Windows 7 install HELP!!

MN_Medic

I'm installing windows 7 pro on an XP desktop but I am having trouble. The install will go all the way to the end and the PC will restart but then it stops. I've tried all sorts of things but I'm now stuck.
Any advice!

Bayberry

MN_Medic wrote: »

I'm installing windows 7 pro on an XP desktop but I am having trouble. The install will go all the way to the end and the PC will restart but then it stops. I've tried all sorts of things but I'm now stuck.
Any advice!

How old was the XP machine? Does it have IDE or SATA drives? Did you update the BIOS before you installed Windows 7?

MN_Medic

Bayberry wrote: »

How old was the XP machine? Does it have IDE or SATA drives? Did you update the BIOS before you installed Windows 7?

I think it's around 10 years old. I upgraded the RAM to 2GB (it's max) before I tried the install. The drive is an IDE model. I did not do any other updates.
Before I did the install I checked online and my hardware was/is compatible.

Bayberry

MN_Medic wrote: »

I think it's around 10 years old. I upgraded the RAM to 2GB (it's max) before I tried the install. The drive is an IDE model. I did not do any other updates.
Before I did the install I checked online and my hardware was/is compatible.

It's possible that you're missing some drivers for older hardware.

This page lists some suggestions that might help you make some progress:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/fix-windows-7-install-hangs-on-completing/02513dca-8ae5-4bc0-96a1-00381822b2cd

MN_Medic

Bayberry wrote: »

It's possible that you're missing some drivers for older hardware.

This page lists some suggestions that might help you make some progress:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/fix-windows-7-install-hangs-on-completing/02513dca-8ae5-4bc0-96a1-00381822b2cd

Thank you. I will have a look through it all. On a plus point it's now giving me an option to start in safe mode (which is an improvement) but I can't complete the install in safe mode. Hopefully it will work this time.

MN_Medic

Bayberry wrote: »

It's possible that you're missing some drivers for older hardware.

This page lists some suggestions that might help you make some progress:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/fix-windows-7-install-hangs-on-completing/02513dca-8ae5-4bc0-96a1-00381822b2cd

Nothing there helps. I'm sort of screwed now. I can't get any OS to run.

FSL

Put a Linux distro on it. Unless you are using some proprietary software which only runs on Windows then you wont experience any issues.

Capt'n Midnight

FSL wrote: »

Put a Linux distro on it. Unless you are using some proprietary software which only runs on Windows then you wont experience any issues.

Mod
Please read the charter about advocacy. This is the windows forum.
The latest versions of Ubuntu would struggle on older hardware so you comment was pointless unless you mentioned a more suitable distro.

Capt'n Midnight

NB. You can't install Windows on a PC unless you have a valid license. OEM licences can't be transferred. Upgrade licences can't be transferred if they were used to upgrade an OEM copy of windows.

If you are upgrading from XP you may need to clear out junk. If there is an inheritable problem in Drivers or Registry then upgrading may not solve it. Try installing in a different folder ?

dhaughton99

MN_Medic wrote: »

I'm installing windows 7 pro on an XP desktop but I am having trouble. The install will go all the way to the end and the PC will restart but then it stops. I've tried all sorts of things but I'm now stuck.
Any advice!

Are you upgrading co or did you wipe the drive before hand?

MN_Medic

dhaughton99 wrote: »

Are you upgrading co or did you wipe the drive before hand?

I'm attempting a custom install. I've read on a few forums that it could be a RAM issue. As I've just changed the ram I'm gonna look at that and see if it works.

PropJoe10

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Mod
Please read the charter about advocacy. This is the windows forum.
The latest versions of Ubuntu would struggle on older hardware so you comment was pointless unless you mentioned a more suitable distro.

I hope its okay to suggest, but on a 10 year old desktop I'd be looking at something like Lubuntu rather than Windows 7. Whats your processor? If you're running off a single core P4 processor or something along those lines, Windows 7 will be horrible - even with 2GB RAM.

MN_Medic

PropJoe10 wrote: »

I hope its okay to suggest, but on a 10 year old desktop I'd be looking at something like Lubuntu rather than Windows 7. Whats your processor? If you're running off a single core P4 processor or something along those lines, Windows 7 will be horrible - even with 2GB RAM.

It's an AMD 64 +3200 I think

PropJoe10

MN_Medic wrote: »

It's an AMD 64 +3200 I think

Okay. I'd stand by my suggestion. What are you planning on doing with the machine, do you mind me asking?

