Vista installation PROBLEM

When This kind of thing happens, it's usually because you have a component (mobo, optical drive, etc) that isn't compatible. Since you have provided no component details, I have no idea what that may be.


Does it give you an error code?

Have you tried the 'Repair Installation' option instead of another install?


Physically disconnect everything not needed to boot the computer - You need one hard drive, one DVD drive, a video card, 1 stick of RAM, KB/mouse/monitor.

Set the Bios to the default settings. Make sure RAID is turned off, if your mobo has the capability.

Delete all partitions from the hard drive and use the Vista DVD to perform the install. If successful, add components one at a time until the system breaks - Whatever you installed last is at fault. If not successful, then talk to your motherboard maker.

I tried repair but it doesnt work ;/
my pc :
Intel core 2 quad 2,4 GHz
4 GB RAM 800 mhz kingstone
Geforce 8800 GTS 640 MB RAM
MOBO : GA-P35C-DS3R VER 2.0
HD Baracude 500 GB
2 x dvd drive

May be that bios is making some problems ?
And (my stupidity) what is Raid ? can I turn it off at the level of BIOS?

In addition to what Scott has suggested you might try with only 2 gig of RAM installed - there is a chance you have the Vista '4 gig install bug' although you are not getting the usual error message it is still worth a try

OK - Disconnect one of the DVD's, and remove all but one stick of RAM. In your Bios there should be an option for a RAID array - Make sure it's disabled.

At this point, since you're made a couple installation attempts, I would use the Vista disc to reformat the Hard drive: This can take a large amount of time, depending on the size of your HDD.

Do those things and start the install again when the Hard Drive is done being reformatted.

I've done what you have told me.

RAID is disabled.

Only 1 ram stick left , only 1 dvd drive left

BIOS settings restored to the defaults.

And it still cant go ;/ It looks exactly like this :

After inserting cd key , formating drive I start the installation.
There are 5 steps :
1.Copying files
2.Expanding files
3.Installing features
4.Installing updates
5.Completing installation ---> at this stage computer does the reboot.
This reboot works fine and I can see the same 5 steps again.It is working on the last step as before the reboot. After a minute or two PC suddenly turns of and turns on again and I cant finish the installation;/

I'd at least try a BIOS upgrade.

I'd also try another DVD drive, preferably an IDE drive set to IDE mode in the BIOS - believe it or not I have seen a bad/incompatible drive stop an installation at the very end.

You might also try contacting Gigabyte.

I was thinking of upgrading BIOS but i'm afraid that I will damage it and computer will never boot again. My bios version is F6 and I can upgrade it to f12. Should I do this?

Has this set of components been verified to work on another OS?
How new is the MOBO? Still under warranty or RMA period from seller?

A BIOS upgrade is usually quite safe when done properly. I really have no idea if that will solve your problem but at this point, unless Scott or someone else has a new idea I would try it.

First I would try another DVD drive myself.

Any cards installed on the MOBO other than video? Network, sound, TV etc. If so get em out. What model quad is your CPU?

MOBO is still under warranty , my set should work on vista ;/
I tried another dvd- still the same ;/

there are only necessary components installed on mobo ;/

core 2 quad q6600
i've got an idea. Is it possible to install vista on win xp ? I can install xp anytime and then try to install vista , if its possible of course.

Hmm, I have the same board but the am2+ version, and I swear I saw someone with your exact board a few months back in the gigabyte section with the exact same problem. This suggestion "somehow" resolved their issue, check the voltage requirements for your ram, the board dishes1.8 volts and some dimms need more, mine for example need 2.1v, for me this only caused phantom restarts, also what psu are you using?

My ram - KVR800D2N5K2 requires 1,8 V.
my psu - be quiet! straight power quad rail 550 W.
what should I do?

With 1.8v RAM your MOBO should be giving it that by default. I don't suspect RAM problem myself.

It sounds like something is attempting to start up, probably a driver, and this is crashing the system. There might be a bluescreen there for an instant with some clue, but we can't see it.

