Windows 7 installation Freezes

Ok, So I've been trying to upgrade my Operating System of my Dell Xps 410 Desktop from Windows XP 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit. I recently went and purchased a copy of Home Premium 64-bit Windows 7 from a Computer store. My Computer's stock DVD drive is broken and only the CD drive is active (which needles to say can not read the Windows 7 installation CD). However I have tried to use a USB External DVD Drive to Launch the install CD. It loads the windows Files fines but then Freezes as soon as it gets to "starting Windows". I've left it running for a maximum of 2 and a half hours and it does not unfreeze, I've unplugged the External DVD drive and plugged it back in as well on a different attempt, still no response. I've scrapped the DVD idea and created a Bootable USB stick of Windows 7 home premium, set it up correctly and then tried the install again, same problem, windows files load, then it freezes on "Starting Windows". It is to my knowledge that the XPS 410 stock motherboard(Dell DXP051 ) and CPU (Intel Dual Core 2.8GHZ) ARE compatible with 64-bit Operating System's. I have not yet formatted the partition or created a new one, because I need this computer to work 24/7 for Servers.

Any suggestions?

Try cleaning the HD Drive

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

Thank you for your response, However, I am unable to clean the disk because I am running my Operating system on it, and I can not boot into command prompt from the Windows 7 installation because my installation freezes during "Starting Windows" which is right after "Loading Files" from the Boot CD/DVD/USB. I never get to the window that asks for "Language".

Write the latest official ISO to stick using the ISO and tool in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
which also has tips for getting a perfect install.

This is most likely your problem. If not post back the exact step where it fails in Clean Install Windows 7 and any verbatim error message.

I created a Bootable Windows 7 USB stick, I have all my necessary drivers for all of my hardware on a CD, (and also on another USB stick just in case). And I've even backed up my Windows XP 32-bit, just in case a Format/clean happens without an installation.


I follow the instructions on : Clean Install Windows 7 but right after I press a key to boot from CD or DVD (in my case a USB stick) i see "Loading Files" and the gray bar loads 2 times, and then the screen switches to a black screen that says "Starting Windows", and it will get hung up on this screen indefinitely. I never get to the Window that has an drop down menus or language selection or anything like that.

I have heard that running Windows 7 installation with more than 2GB of RAM on older motherboard models can cause problems. I'm going to try different amounts of RAM in different ports and see if that helps

Confirm that you have written to stick the ISO in tutorial above using the tool also provided.

It was indeed a hardware issue, I pulled out 6gigs of RAM leaving a single stick of 2Gigs. The set up loaded and I can now continue the Windows 7 installation.
Btw Gregrocker, thank you so much, that link helped A LOT with the installation process
Ill see you on the other side.

After install replace the RAM to see if it is all recongnized in Resource Monitor and Win7 functions correctly.

If not test the RAM - Test with Memtest86+, remove sticks to try to isolate a bad stick or sticks.

Double-check the spec'ing of the RAM to make sure it is absolutely accurate.

Thank you for the help! I successfully installed Windows 7. And damn the future is nice....well....updates are nice I should say. [After mounting the .ISO to a Bootable USB stick <which i actually used an 8gig sandisk memorycard and usb memorycard reader xD> I stripped my computer down to 2 gigs of RAM in slot 0. I ran the installation and from the Language selection screen i hit SHIFT+F10 to launch command prompt. I did the DISKPART method, clean all, created a new partition that was ONLY 100GB, and set it to active. From there i exited back to the "Language" selection and continued to the partition selection, where I chose my newly created partition. Once I had selected that and clicked next, Windows began Copying files and the Expanding them, and then Installing updates. Once that had finished my computer rebooted...
NOTE: IF I did not remove the USB drive I was using to boot the install, then my computer would Loop and restart the windows 7 installation from the very beginning. UNPLUGGING the USB during the 1st installation reboot fixed that problem and Windows 7 went on to install with out a hitch.]
However, Once I installed W7, I then took Greg's advice and ran memtest, I ran it on each stick individually from Slot 0, There were no Errors after 7 passes, which was pretty quick with 2gig sticks.

I then did the same with Slots 0 and 1 only, (cycling out all 4 2 gig sticks) and still no errors, but when I install all 4 sticks I get CONTINUOUS errors after memtest detects all 4 slots and all 4 sticks correctly, happens on all passes.

Slot 0: 2048 MB DDR2-800 - AVANT
Slot 1: 2048 MB DDR2-800 - AVANT
Slot 2: 2048 MB DDR2-800 - AVANT
Slot 3: 2048 MB DDR2-800 - AVANT

And then errors..... the error codes only read ffffffffffff etc across the board.


So for now I'm running 4 gigs in slots 0 and 1 (gray ports 1 and 2 for Dell DXP051 mother board. 2x Avant 2gig-800MHZ sticks DDR2.)

The only Drivers I have installed, is my Nvidia Geforce 460 GTX SE Cyclone driver.

Wait for all Important and Optional Updates to install with reboots, before importing any more drivers.

Are these matching RAM sticks, all with the same exact specs?

Can you install 3 of the four and it remains stable?

Some hardware experts will advise you further.