Solved ACHI blocking installation

[tinmar49]

I have kept my W7 ULT running 32 bit just in case I needed to run legacy programs. This has not happened so to benefit from the 8 gig of ram, I decided to change to 64 bit. Of course this means that a fresh install is mandatory. The W7 ULT came with both DVD'S so no problems there. Early in the process everything ground to a halt, "installation was cancelled ---- Windows cannot install required files --- error code 0x8007045D". I thought that the 64 bit DVD was faulty so I downloaded the ISO and that suffered the same fate. Having nothing to lose, I turned off ACHI in the bios and Windows has almost finished installing. Since the other reason for changing is to use a new SSD, I will change back to ACHI after installation. Incidentally, the optical drive is an ATA unit due to a shortage of SATA ports.

 

[Pauly]

Have you tried installing with optical drive unplugged and just your primary hdd attached to sata port, do you have the correct bios settings ?
Changing to ACHI after installation is not a straight forward process and can lead to problems, do you know how to do this ?
Heres a link if you need it
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61869-ahci-enable-windows-7-vista.html

 

[tinmar49]

How do you install using a DVD with the optical drive unplugged?

 

[tinmar49]

Update. Windows installed with ACHI disabled in bios, motherboard drivers, gpu drivers and activated fine. Then I set to windows updates and the machine continually locked up. I reset ACHI and decided to try another clean load of Windows. To my relief it has got past the original choke point and is loading noticeably faster. No changes to the bios have been made except the boot sequence and ACHI.

 

[gregrocker]

Start over and work through these steps to Troubleshoot Windows 7 Installation Failures - Windows 7 Help Forums
which resolve almost all installation problems and address the BIOS settings hanging you up.

I'd also look over these steps for Clean Reinstall Windows 7 which compiile everything that works best in tens of thousands of installs we've directly helped with here and has been used by over a million consumers without a single complaint.

Note how drivers are best handled in Win7 which is the opposite of XP: after getting online install all Important and Optional Windows Updates until there are no more offered, then import any drivers still missing in Device Manager.

 

[tinmar49]

I have got Windows to load several times but it locks up during driver installation randomly. The recovery screen does not work properly and control/alt/delete may or may not work. This pc runs XP,7ULT32,8.1PRO64, Mint 64 and W10 64 all builds to date all on the same bios settings with no problems. I have never had problems like this even back in the days of Win 95.

 

[gregrocker]

It's likely because you are still using Win95 methods on a driver-complete OS. I specifically mentioned how drivers are best handled since this is where many old-schoolers go wrong. Are you forcing drivers before seeing which ones Win7 wants?

 

[tinmar49]

Ive loaded W7 at least 10 times for myself and other people so I know a little about it. LAN drivers seem to be absent from W7 so its not quite so advanced as W8 or W10. Most of the failures occurred during loading as described in my first post.

 

[AddRAM]

Only certain manuf network drivers are missing from W7 (Dell for one) 99 % of others are there.

 

[gregrocker]

This is due to no SP2, so drivers have not been updated in the installer since 2010. Since you need the LAN driver to get online to get all of your drivers and patches that make them work, it is suggested in Clean Reinstall Windows 7 to put it in the backup. Note that those who follow the tutorial's steps never have a complaint, but those who skip steps or think they know best have problems. This has been proven by more than a million who have used it successfully, steps are based on tens of thousands of installs we've directly helped with here.

What is the exact error you're getting when trying to install drivers? Did you run .exe as Admin?

Most importantly, have you first installed all Important and Optional Windows Updates, with reboots, going back to Check for Updates until no more are offered?

I'd include the latest Net Framework since sometimes installers can error without explanation due to not having it.

 

[tinmar49]

The error code stops loading randomly between 0% and 93%. On those occasions when I have reached desktop, the system freezes randomly even when starting to load Windows first (after LAN drivers ). Attempting startup repairs is futile. The BIOS is at default settings except for ACHI which works fine with XP, W7 32, 8.1PRO 64 W10 64 and Mint 17.1 64. I have now refitted the W7 32 hdd and Windows has automatically reactivated, I think its time to call it a day, thanks everyone.

 

[gregrocker]

You quit without responding to our suggestions? What about enabling AHCI : Enable in Windows 7 / Vista after installing with it disabled as suggested by Pauly? No response. What about my question about whether Windows Updates were all installed first to get critical drivers and patches for your hardware, and the other steps in Clean Reinstall Windows 7 which I was asking you to compare to the install you did.

These forums solve any problem where there is cooperation and full interactivity. It is your choice to quit before you even fully interacted with our steps, which would have kept coming until it is resolved one way or the other.

 

[tinmar49]

Please read my last post.

 

[gregrocker]

Wipe the HD of all code and create a Active Primary partition following the steps to Troubleshoot Windows 7 Installation Failures - Windows 7 Help Forums

Test your hard drive using HD Diagnostic extended CD scan followed by a full Disk Check and RAM - Test with Memtest86+.

Where did you get the Win7 installer? Try another from Clean Reinstall Windows 7 .

 

[tinmar49]

It seems that all my problems were caused by an intermittent fault with one of the sata ports on the motherboard.