Vista installation freezes

  • Thread starter Thread starter rockhopper
  • Start date Start date
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rockhopper

Hi,

I am in desperate need of some help with installing vista.

I am trying to do a clean install of vista home premium on my PC.
The intention is to be a dual boot system with each OS on a separate HDD.
I already have XP up and running on the first HDD, been in use about 1 year.
I have tried 2 Vista copies, one of the 64 bit version and one of the 32 bit
version. The same thing happens with both.
I boot with the DVD in the drive and the PC starts to run the disc.
I see the windows is loading files screen with the white loading bar, this
progresses to the end.
I then get the black screen with the green scrolling loading bar on and this
just sits there, for hours if I leave it.

PC is as follows:

MSI K9N Platinum (non sli)
(bios version 1.0)
AMD Athlon 64x2 5000+
WD5000KS
WD2500KS
2x 1gb Crucial DDR2 PC2-5300 ram
NEC ND3550A DVD RW
XFX GeForce 7300GT 512mb

Hopefully the above is enough hardware information.

I have already tried disabling the HDD with the XP installation via the bios
which made no difference.

As I use a wireless USB keyboard/mouse set I have tried installing using
wired PS2 connected mouse and keyboard, again no difference.

I have seen suggestions regarding SATA drivers being needed? but I have
checked both Western Digital and MSI for downloads of these and I get the
impression that these should be already available on the Vista disc. (I did
install XP on the primary drive without the need for any third party driver)

Any suggestions what I can try next, has worked for others etc. will be
gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance.

rockhopper
 
rockhopper said:
Hi,

I am in desperate need of some help with installing vista.

I am trying to do a clean install of vista home premium on my PC.
The intention is to be a dual boot system with each OS on a separate HDD.
I already have XP up and running on the first HDD, been in use about 1
year.
I have tried 2 Vista copies, one of the 64 bit version and one of the 32
bit
version. The same thing happens with both.
I boot with the DVD in the drive and the PC starts to run the disc.
I see the windows is loading files screen with the white loading bar, this
progresses to the end.
I then get the black screen with the green scrolling loading bar on and
this
just sits there, for hours if I leave it.

PC is as follows:

MSI K9N Platinum (non sli)
(bios version 1.0)
AMD Athlon 64x2 5000+
WD5000KS
WD2500KS
2x 1gb Crucial DDR2 PC2-5300 ram
NEC ND3550A DVD RW
XFX GeForce 7300GT 512mb

Hopefully the above is enough hardware information.

I have already tried disabling the HDD with the XP installation via the
bios
which made no difference.

As I use a wireless USB keyboard/mouse set I have tried installing using
wired PS2 connected mouse and keyboard, again no difference.

I have seen suggestions regarding SATA drivers being needed? but I have
checked both Western Digital and MSI for downloads of these and I get the
impression that these should be already available on the Vista disc. (I
did
install XP on the primary drive without the need for any third party
driver)

Any suggestions what I can try next, has worked for others etc. will be
gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance.

rockhopper
Click to expand...

Been there...
The Vista install is failing silently. In my case, it was a FUBAR
motherboard (Vista had installed previously) reporting itself as non-ACPI
compliant. Check your ACPI settings in your BIOS and make sure ACPI is
activated. Unlike XP, Vista will not install if ACPI is not activated. In my
case the defective motherboard had to be RMA'd. It's possible a BIOS update
could clear your issue, as well.
To get Vista to tell you more, you have a couple of options.
You can start the Vista install (it will have to be 32 bit) as an upgrade to
XP, which will allow Vista to display failure dialogs in early stages. If
this is too risky for you, you can disconnect your existing XP drive,
install XP on the second hard drive, then upgrade to Vista from within XP.
Another possibility is to disconnect all but essential peripherals from your
computer, then try the Vista install
I'm guessing you have some sort of hardware issue.
 
Hi

Thanks for your suggestions.

I had come to the conclusion it must be a hardware issue, but where to begin?

Due to time of year it's been difficult to try much yet.

I have checked the bios and ACPI is set to enabled, so at least that is
ruled out. (Barring faulty motherboards!)

It will be too risky to try an upgrade on my primary drive, so I will wait
until I have a bit more time to spare, hopefully next week to try unplugging
that drive and experiment with installing with only one hdd connected, both
as a clean install and as an upgrade over XP.

fingers crossed.

rockhopper
 
Hi

I gave up for a few months due to other pressures stopping working on the PC.

Eventually when I had another go with Vista I flashed my bios using MSI's
online live update, et voila the installation proceeded with no further
problems.

So in the end I sorted out my own problem.

regards,

rockhopper

MSI K9N Platinum (non sli)
(bios version 1.0)- updated to fix install problems
AMD Athlon 64x2 5000+
WD5000KS
WD2500KS
2x 1gb Crucial DDR2 PC2-5300 ram
NEC ND3550A DVD RW
XFX GeForce 7300GT 512mb
 
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