Bullets 'n' Babes

Hi everyone.

Well, I've got my HTPC built:

- Shuttle SN68PTG6 Deluxe.
- 2x 1GB Corsair PC6400 DDR2.
- LG GGW-H20L Blu Ray / HD DVD.
- Seagate 500GB Barracuda.
- Hauppauge Nova-T-500 DVB Tuner.

I'm trying to install Vista Home Premium x64 but it keeps freezing. Its getting really frustrating. I've scoured the Internet for all the information I can find but all I can find is people with the same problem but no solutions!

When I boot with the Vista DVD in the drive it starts the Vista installation process, loads some files (white meter on the bottom of the screen), shows the Windows logo, then moves to a colour screen showing the "vista" wallpaper & just stops there. It shows the mouse pointer which WILL move but the installation doesn't go anywhere after that. The only thing I can do is reboot the system.

I'm just trying to install XP SP2 on the same system & its working fine, so its got to be a Vista issue...

I can't understand it! I've tried removing one of the sticks of RAM & the DVB tuner card but neother helps. The install always stops at the same place.

I'm also confident its not bad RAM because I've tried memory tests on it & don't get any errors...

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

This same thread is posted over at AV Forums & someone suggested leaving the PC for a while to see what happens. I've left it for over half an hour & its still not doing anything. This is getting stupid!

Have you tried installing with just 1Gb of RAM? Try both 1Gb chips. It maybe a compatibility issue with the RAM instead of being faulty? Do you have access to Vista 32-Bit?

I cannot think of anything else sorry.

Thanks for the suggestions bradavon, but I've sorted it. It turns out Vista just likes to sit there for 45 minutes before it shows the next screen. I've no idea why, but come to think of it, I seem to recall I had a similar problem with my main gaming PC install about 6 months ago...

The RAM is definitely compatible. Anyway, I'm going to finish this install tomorrow & get watching some Blu Ray discs!

Really? So you just left it and then it continued? What made you think of trying this?

Well I got sick of trying things so I just left it on the screen where it was stuck. I knew it hadn't crashed as I could still use the mouse so I just let it do its thing. Every few minutes it would spin the DVD up so I knew it was doing something even if it was taking forever & I couldn't see exactly what it was that it was doing.

I've heard of it happening before on other operating systems - random hangs on installation for no apparent reason, so I'm glad I left it to work itself out!

It happened to me once with Office (I forget which version). It eventually woke up and finished off.

And now its stuck at Expanding files (13%)...

OK this is ridiculous! Windows XP SP2 installs & works perfectly, but Vista 64 does not! ARGH! I'm downloading a copy of Vista 32 at the moment to see if that works, but why the HELL shouldn't Vista 64 work?!

Its a 64 bit compatible motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive, Blu Ray drive, & TV tuner card, so why the hell won't it work?!

I ran the Vista compatibility test on the XP SP2 installation & it says this PC is ready for Windows Vista!

So god damn annoying!

I thought it installed okay?

The XP SP2 install is very different to the Vista one. For the first time in years it's been re-written.

Yeah, I spoke too soon. I thought after it had got past the initial hang it would carry on ok, but it keeps freezing when extracting the files. Its getting REALLY annoying now...

Stupid question maybe but have you tried another disc? What speed did you burn at?

Burn at? I'm using an original copy of Vista 64. I've got two, one for this PC & 1 for the other. In all honesty, I hadn't even thought of trying the other disc... I'll give it a go now.

The only download I'm going to try is Vista 32 that hasn't actually finished downloading yet. I wouldn't be keeping it on the system - only going to try it out & if that works then I'll be pretty confident its Vista 64 that has some sort of compatibility issue somewhere along the line, even though Microsoft's own application says the hardware is all Vista compatible!

I didn't realise you were using original discs.

I was forced to download Vista 32-Bit as my Original Vista CD that came with the laptop has an annoying custom System Restore image which they didn't bother to include the Repair option found on the original disc. All the SR disc wanted to do was format the hard disk. I ran the original disc, clicked Repair and it fixed the minor boot/partition problem instantly.

Yep, of course I am. I don't skimp on the operating system. I'm not EvaUnit02 you know!

I've pretty much always used original operating systems - its just easier that way because of updates & patches & other stuff that requires genuine copies...

IronMonkey wrote:its just easier that way because of updates & patches & other stuff that requires genuine copies...

Agreed. There was a time when you didn't need original copies but today it's just much easier. The amount of time I faffed with XP's WGA I can't be arsed any more.

