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Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 fails when the Intel Smart Response Technology is enabled

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Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:
  • You have a Windows 7 PC that you are upgrading to Windows 8.
  • During the Windows 8 Setup upgrade process, at the "Choose what to keep" screen you choose "Nothing".

In this scenario, the upgrade may fail to complete and the following message may be displayed:

Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn't handle, and now it needs to restart.

You can search for the error online: INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE.


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Cause

This issue may occur when the Windows 7 PC being upgraded has the Intel Smart Response Technology enabled on the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST) RAID controller. Windows 8 may replace the existing driver and the default Intel driver installed from Windows 8 may not support the Intel Smart Response Technology feature.


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Resolution

During the Windows 8 Setup, choose the “Keep Windows Settings, personal files and apps" option to complete the installation of Windows 8. This will retain your Windows 7 files and allow the upgrade to complete.


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More Information

Contact the hardware manufacturer of your computer for further guidance on how to upgrade the drivers for the Intel controller or for guidance on how to disable the Intel Smart Response Technology.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.


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Keywords: kb

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Article Info
Article ID : 2794273
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 12/17/2012
Exists online : False
Views : 308