Get Windows 10 app stuck at "Progress: 0%" in Windows 7 VM on Mac

[Kurt Bigler]

context: Trying to upgrade my Windows 7 VM to Windows 10, after the Get Windows 10 icon in task bar failed me (starts and quits immediately, microsoft articles not helpful), I found the Parallels KB article listed under references below, but this approach also failed--details below. The superuser post referenced seemed to address the situation but none of the suggestions helped.

configuration:

64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium VM with 4GB RAM
host: black can Mac Pro (3.5 GHz 6-Core with 20GB RAM) running OSX 10.9.5​

references:

(1) this KB article: http://kb.parallels.com/en/123216
(2) this superuser post: http://superuser.com/questions/305576/windows-update-doesnt-progress-beyond-0-kb-0​

Regarding (1) the app never gets to the final state shown with "Upgrading Windows" and a circular progress indicator on a black background. Rather I still have a blue background showing dancing dots to the left of "Progress: 0%". In Windows Task Manager, MediaCreationTool64.exe (description "Windows 10 Setup") shows CPU Time = 0:00:00. The contents of C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution does not change and stays at Size: 11.8 MB (12,394,498 bytes).

 

[Dhruba@Parallels]

Hi Kurt,
In order to complete the process please follow the steps below:
1. Download the .iso image file on the Mac side from this link: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
2. Go to virtual machine configure >> Hardware Tab >> CD/DVD >> Mount the image file by Choosing the image file.
3. Start the virtual machine >> Open the CD/DVD drive and execute the set-up file.
Let me know if you have any additional questions.

 

[Kurt Bigler]

Has Microsoft never heard of error messages? Why do they write tools that either do nothing, or hang, or quit if the slightest thing isn't right. I suppose if there were an error message they would probably have gotten it wrong--better not to have any--the user will know something is wrong anyway! But seriously ...

All went ok up to the point where I needed to enter my Product key. Windows 10 Setup does not my product key which is from an OEM System Builder Pack which based on this article

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/faq​

sounds like slightly bad news, the comment in the FAQ being

Not all "system builder" products for Windows 7 are currently available on the site. We are working to add more, but for now, we suggest you contact Support.
​

which I suppose means waiting until monday. (In any case I was not terribly conscious re my choice of ISO file except to get 64-bit. Since my Home Premium was english only I chose the single-language option. But I didn't even know what the other choices meant.)

I got rid of my physical PC and moved this Windows 7 to Parallels and was able to use the OEM license. Perhaps the Parallels migration tool took care of it. I can't remember what process I used. Why doesn't the setup simply use the existing license for an upgrade?

The license issue brings up another concern which is that I cloned my Windows 7 VM in order to start this whole process. I basically want a Windows 10 trial, having missed the boat on the beta, thanks to Microsoft closing off the trial in advance without prior notice. So what I don't want to happen is to have my originally Windows 7 VM lose its license because I activate a Windows 10 that I don't really (ever) want to use for anything serious. I never intend to use both VMs at the same time, nor do I need files shared between the two. I suspect the VM clone (normal, not linked) produced two VMs with the same machine identification but I don't know the details of that nor whether Microsoft's identification process changed between 7 and 10. Certainly I seem to be able to run either copy of the Windows 7 VM and to go back and forth, at least in cursory testing. I'd appreciate any info you have about all that.