It's not like MS bring a new OS out every year any more too. From 1998 to 2002 MS brought a new OS out every year.

Yeah but its even more annoying when they bring out a 64-bit OS that doesn't work on fully-compatible 64-bit architecture!

It will be interesting to hear if 32-Bit installs okay.

Have you tried installing it with just 1Gb and just the bare essentials, like no TV card? I bet it's an "Install" issue and if it finally finishes it will be fine.

Do you have access to any other RAM? I'm sure it works but it could still be a compatibility issue. I don't think it is but you know what I mean.

Yeah, done all that. I striiped it down to bare minimum - CPU, 1 stick of RAM, hard drive & Blu Ray drive. I've even swapped out the Blu Ray drive for a standard DVD-RW but I still get the same thing.

I even stripped every USB item from the motherboard headers thinking they could be interfering. The only USB devices I can't get rid of are the keyboard & mouse - there are no PS2 ports so I can't use those instead.

Just trying it with my other Vista 64 DVD now & its freezing at the exact same place...

Oh & the only other RAM I have is also Corsair, although I'm positive thats not the problem. The compatibility chart over at the Shuttle website even states that Corsair RAM is fine, & I should hope so, its not cheap stuff!

Other than the 32-Bit Vista idea could you install XP Pro with no SP or anything then upgrade to Vista 64?

Or better yet if Vista 32-Bit does install then install Vista x64 over the top of that. Neither are ideal but Vista 32 to 64 shouldn't leave any nasty residue behind.

What have other forums come up with?

p.s - Try PMing Tom, Lourdes and Eva to their get attention to the thread too.

I have figured out what the problem is - the Blu Ray drive. Or more specifically, ANY optical drive plugged into the SATA port on the Shuttle motherboard.

I'm not sur ehow I'm going to get around this. I might have to try a SATA to IDE converter so I can plug the Blu Ray drive into the IDE port, but the ones I've seen are quite bulky & there is literally a tiny amount of room for the IDE cable to plug into the IDE port on the Shuttle mainboard.

I can't believe in this day & age that SATA controllers, when combined with certain chipsets, don't work properly with optical drives! It won't even work with my standard LG SATA DVD-RW drive!

No wonder building PCs is such a nightmare. On paper, all of my components should work fine together, but in reality, the motherboard's built-in SATA controller works with HDDs but not with optical drives. How useless is that?!

I just hope I can find an IDE converter that'll fit. Anybody got any suggestions? And before anyone says it, I can't fit another SATA controller card into the system - there is 1 PCI slot & 1 PCI-E slot & the PCI is used up by the TV tuner card, with the PCI-E soon to be filled with an ATi HD2600 of some sort...

Great! I bet you're were well pleased when you'd worked it out.

Surely you can get hold of an IDE DVD-Rom drive to install Vista? Once installed can you not plugin the BD SATA drive and bobs your uncle, or does it freeze once Vista has been installed to? Thankfully it's not a SATA HDD issue. That would suck! IDE speed on a optical drive should be fine.

SATA under XP often needs 3rd party drivers but you'd think the SATA issues would be all ironed out.

I wasn't pleased at all! These things should just work together! On paper, there is nothing saying that they are incompatible with one another. It is left to the consumer to find out that the SATA ports on the motherboard don't perform as they should because of a chipset design issue, which more than likely can't be fixed with a BIOS update.

I'm so annoyed right now. My point is I shouldn't have to use the IDE port on the motherboard just to run a stupid optical drive!

I already tried installing from an IDE optical drive & it works fine (thats how I figured out its a SATA issue) BUT if I put the Blu Ray drive back in, Windows hangs whenever I try to access a disc. And get this - if there's a disc in the drive when starting or shutting Windows down, Vista decides to just sit & freeze, doing nothing!

So basically the Blu Ray drive is useless, unless I can find an IDE to SATA converter that fits in the tiny amount of space I have in this damned Shuttle XPC. Somebody else at AV Forums suggested an add-in SATA controller board with a different chipset but I don't have a free PCI slot.

Shuttle technical support seem to think its a chipset problem, as they've had a word with nVidia. They say I've to enable AHCI in the BIOS, but this gives me an error.

It turns out this error just means I'm no longer loading the correct SATA driver with Windows Vista & thats making it hang. I'm at work at the moment so I can't check but this may cure my problem.

Fingers crossed...

Are you sure you don't have a duff BD Drive? Otherwise you're going to have to use the SATA to IDE add-on. At least once in it's workable.

Where does the error appear? Did it fix it?