On this assumption I would :

1. Disable the sound and network cards on the MOBO in the BIOS. Also, be sure no USB devices are connetcted!

If that fails to help

2. Flash mobo to latest BIOS and then also do the above

if that fails

3. Try with a different hard drive and put it on a different SATA port and be sure that port does not say anything about RAID - this will be printed on the board next to the port most likely but will surely be in the manual.

4. Try installing XP on same system. If it works then we know it is Vista specific, if not then it will be a component.

5. email Gigabyte right away - their techs may have an answer

mail to gigabyte sent-I'm waiting for an answer. xp installed - works perfect as always. I will take my hard drive to my friends place and try to install vista on his computer(he's got the same mobo).

I have installed vista on my hard drive on my friends pc. It works on my pc now but it isn't stable. It crashes after few minutes of running ,especially when I'm trying to install any drivers from cds.
It crashes when I'm trying to install video card drivers ;/

Edit : I managed to install graphics drivers but os still keeps crashing at different random moments

did it work on his PC? stable there?

does he have same BIOS?

Does he run Vista or XP?

There must be something amiss with either drivers, bios, or malfunctioning component because there are a ton of prople out there running vista on that board with that card and that CPU.

it was stable there. he runs xp. same version of the bios. Oh I've forgotten to add that vista couldnt start with my second dvd drive. I plugged it out and it runs but as I said crashes. I will try to install service pack 1 now - maybe this'll help ?
and cd with gigabyte drivers doesnt work on vista ;/

Then something must be wrong with your hardware somewhere. I doubt SP 1 will help but it is certainly worth a try.

Your RAM, 4 sticks or two? Or are you still trying to install with 1 stick only?

Can you try with another video card?

Good quality power supply?

I have only 1 video card
4 sticks of ram inside now
power supply - surely fine.

OK, putting 4 sticks of RAM in a mobo often causes instability problems that can be corrected by making slight tweaks to the speed, timings and possibly the voltage. We see this problem here all the time. The simply way to rule this out is to take out two of the sticks. You should do this right away and see if this helps.

On general principles until you sort this out you should have no more than 2 sticks in there.

I left only 2 sticks of ram.
I have disconnected :
all dvd drives
audio card in bios
network card in bios

and vista still keeps crashing but now seems to work longer, it even worked for an hour once. Any suggestions ?   I downloaded the newest BIOS but I don't know how to flash it ;/ I don't have floppy drive ;/

You can flash it off of a thumb/flash drive. Would not attempt to flash it in Windows while so unstable!

I wish I had an answer. It's an odd problem. You are sure XP was completely stable on this same equipment - you ran it a good long time?

Have you checked your temps? Any chance the heatsink didn't get locked all the way down - all four pins snapped and locked?

Let's see what Gigabyte has to say. If it is a MOBO problem it should affect XP too, but that's not a certainty either. A bad power supply or video card could also cause random instability .

I'm looking for some reason why same Vista ran on same HD on your friend's identical mobo and didn't crash there. Maybe it would have but you didn't run it long enough there? Lot of potential variables here.

To try to rule out the OS and or drivers as the source of the problem i suggest you download memtest 86 http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-3.4a.iso.zip

burn the iso to a cd and boot from it, it will start a memory test automatically - this test will test both the memory and the general stability of the system - let it run for at least an hour or longer and then tell us if it reports any errors


Keep us posted. If I have any more ideas I'll pass em on.

Mmm I will dare to say that it seems to be stable now. I have flashed the BIOS to the newest version and vista has been running fine for over an hour. Now I will try adding network card , audio card , ram and drives . Wish me luck.

Good luck  

And are your latest crashes bsod's or phantom restarts or...?

Everything works fine ! Stable and smooth ;] exptect for... second dvd drive.. vista simply can't see it ;/

Everything works fine now !
I want to thank everyone who helped me , especially notherdude - thanks a lot again ! You made me happy ;]

You'd be surprised what a BIOS update can fix sometimes.