Windows 7 - Win 7 Pro - Clean Install 3 times in 2 days ! .. Advent 5712 Laptop

Hi all, had to post as this is driving me nuts...
Advent 5712 Laptop Specifications: .. Had to clean install Win 7 Pro 3 times in 2 day's.

Processor: Intel
Processor Type: Celeron Dual Core Processor T1600
Processor Speed: 1.66 GHz, 533 MHz, 512 KB cache
Operating System: Vista.... Now clean win 7 pro
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 500 GB



Software is all legit, at first the install went as per norm, then later that day the system just slowed down to a crawl. 30-45 min to boot up, stuck on welcome with win logo..
and the same to close down... 45 mins.
used slim drivers to update all device drivers.. slow, slow... did memm test 86, hdd health ect... all good
it had vista pre-install which i removed completely-formatted-clean install
it's stuck now on 'expandinding windows'.. for 20 mins (0%) !
i build-fix desktops-laptops... OS installs ect.. this 1 one is making me grin
expanding has just kicked in (1%)..

Boot from disc-format-install-update-driver update...
any pointers would be great.. poss deleteing pre-installed vista maybe a culprit ? protected bios-cant install xp without slipstream disc-tried to but hard to find right sata drivers so re-install Win 7 Pro.. Thank 's

Have any of your clean install attempts included using the "clean" command in Diskpart?

No.... i just deleted the partition & formatted..
Also i bought a new battery that has been fully charged... i've removed the battery & only used the charger to do all installs.. would this effect in any way ?
i'm going to do a 'clean' (command diskpart) install now & will post the results later.. many thanks.

Try using the "clean" command in Diskpart. It can't hurt and might help.

I assume this laptop has only a single drive. If by chance it has 2 drives, disconnect the drive that is not the target of the install.

What exactly are "slim drivers"?

If it remains slow after the next install, let us know what is going on with processes and CPU cycles per Resource Monitor.

Is that a single 2 GB stick of RAM, or a pair?

single hdd 500gb .. 1 stick 2gb ram... i think the previous pre-installed vista has something to do with it ?
slim drivers is a free driver update program..
installed win 7 3 hrs ago... turned laptop on now, it's stuck on 'starting windows'... !!

Normally, I'd doubt a previous Vista install was involved, but the "clean" command will wipe the drive for sure.

I'd avoid the slim drivers thing at least temporarily till you get this sorted out. The Windows disk should have what you need in most cases.

i thought so myself, but another view is always helpful indeed..... hey... win 7 just kicked in.. gonna 'clean' & reinstall
Thanks again

install went ok.. started laptop today & hangs at 'windows starting'... took ages to load, then startup repair ! found no problems ... i did..
unresponsive desktop, mouse will move but thats it, cpu light flashing at full tilt for half an hour..
after several forced reboots it seems to have settled down !
installed updates (only critical ones) & sp 1 last night.

Are you aware that this is not XP? Why would you update all drivers in Windows 7? MS spent nearly a billion dollars getting all of the drivers into the Windows 7 installer, or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates. You only need to provide drivers for devices then missing their drivers in Device Manager. Only change out drivers given if they are traced to performance problems.

I would start over and follow these steps to get a perfect clean reinstall based on thousands we have helped with here: Reinstalling Windows 7

update: i believe it is a hdd fail problem & replaced the hdd & reinstalled Windows 7.. so far so good..
thanks for the help & replies.. hixx