Getting stuck on "setup is preparing your computer for first use"

[subforce]

Getting stuck on "setup is preparing your computer for first use"

Hi Everyone, I'm trying to put a brand new copy of Windows 7 on my custom built PC which was running fine on Vista and XP.

Completely fresh formatted hard drive.

It gets as far as the "setup is preparing your computer for first use" screen and then just sits there indefinitely.




I've tried repairing it after booting from Windows disc, it said no problem was found.

I've unplugged and disabled everything possible, including going down to 1 stick of RAM.

I've reset the mobo to default settings.

I've tried starting in low resolution from the F8 menu.



Nothing works, it just does the same thing every time.




Specs:

Core 2 Duo
DDR2-800 RAM
nVidia Chipset
GeForce 8800GT with 2 DVI outputs
SATA Hard drive and DVD Drive

Tried installing it on an old laptop to see if it was the disc and it installed perfectly on that first time.

Completely run out of ideas, help please!

 

[gregrocker]

Try entering Safe Mode to uninstall any drivers in error in Device Manager - normal offender is the Display driver - which should allow it to start so driver can be updated from Win7.

If it refuses Safe Mode use the steps at the end of this tutorial to open Device Manager from Command Line: Device Manager - Access During Windows 7 Installation - Windows 7 Forums

If these steps fail, see if using a VGA monitor will allow install to finish.

 

[subforce]

That is extremely useful but it hasnt solved the problem unfortunately. Still stops on the setup is preparing for first use screen. I went into device manager and disabled the graphics card and the 2 devices with no drivers and it didnt work, so I went back in and disabled absolutely everything that had a disable button and it still doesnt work.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[gregrocker]

Where is it mentioned to disable the devices?

You don't want to disable device.

You instead want to Uninstall the display driver so it defaults to Standard VGA driver which will start on anything.

 

[subforce]

I must have read that somewhere else as it was stuck in my head not to uninstall them. Cant do any harm I suppose, I'll give that a try.

Thanks

 

[subforce]

Still didnt work after uninstalling them.

 

[gregrocker]

Browse into the setup logs at the locations below using this method to browse to files from DVD: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console

C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupact.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\miglog.xml
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupapi\setupapi.dev.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setupapi\setupapi.app.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\PreGatherPnPList.log
C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\PostGatherPnPList.log

The last listing should reveal what is stalling the startup.

 

[subforce]

Ahhhh, that's done it, it was an nforce motherboard driver, thanks for your help. Working perfectly now.

 

[tanugr]

how did you do that?
i have the same problem, but now i can not even boot from the cd
it is stuck

 

[gregrocker]

Enter BIOS setup to reset BIOS to defaults.

While in BIOS setup set DVD drive to boot first.

Save settings changes and exit.

Reboot with DVD in drive, look for prompt to "Press any key to boot DVD." Are you getting it?

If not then your DVD is not bootable and needs to have another one burned with ImgBurn at 4x speed.

If that fails, confirm your ISO or download another.

To elminate DVD and OD, write ISO (extracted if necessary with ImgBurn) to flash stick using Universal USB Installer with Win7 in dropdown menu. Boot under USB, Removable or HD's by tapping one-time BIOS boot menu keyn at reboot, after setting HD first to boot in BIOS setup.