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BigNitroBike

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I bought a HP Z400 PC without any HDD. I tried to install Win 7 OEM on a new Micron SSD but it did not work....The software loaded all the way to "Completing Installation" but then the screen goes blank and system locks up. Restarting the system produced the error message "Windows did not shut down successfully", and the usual option to restart normally or in safe mode, neither of which work.

Thinking the problem could be the Micron SSD I sent it back and bought a new Samsung 840 Pro SSD but got the same result. Then I tried a new Western Digital SATA HDD, getting the exact same result. At that point I figured there was something wrong with the box so the company I bought the PC from graciously sent me an identical replacement computer but alas still the same result trying to load Win 7. I thought possibly the Win 7 software was corrupt so I bought a new OEM Win 7 disc, again exact same result!

Bios settings:
RAID/AHCI
Hyperthreading off
Legacy Diskette off

It's obviously not a drive or software problem. It is also unlikely two refurbished PC's of the same configuration are bad in the same way so it must be a BIOS setting or something I am doing wrong. I am out of ideas and would love to hear from some of the experts out there.
 
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The problem has been identified; what an ordeal! The seller of the PC sent me a second computer (identical), I tried 3 new disc drives, two different Win 7 software sets with no change. I called the PC seller to get my money back and they said I had to be doing something wrong. The usual "we have never had any problems like this, we sell hundreds of PC's never had any instance where Win 7 would not install, blah/blah/blah" Finally I was put in touch with there best tech who said he knew what the problem was.... they had supplied an incompatible graphics card with all the HP400Z's of that particular config. The conflict caused the screen to go dark at the end of the installation process. They sent me a different graphics card and...
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zeph_yr

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Are you sure the CPU is compatible with Windows 7? I was fixing a computer a while ago that was compatible with Windows 8, but not Windows 7. Took me a week to figure it out. Some older Intel chips can be weird with newer operating systems.
 
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BigNitroBike

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Malignant PC

Malignant PC

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Mar 4, 2013
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Did you try to reset the CMOS settings?

Here are the steps to do a soft reset:

"Using the Computer Setup (F10) Utility to Reset CMOS
To reset CMOS using the Computer Setup (F10) Utility:
1. Access the Computer Setup (F10) Utility menu.
2. When the Computer Setup message appears in the lower-right corner of the screen, press F10,
and then press Enter to bypass the title screen, if necessary.
If you do not press F10 while the message is displayed, the workstation must be restarted to access
this utility.
3. From the Computer Setup (F10) Utility menu, select File>Default Setup.
This restores the settings that include boot sequence order and other factory settings. However, it
does not force hardware rediscovery.
4. Choose Restore Factory Settings as Default, and the press F10 to accept.
ENWW Clearing and Resetting the CMOS 157"

If that doesn't work try a hard reset:

"To clear CMOS using the Clear CMOS button, use the following procedure:
WARNING! To reduce the risk of personal injury from electrical shock and hot surfaces, disconnect
the power cord from the wall outlet and allow the internal system components to cool before touching.
156 Chapter 8 Configuring password security and resetting CMOS ENWW"


Also, what happens when the computer locks up.. does it just freeze up and continue to run or does it automatically shut down?
 
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BigNitroBike

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A few days ago I had previously restored the Bios settings to factory default which did nothing to help. Upon your advice I reset the CMOS by holding the CMOS button on the motherboard for 5 seconds, then re installed windows. This did not help either.

To answer your question about the lock up...the screen goes blank and system is non responsive to anything but a hard reboot which results in the message "Windows did not shut down successfully" The options to start windows normally and in safe mode result in the same thing....blank screen and non responsive system.

 
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BigNitroBike

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Alec,

The setting on the HP is RAID+AHCI. There is not an option to have just AHCI. It's either RAID+AHCI or IDE.

Phil

 
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Alec Mowat

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Jan 8, 2014
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Did you try IDE? Might be preconfigured for onboard Raid
 
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Malignant PC

Malignant PC

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Mar 4, 2013
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"Hyperthreading off" try enabling hyperthreading considering your box has a multi-core cpu.

Try to get in and tweak your BIOS settings some more. Check back and let us know what your BIOS has for the other settings.
 
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BigNitroBike

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Mar 6, 2014
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The problem has been identified; what an ordeal! The seller of the PC sent me a second computer (identical), I tried 3 new disc drives, two different Win 7 software sets with no change. I called the PC seller to get my money back and they said I had to be doing something wrong. The usual "we have never had any problems like this, we sell hundreds of PC's never had any instance where Win 7 would not install, blah/blah/blah" Finally I was put in touch with there best tech who said he knew what the problem was.... they had supplied an incompatible graphics card with all the HP400Z's of that particular config. The conflict caused the screen to go dark at the end of the installation process. They sent me a different graphics card and the system now works like a champ.
 
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