C
Carlos
Guest
Another Vista install, another learning experience.
This time it was a Gigabyte mobo, with 790FX (a.k.a. "spider") northbridge
and SB600 southbridge, both ATI chipsets.
I had not read this kb http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931369 previously so
I found myself with a neverending installation.
A Vista green screen with mouse pointer and hourglass that would never go
away while the hard disk was spinning and spinning.
To make a long story short, THIS is what should always be done to have a
"safe", bullet-proof and enjoyable Vista installation experience.
1.- Use a standard IDE DVD drive for booting Vista installation, even if you
won't use it later. You can plug your shiny brand new DVD/RW sata drive once
the installation has finished.
2.- Only plug the hard disk (or disks for RAID, if applicable) that will be
the home of the operating system.
3.- Disable in BIOS all hard disk controllers except for IDE and the one
that holds the drives
4.- Don't plug any external hardware except for the mouse and keyboard. I
would recommend vanilla PS/2 mouse and keyboard, even if you won't use them
later.
5.- Disable on-board audio, parallel port, etc. You can enable them later.
6.- PCI and PCIe, only put your graphic card. You can add the other gizzmos
later.
7.- If applicable, have ready a floppy/pen drive with drivers for your hard
disk controller (or RAID).
8.- Use a maximum RAM memory of 2 gigabytes for the installation. The rest
of the sticks can be added when Vista is up'n runnin'.
9.- This should be step 0. Flash BIOS with the latest one obtained from the
mobo's manufacturer web site. It surely fixes issues and enables the latest
processors.
10.-Have coffee ready, sit down, relax and enjoy!
Carlos
This time it was a Gigabyte mobo, with 790FX (a.k.a. "spider") northbridge
and SB600 southbridge, both ATI chipsets.
I had not read this kb http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931369 previously so
I found myself with a neverending installation.
A Vista green screen with mouse pointer and hourglass that would never go
away while the hard disk was spinning and spinning.
To make a long story short, THIS is what should always be done to have a
"safe", bullet-proof and enjoyable Vista installation experience.
1.- Use a standard IDE DVD drive for booting Vista installation, even if you
won't use it later. You can plug your shiny brand new DVD/RW sata drive once
the installation has finished.
2.- Only plug the hard disk (or disks for RAID, if applicable) that will be
the home of the operating system.
3.- Disable in BIOS all hard disk controllers except for IDE and the one
that holds the drives
4.- Don't plug any external hardware except for the mouse and keyboard. I
would recommend vanilla PS/2 mouse and keyboard, even if you won't use them
later.
5.- Disable on-board audio, parallel port, etc. You can enable them later.
6.- PCI and PCIe, only put your graphic card. You can add the other gizzmos
later.
7.- If applicable, have ready a floppy/pen drive with drivers for your hard
disk controller (or RAID).
8.- Use a maximum RAM memory of 2 gigabytes for the installation. The rest
of the sticks can be added when Vista is up'n runnin'.
9.- This should be step 0. Flash BIOS with the latest one obtained from the
mobo's manufacturer web site. It surely fixes issues and enables the latest
processors.
10.-Have coffee ready, sit down, relax and enjoy!
Carlos