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Why am I having a frozen screen trying to install Windows 7?

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superboyac:
I've never had problems before when trying to install an operating system.  Usually, when boot stuff tries to load, they do fine (for me) because they don't first have to get into my operating system which may be very complicated due to the way i use it.  With OS installs, there shouldn't be many problems because you're starting from scratch.  Anyway, here's my situation:
I created a partition on my main system drive.  I wanted to first install Windows 7 on it and play around with it before installing for real on my system drive (i.e formatting and starting from scratch).  But I can't even start the install process.  When I stick the windows7 cd in, it boots from it.  It gets all the way through the "loading files" bit, but freezes consistently at the screen when the colorful stuff first appear.  All you see is that fancy blue background and the mouse pointer, and nothing else.  Then I get a BSOD.  I don't understand.  It's a 64 bit OS, but my computer should be capable of 64 bit.  See my computer specs here:
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=16186.0

What's more confusing is that I've been running windows 7 virtually on my current xp setup for a while now, and it's been fine...or not really.  I mean, I'm able to install it on vmware fine, but it runs really slow and has a lot of hangups which I've just attributed to not setting things up or the fact that I'm running 64 bit virtually on a 32 bit os installation.  I don't know.  Maybe it has something to do with all that.

Anyway, I'm ready to go to Windows 7, but this is bothering.  I'm worried that something about my system may not be good with Windows 7, which I would hate because it's a relatively new and expensive system.  I was also wondering if maybe I should try installing on a freshly formatted hard drive.  But before I do that, I want to know why this is not working.  I have a spare hard drive, but until I check the contents and stick it in my tower, etc., is a little more work than I wanted to do right now.

Any thoughts?

4wd:
Are your SATA interfaces set to AHCI in BIOS?

Try setting them back to IDE mode if they are.

Probably help if you could take a photo of the BSOD and upload it here.

Also, a capture of the partition layout might help us.

Stoic Joker:
Are your SATA interfaces set to AHCI in BIOS?

Try setting them back to IDE mode if they are.-4wd (November 08, 2010, 09:20 PM)
--- End quote ---
LOL I got burnt by this one on a Vista install last week (cost me a whole day). Installing the SATA driver (same procedure as a RAID driver) is another option but this issue manifests differently (completing install takes forever) than he's describing.

Probably help if you could take a photo of the BSOD and upload it here.

Also, a capture of the partition layout might help us.
--- End quote ---

(I'm thinking memory, but...) Definitely need to know what the BSOD says :)

4wd:
LOL I got burnt by this one on a Vista install last week (cost me a whole day). Installing the SATA driver (same procedure as a RAID driver) is another option but this issue manifests differently (completing install takes forever) than he's describing. -Stoic Joker (November 09, 2010, 06:30 AM)
--- End quote ---

That's one reason why I like Gigabyte boards, you can install the system drive on the last two North South Bridge ports and keep them as IDE while the others are switched to AHCI.  During installation the AHCI driver gets installed, (plus you don't get the really ssslllooowww install), then after OS installation you can switch the last two ports to AHCI and since the driver is already there you don't get the typical BSOD on reboot.

EDIT: Ah crap - you jogged my memory!  That's probably why my Repair Install of W7 took 5 hours - note to self: Switch to IDE, Switch to IDE.....

(I'm thinking memory, but...)
--- End quote ---

Good point - does the Win7 install disc have the Memory Tester as an option, (ala F8(?) boot menu) ?

superboyac:
I'm following the discussion here, but unfortunately I'm not going to be able to explore any of these suggestions possibly until January or later.  I have a Gigabyte motherboard, and I know I had to do some things with AHCI in the past, although I don't know what all that means.  It had to do with the number of hard drives I have connected to my computer.  I have 3 hard drives inside my tower, connected by SATA to the motherboard.  I also have my SATA dvd drive connected to the motherboard, although it's on the special colored connector, which is somehow different than the other connecters.  This is because I added two external hard drives using the eSATA connection later for backup purposes, so the computer was having a hard time recognizing everything.  So now I have 5 drives plus a dvd drive connected to my motherboard.  I remember mouser saying something like once you get past 4 or 5, weird things start happening.

So, when I added the esata drives, i had to do something with all that AHCI stuff.  Maybe I have to go back to default for the installation of Win7 to work.  I hate this stuff.

This is also why I eventually want to build my own server at my house.  I want to store all my stuff on several large hard drives, all with redundant backups.  I can see approaching 10 drives by the end of 2011.  I don't want any of my media on disc or anything outside anymore.  And I'll have it connected to my media pc, another project for 2011.

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