as downloading the updated drivers from dell I now have Windows 10 installed from the very machine I'm replying to this from finally. Now to do my other machines and see how it reacts with Linux. Thanks for the help anyway though.
 
Well if it's working now then that's what matters. Personally I would still recommend - now that you've done the actual upgrade - a pure clean installation of Windows 10 on that machine so there's no cruft left over from the previous mucked up but finally fixed to some degree installation (some people will argue it "was" a clean install and some won't).

But that's just me 'cause I hate operating system upgrades with a pretty serious passion. ;)
 
Well if it's working now then that's what matters. Personally I would still recommend - now that you've done the actual upgrade - a pure clean installation of Windows 10 on that machine so there's no cruft left over from the previous mucked up but finally fixed to some degree installation (some people will argue it "was" a clean install and some won't).

But that's just me 'cause I hate operating system upgrades with a pretty serious passion. ;)

I don't know how you think I'm going to do a clean installation of Windows 10 when to upgrade I had to have a clean installation of a previously eliglible Windows Operating system, such 7 SP1, 8, or 8.1. Also the only other way that I've discovered that you can reinstall if you have a backup that is uncorrupted is to use Windows Backup and Restore to create a Windows 10 image and a Recovory disc because the media creation doesn't work, which Microsoft claimed that it had to do with the fact that their servers were so busy distributing the upgrade to Windows 10. Whatever, your proposing doesn't seem logical or possible either because even if I did restore from the image I created I will still have fragments or old Windows files from the previous upgrade of the original Windows OS installed prior to that. If the media creation tool works or would have worked then maybe a clean install would be possible, but without or even with the Image of Windows 10 that I created.
 
I don't know how you think I'm going to do a clean installation of Windows 10 when to upgrade I had to have a clean installation of a previously eliglible Windows Operating system, such 7 SP1, 8, or 8.1. Also the only other way that I've discovered that you can reinstall if you have a backup that is uncorrupted is to use Windows Backup and Restore to create a Windows 10 image and a Recovory disc because the media creation doesn't work, which Microsoft claimed that it had to do with the fact that their servers were so busy distributing the upgrade to Windows 10. Whatever, your proposing doesn't seem logical or possible either because even if I did restore from the image I created I will still have fragments or old Windows files from the previous upgrade of the original Windows OS installed prior to that. If the media creation tool works or would have worked then maybe a clean install would be possible, but without or even with the Image of Windows 10 that I created.

Microsoft provides free Windows 10 images. In fact in order for me to get off a pirated copy to legit 10 I had to change my 8.1 key to legit, then download the .iso. Finally I just ran it from the tool to upgrade. Once you are where you are use your little ProdKey to find out what your product key is and try the fresh installation in a dual boot mode to check if your key is valid. Then wipe both and go with it.
 
Holy argumentative run on sentence Batman. People are trying to help you out. Install the upgrade then make a new 10 image (after install) to reinstall fresh.
 
Holy argumentative run on sentence Batman. People are trying to help you out. Install the upgrade then make a new 10 image (after install) to reinstall fresh.

Yea what I said might be a run on, but the solutions mention for a clean install will not work if you consider what I've said and I don't see you offering a solution that will work either. In which case you should stop trolling if you are or didn't mean to and provide a helpful answer to the problem. By the way I got it installed and you would have known this if you would have read my replies more carefully instead of trolling like you appear to be because you don't seen to know that.
 
Yea what I said might be a run on, but the solutions mention for a clean install will not work if you consider what I've said and I don't see you offering a solution that will work either. In which case you should stop trolling if you are or didn't mean to and provide a helpful answer to the problem. By the way I got it installed and you would have known this if you would have read my replies more carefully instead of trolling like you appear to be because you don't seen to know that.

I think the main point the previous poster was trying to get across is now that you were able to successfully do the upgrade and activate from here on out, you can do clean installs on that laptop. Personally if it works it works in my book, but it is also true that clean installs sometimes are less likely to have issues down the road, Im really only saying this in case you have to install again one day. We just didn't know if you were aware of that.
So the point being people only have to do a upgrade initially...after that your in the clear to do clean installs;). Now with that being said, on my kids laptop i had to pull his hard drive and do the install on mine..stick it back in his and he was good to go...Bottom line there are some system i can understand windows 10 just doesn't like to clean install:mad:
 
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Once you have successfully completed the upgrade and have a valid activated copy of Win 10 you no longer need a key nor have to go through any upgrade process again. Your hardware has now been registered with Microsoft's validation system as having a valid windows 10 install and no product key will ever be needed for that system again as long as the hardware does not change. You can now do a fresh install and not have to worry about inputting a key. It will ask you twice to input a key but you do not put in a key and choose skip or next whatever it says and let it continue. Once it goes online it will automatically activate with the registered hardware hash generated when you first upgraded and activated. So yes despite the fact you seem to think people are trolling you a clean install is recommended (but not required) and does not require any of the headaches you went through to first get the upgrade.
 
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