Windows 7 Won't Install

[newfireorange]

New system built today by me in four hours, 2-25-10

I boot from my Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit DVD and it loads at the bottom, "Windows is loading files" or, "Copying files" whatever it says. Then, just like when you turn on your computer and see the Windows Loading screen where the red blue and yellow colors fly in to make the Windows 7 Logo, it freezes. It has never shown the colors fly onto the screen and get past this part.

I've tried with normal BIOS settings untouched. I also tried with the OCZ RAM manufacturer's recommended timings of 8-8-8-24, 1600mhz and voltage of 1.65v.

Antec 1200 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Case - 8 Fans
GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA ATX AM3 Motherboard - Sata 6Gb/s USB 3.0
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4ghz Quad-Core
8GB OCZ AMD Black Edition DDR3 RAM 1600mhz
XFX HD Radeon 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 DX11
2X Western Digital Caviar Black SATA 3Gb/s 7200RPM 32MB Cache 500GB HDD's RAID 0
2X Samsung DVD Burner Black SATA Model - Lightscribe
Corsair 850W PSU
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 CPU Cooler
Sunbeam Rheobus-Extreme Fan Controller Panel
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

6 ft. HDMI cord
42 in. Dynex 1080p flatscreen tv

I'm eating right now lols but I do remember changing all the IDE settings to RAID in the BIOS. Can this cause it to freeze?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You have to change more than just the timings for your RAM. You also need to manually set the RAM speed and most importantly, the voltage. Your RAM is rated at 1.65v, so that's what it should be manually set to in the BIOS. You should also test the RAM overnight with Memtest86+ if you're having freezing problems.

 

[newfireorange]

I was editing this post I guess as you were typing that reply, I did all of this, except memtest of course because I can't load the OS. It does freeze at various points though ONLY when loading the Windows 7 disk, I have two disks and tried both, same outcome. I never ever freeze in BIOS or raid setup screen.

 

[EXT64]

Did you set up the RAID 0 array? You have to do that first in the MB program.

 

[EXT64]

Memtest86+ 4 can be loaded on a bootable CD or Pen Drive (no OS needed).

 

[newfireorange]

I will try memtest. If it comes back all clear, what else could be the problem?

 

[newfireorange]

I set up RAID 0 array 128kb stripe. 999.9 GB showing.

 

[EXT64]

So, Win7 doesn't get to the part where you choose your Hard Drive, or does it?

 

[newfireorange]

Nope. The gray bar loads at the bottom of the screen and it gets ready to go to the Windows OS where I pick hard drive but it freezes, every time.

 

[newfireorange]

I'm burning MemTest 64 v4 now and I will test out my RAM

 

[EXT64]

Yep, if it isn't even getting to the HDD part then they are not the issue. At that point it is just loading onto ram, so if the ram is defective, you'll get a crash.

 

[newfireorange]

Can't even get to memtest. Now the freezing i'm experiencing, my whole screen just doesn't freeze, the cursor still blinks but it just doesn't load at all.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

How long are you waiting at that point? There is a pause, sometimes for several minutes, before the screen shows up where you pick the HD. I've seen several posts where people were claiming the system was "freezing" during the Windows 7 install. Most of the time the only problem was that they weren't waiting long enough.

 

[newfireorange]

Got memtest to run now. It's still running. 6% passed so far.

 

[EXT64]

Is is set to boot from CD in the BIOS. Can you still get into the BIOS (and do you have the newest version)?

Nevermind.

 

[newfireorange]

I waited three minutes, at least three times.

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, you probably want to let it do at least one or two full passes.

 

[newfireorange]

My CD/DVD drive is first in boot priority.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

LOL, three minutes isn't long enough. Patience is a virtue. Just start the installation and walk away for 10 minutes if you can't make yourself sit in front of the computer waiting.

 

[newfireorange]

I can get into BIOS anytime I want with DEL it runs forever perfectly and never ever freezes

 

[EXT64]

Might want to check Gigabyte's site for the newest BIOS version as well.

 

[newfireorange]

 

[newfireorange]

How do I flash BIOS? Simple DVD/CD or USB flash?

 

[newfireorange]

Why does memtest show my memory at 8-8-8-26? I have it set to 8-8-8-24 in BIOS.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The motherboard owners manual describes how to flash the BIOS. Yes, you can use a USB flash drive.