I'd go for Lubuntu for the following reasons:

- Its designed to run well on old hardware, which Windows 7 isnt.
- It doesnt need an antivirus package - I've found that one of the biggest problems with installing a Windows OS on an old machine is having to run a bloated antivirus package. With a processor like that, your machine will be badly bogged down with trying to deal with Windows, before it even starts dealing with anything else - thats a single core CPU so you'll be looking at a very slow machine
- A Windows 7 install will take up 15-20GB of your hard drive, which I'm guessing isnt very large to start with. Lubuntu takes up between 4-6GB of space, so you'll save disk space.

I'm not saying you shouldnt install Windows on that, but there's much better options out there for you. Lubuntu is honestly very easy to use and is similar to XP in many ways. The installer is simple and you''ve a software centre to install packages from, if you dont want to use the terminal. I've put Lubuntu on a few old machines over the past while and never had any issues - 14.04 is the long term support release so I'd go for that one, for stability reasons.

dhaughton99

I've done a lot of installs of 7 but never any upgrades. I always format the drive. I always find that when the install fails while still loading;ie looks like a cd loading problem, usually is a problem with the ram.

Is it 1x1 gig or a 2 gig ram? Might be worth taking one out to see what happens if you have 2.

D166433D

What version of Win 7 Pro are you trying to install? 32 bit or 64 bit? You need the 32 bit version. I have a couple of older machines and they perform better with WIn 7 than they did with XP.

MN_Medic

If it was my machine id do something like you're suggesting but I'm doing this as a favour for a friend. I might persuade him otherwise if I continue to hit a brick wall. I know nothing about the OS you're talking of. Where do I get it, cost, egg? I've already purchased the Windows 7 keys so I don't want to waste more money.

MN_Medic

D166433D wrote: »

What version of Win 7 Pro are you trying to install? 32 bit or 64 bit? You need the 32 bit version. I have a couple of older machines and they perform better with WIn 7 than they did with XP.

It's 32 bit windows 7 pro.

MN_Medic

dhaughton99 wrote: »

I've done a lot of installs of 7 but never any upgrades. I always format the drive. I always find that when the install fails while still loading;ie looks like a cd loading problem, usually is a problem with the ram.

Is it 1x1 gig or a 2 gig ram? Might be worth taking one out to see what happens if you have 2.

It's 2x1. I've 1 out at the moment and attempting to install again.

PropJoe10

MN_Medic wrote: »

If it was my machine id do something like you're suggesting but I'm doing this as a favour for a friend. I might persuade him otherwise if I continue to hit a brick wall. I know nothing about the OS you're talking of. Where do I get it, cost, egg? I've already purchased the Windows 7 keys so I don't want to waste more money.

Lubuntu is a free, Linux-based operating system based on Ubuntu, but with a lightweight desktop which is designed for old hardware. Its very similar in look and style to Windows XP.

Website here: http://lubuntu.net/

You can download an ISO from their website and burn it to a USB stick/DVD.

The only thing you cant do as well on a Linux OS is gaming, but on a machine that old, you're not going to be able to play games anyway. So there's no real downside, aside from a minor learning curve!

Shout if you've any questions

homingbird

I put win7 on a 20 year old advent laptop you can search for the drivers online once you know which ones are missing : sound/video/audio install from flashdrive using this:https://rufus.akeo.ie/
You will be updated to win10 for free so dont worry about putting a pirate version of windows on it .

MN_Medic

SUCCESS.
It was the RAM after all. I just removed 1 stick and the install worked perfectly. Thank you all for your help. 😊

Bayberry

MN_Medic wrote: »

SUCCESS.
It was the RAM after all. I just removed 1 stick and the install worked perfectly. Thank you all for your help. 😊

If you can't get things working with the 2nd stick installed, you might want to check for firmware updates - there's some posssibility that that might improve matters with a 2nd stick of RAM.

Though on a 10 year old motherboard, I'm guessing that you don't have 2 matching sticks of RAM? If they're not a matching pair, that might be a problem.

MN_Medic

Bayberry wrote: »

If you can't get things working with the 2nd stick installed, you might want to check for firmware updates - there's some posssibility that that might improve matters with a 2nd stick of RAM.

Though on a 10 year old motherboard, I'm guessing that you don't have 2 matching sticks of RAM? If they're not a matching pair, that might be a problem.

They are a matching pair but they look second hand. The PC is recognising them both now and all appears to be ok