Vista Ultimate 32bit Freezing shortly after boot & login.

[Elektro]

I am trying to get my desktop PC to run Windows Vista Ultimate (32bit).
During the install, I was having problems with it being sluggish between the
first few screens:

- Language/Time & currency format/Keyboard or input method screen
- "Install Now" screen
- Product Key entry/validation screen
- License screen
etc.

And also freezing on the last few in the "Set Up Windows" portion of the
install:

- Froze once on the "Help protect Windows automatically" screen
- Froze once on the "Review your time and date settings" screen
- Froze once on the "Thank You" screen.
- Froze once on the Computer Performance Check.


Once I finally got it to install, shortly after logging in it froze up. This
happens shortly after every login. It appears to be a hardware issue, but I
am 99% certain that all of my hardware is functioning correctly because it
was just working perfectly with Windows XP Professional, so I assume it is
some kind of compatibility issue.

My specs are:

- ASUS P5N32-E SLI (bios 1404, Not running in RAID mode, Memory timings set
to 4-4-4-12 as specified for my RAM)
- SoundMax HD Audio (Came with mobo)
- ASUS GeForce 8800GTX
- Intel Core2Quad Q6600
- 4x Corsair XMS2 (1GB each, 4GB total) *
- 320GB Western Digital SATA HDD
- Some multi-drive *
- Logitech G5 Optical Mouse *

* = I have already removed these and powered up the computer - The freezing
still persists. (In the case of the RAM I have removed all but one, same
problem)

Next on my list to remove and try Vista is the audio card. Any known "fresh
install compatibility issues" with any of these? Any fixes? I've been
searching everywhere and I keep finding people with similar issues to mine,
but no solutions.

I've tried installing Service Pack 1 as well, but the computer freezes
before the install completes.

 

[Elektro]

I was just about to try some of your suggestions and it looks like the cause
of my freezing might have been overheating. I opened my PC and noticed that
the CPU heatsink was covered with dust. I removed it to take outside and
clean off. When I went to put it back in I accidentally broke off one of the
clips on the heatsink.

I went out and bought a ThermalTake Orb 2 heatsink and it seems to work
flawlessly now. Come to think of it - in addition to the dust covering my
heatsink, it was quite hot the other day, and my CPU was pushing 62C. Right
now it's barely hitting 36C. - I bet the old heatsink would have been fine if
it wasn't for the dust. It's strange though since I was using XP the same
night, playing UT3 and such with no issues, maybe Vista is just more
sensitive to temperature issues.

Thank you for your suggestions though, it's good that someone was willing to
help me. If I encounter any more similar problems I will keep your advice in
mind.

 

[Elektro]

Yeah, my rig isn't extremely new. My GTX usually runs around 80C when being
used heavily. (It's pretty normal for that card though, and I have a case
with lots of cooling). Since I thought the heat was the issue, I decided to
do a clean install of Vista expecting it would go as usual. The first time
around I think it may have frozen or maybe I was just being impatient. The
second time it installed fine, then when I got into windows I started the
install for Service Pack 1 from a USB flash drive.

The install continued normally then I noticed a popup balloon saying that
Vista was downloading and installing updates. I clicked on the balloon to see
what updates were being installed and to make sure SP1 wasn't one of them.
The computer began to chug and then slowly began to freeze up.

Explorer.exe displayed an error message saying:

0x763870ed referenced memory at 0x099d7b40.
The required data was not placed into memory because of an I/O error status
of 0xC0000185

I had this (or a similar) error appear before but failed to mention it in my
original post. I haven't had a chance to check out this error code yet.

 

[Elektro]

After some browsing on the internet, I have disabled the Execute Disable Bit
option in my BIOS. The installation performed much more responsively (no
sluggish behaviour, no freezing) Once I was running the OS and logged in, I
had the same error described in my previous post, as well as a bluescreen and
a freeze on another try. I have since installed my Nvidia graphics drivers
for my 8800GTX and the system FINALLY seems stable. I'll post again if I have
any other problems.