Windows XP Hangs at Beginning of Install

When I attempt to install Windows XP on a 3 GHz clone, it gets to the
point where it says that it's "Checking hardware", then the screen goes
black, the hard drive light stays on, and it hangs like that. Is there
anything I can do to get past this or troubleshoot the problem?

Unknown
Sun Jul 20 08:54:13 PDT 2008

Disconnect all devices except monitor, keyboard and mouse before
installation.
"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:keWdnSMORrMIxR7VnZ2dnUVZ_tTinZ2d@comcast.com...
> When I attempt to install Windows XP on a 3 GHz clone, it gets to the
> point where it says that it's "Checking hardware", then the screen goes
> black, the hard drive light stays on, and it hangs like that. Is there
> anything I can do to get past this or troubleshoot the problem?
>
>

HeyBub
Sun Jul 20 13:28:26 PDT 2008

James Egan wrote:
> When I attempt to install Windows XP on a 3 GHz clone, it gets to the
> point where it says that it's "Checking hardware", then the screen
> goes black, the hard drive light stays on, and it hangs like that.
> Is there anything I can do to get past this or troubleshoot the
> problem?

The "Hard drive" light stays on?

Is this a SATA drive? If so, I'm pretty sure you'll have to slip-stream the
SATA drivers into the installation CD (but some motherboards have SATA
drivers on board).

Can you swap hard drives - preferably to an EIDE drive?

James
Sun Jul 20 15:01:40 PDT 2008

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:28:26 -0500, HeyBub wrote:
> The "Hard drive" light stays on?
>
> Is this a SATA drive? If so, I'm pretty sure you'll have to slip-stream the
> SATA drivers into the installation CD (but some motherboards have SATA
> drivers on board).
>
> Can you swap hard drives - preferably to an EIDE drive?


Yes, this is a SATA drive. I don't have an EIDE to swap it. I can't
believe Windows XP just "hangs". Shouldn't it have SATA drive support?

-Thanks

GreenieLeBrun
Sun Jul 20 18:10:29 PDT 2008



James Egan wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:28:26 -0500, HeyBub wrote:
>> The "Hard drive" light stays on?
>>
>> Is this a SATA drive? If so, I'm pretty sure you'll have to
>> slip-stream the SATA drivers into the installation CD (but some
>> motherboards have SATA drivers on board).
>>
>> Can you swap hard drives - preferably to an EIDE drive?
>
>
> Yes, this is a SATA drive. I don't have an EIDE to swap it. I can't
> believe Windows XP just "hangs". Shouldn't it have SATA drive
> support?
>
> -Thanks

Get the SATA drivers for your motherboard, load them onto a floppy disk,
early in the install process you will be given the opportunity to press F6
to load the drivers.

James
Sun Jul 20 18:50:11 PDT 2008

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:10:29 +1000, GreenieLeBrun wrote:

> Get the SATA drivers for your motherboard, load them onto a floppy disk,
> early in the install process you will be given the opportunity to press F6
> to load the drivers.


Thanks, that sounds like a plan.

Anna
Sun Jul 20 19:28:51 PDT 2008


"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:keWdnSMORrMIxR7VnZ2dnUVZ_tTinZ2d@comcast.com...
> When I attempt to install Windows XP on a 3 GHz clone, it gets to the
> point where it says that it's "Checking hardware", then the screen goes
> black, the hard drive light stays on, and it hangs like that. Is there
> anything I can do to get past this or troubleshoot the problem?

(And James later adds...)

> Yes, this is a SATA drive. I don't have an EIDE to swap it. I can't
> believe Windows XP just "hangs". Shouldn't it have SATA drive support?
>
> -Thanks


James:
First of all, based on the rather cursory information you've provided
concerning this problem, it doesn't sound to me as if this is a SATA driver
issue that's causing your problem, as a number of responders to your inquiry
have suggested, although it is a possibility.

But before anyone can furnish you with an intelligent course of action to
remedy the situation you really need to provide some detailed information
about your system and the precise nature of the problem.

1. What kind of a system are we dealing with here? Desktop? Laptop? OEM
machine?
2. Is this a new machine that you or someone just built? Has it ever
properly functioned with an XP OS? Why, at this time, are you installing (or
trying to install) an OS?
3. Do you know the make & model of the motherboard?
4. When you say that you "attempt to install Windows XP on a 3 GHz clone",
what exactly is the meaning of this? What's the significance of a "3 GHz
clone"? Are you attempting to fresh install the XP OS onto a SATA HDD that
is a "clone" of another HDD? Is this a new SATA HDD?
5. Or are you using "clone" to indicate this is an OEM machine?
6. And you're using a "normal" XP OS installation CD to perform the install?
7. You never can get to the XP setup screen? Or get the screen message to
"Press any key to boot to the CD"?
8. Is there another HDD in the system? What is its status?
9. Is there any possibility you may be dealing with a defective HDD? Think
it might be wise to check out the disk with a HDD diagnostic utility that's
available from the disk's manufacturer?
10. Assuming you built the machine or you're familiar with its components,
are you satisfied that all such are properly connected & configured?
Anna

HeyBub
Mon Jul 21 04:36:25 PDT 2008

James Egan wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:28:26 -0500, HeyBub wrote:
>> The "Hard drive" light stays on?
>>
>> Is this a SATA drive? If so, I'm pretty sure you'll have to
>> slip-stream the SATA drivers into the installation CD (but some
>> motherboards have SATA drivers on board).
>>
>> Can you swap hard drives - preferably to an EIDE drive?
>
>
> Yes, this is a SATA drive. I don't have an EIDE to swap it. I can't
> believe Windows XP just "hangs". Shouldn't it have SATA drive
> support?
>

Uh, no. SATA drives became widely available AFTER XP was released.

James
Mon Jul 21 19:00:25 PDT 2008

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:50:10 -0400, James Egan wrote:

> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:10:29 +1000, GreenieLeBrun wrote:
>
>> Get the SATA drivers for your motherboard, load them onto a floppy disk,
>> early in the install process you will be given the opportunity to press F6
>> to load the drivers.
>
>
> Thanks, that sounds like a plan.


Okay, since this PC doesn't have a floppy drive, I purchased a USB floppy.
However, during the install process, I'm never prompted to insert a floppy
disk with drivers. I get to the point where the install says something
like "Setup is checking your hardware configuration". That's when the
screen goes black, the hard drive light remains on, and it just hangs.
How can I get the installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not
prompted for the drivers?

GreenieLeBrun
Mon Jul 21 21:10:23 PDT 2008



James Egan wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:50:10 -0400, James Egan wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:10:29 +1000, GreenieLeBrun wrote:
>>
>>> Get the SATA drivers for your motherboard, load them onto a floppy
>>> disk, early in the install process you will be given the
>>> opportunity to press F6 to load the drivers.
>>
>>
>> Thanks, that sounds like a plan.
>
>
> Okay, since this PC doesn't have a floppy drive, I purchased a USB
> floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never prompted to
> insert a floppy disk with drivers. I get to the point where the
> install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware
> configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive
> light remains on, and it just hangs. How can I get the installer to
> recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

What is the make and model of the motherboard?

On some boards (Gigabyte GA-8S648FX-775 for example)there are two settings
in the BIOS under "Intergrated Peripherals" one of which enables the SiS
SATA Controller and the other sets the SATA mode to IDE or RAID, try setting
to IDE not the default RAID setting if that choice is available.