Windows 7: Windows 7 Clean Install: Freezes on "Starting Windows" screen

Hey guys, I've been trying to fix this myself but with no luck. Maybe you can give me some tips? I think it is a hardware issue which I have little to no experience with.

It all started when I decided to upgrade to Windows 7 x64 from my Vista x64. I had nothing of importance on the computer, so why not do a clean install and start fresh? It installed fine and rebooted several times until the computer had the Setup Is Checking Video Performance, it froze on that screen. I had to reboot it and now here is my current issue.....

Installation is going fine, goes to Completing Installation and then reboots..Then shows a black screen with blinking cursor for 5 minutes. Then restarts itself and has Windows Recovery Error. I chose Start Windows Normally and it goes to Starting Windows screen with the logo. I've tried letting it sit there for 30 minutes until it restarts itself and states..Windows failed to start. A recent software or hardware change may be the cause..etc etc..

...So basically it's just a constant cycle of Starting Windows screen and Windows Recovery Error screen Unless I press f10 to go into the Boot Options.

If anybody could give any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I already installed Windows 7 on my laptop so I know it's my desktop which is causing the issues..

Gateway FX4710
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 / 2.5 GHz
6GB Ram / 667.0 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT / 512.0 MB

Hello mshannahnv, welcome to Seven Forums!





As you have nothing to lose on the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) have a look at the info below; be sure to post back with any further questions you may have and to keep us informed.

   Information

After you have made backups of everything you care to save and you want to do a real wipe "secure erase" to the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) have a look at this tutorial at the link below, it over-writes everything, all the old Windows code including the old Windows drivers, everything all data, giving you the best possible space to install Windows 7 to; it goes hand-in-hand with a clean install.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

How to Do a Clean Installation with Windows 7

Thank you! Hopefully this will work for me... I am in the process of doing it now, after LIST DISK it shows Disk 0 (online 596 GB), Disk 1,2,3,4 (All No Media 0 B), then Disk 5 (online 7640 MB)I am cleaning Disk 0 now.. but what is Disk 5? Should I clean that one as well?... And are having all those extra No Media Disks normal?

They could be DVD-ROM and removable media drives, could that be?

Sounds like a USB flash stick or card. Remove it before install.

If install hangs as before, see if you can boot into Safe Mode to update Display driver.

This can also happen if display is outputted via a tv card or projector. Make sure you are plugged into VGA port of video card or onboard graphics.

Alright I did all of the steps in the above link. Still crashes in the same spot (Starting Windows) and says..windows failed to start a recent hardware or software change may be the cause, etc etc.. It begins to Start Windows Normally and it crashes at Starting Windows again....

I tried going into Safe Mode where it said, Windows cannot complete installation in Safe Mode... So I pressed Shift+F10 to override that and open Command Prompt, where I soon got into the Device Manager... Attempted to Update Driver Software on my Nvidia, automatic Scan, and it said The best driver software for your device is already installed.

Should I try Uninstalling it all together and see if that helps?

Okay, decided to attempt to DISABLE my Nvidia Graphics Card and restart the computer... Gets past Starting Windows screen (yay)..But then I get the blue Windows 7 installation background where it says, Setup Is Starting Services...

Soon after, a pop up states:
The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error.
Windows installation cannot proceed. To install Windows, click OK to
restart the computer and then restart the installation.

I've tried formatting the Partition again and reinstalling, but the pop up keeps coming up...

Would uninstalling the Nvidia 9800 from the device manager get me through the installation so I can reinstall it once I get it up and running? Or would that mess everything up even more/have no effect?

Did you try the requested restart - with and without the DVD in drive?

I would remove the card if you have onboard display chip to default to in BIOS. Install it after Win7.

Try also another card.

Yes I tried to restart both ways, same pop up.

Stupid question, but how would I know if I had an onboard display chip?

Also, if I tried another card would I need to uninstall Nvidia driver in Device Manager before I put the new one in? Or would that not make a difference either way?

I have decent experience with computers, not so much experience with drivers. So thanks for your patience :)

Try installing the latest driver for your video card from the Support Downloads webpage for your model. Unzip the driver to a flash stick or CD and then browse to it from the Device Driver tab.

You can't just tell it to upgrade driver and expect it to connect to the web and do it itself in that condition. Provide that driver and any other which is in error in Dev Mgr.