Software / Driver installation issues within Windows 7

[RedhouseRead]

Hi,

I recently decided to upgrade my older pc from XP to W7 as some software I wanted to use will not work in XP or W8 which I have on my laptop....after 3 days of hell just trying to get W7 to install I thought I was over the problems when I finally got it to work, I was wrong!!

It all appears to be setup ok, user accounts etc....but when I try to update drivers, install a printer, load anti virus, the usual sort of stuff, well the item I am installing just stops responding & loading midway through installation, no matter what it is......also W7 wont shut down of its own accord, just gets stuck on the logging out screen.

Any help would be much appreciated, btw system is:

Asus M2V-MX Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
ATI Radeon HD 4600 1GB
4 GB Ram
W7 32bit Home Premium (Clean Install)

Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

I'd start over and follow these same steps for Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
to get a perfect install.

Pay special attention to how drivers are handled in Win7 as it is not like XP at all. First do all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates, after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware (Step 3). Only import drivers still missing after all Updates are done.

To get the cleanest slate for a perfect install I'd also first wipe the HD with Diskpart Clean Command

 

[RedhouseRead]

Thanks for the information.....but it was kinda my worse fears, considering that it took me 3 days just to get it installed originally I was hoping there was an easier solution as I fear the same happening!!

I must confess that this, my first experience of W7 has tarnished my opinion a bit on an operating system that is generally well regarded, I have over the years installed all of the other Windows variants and never have had this kind of hassle to install.....maybe I have just been lucky, but really not impressed.

Thanks again

RR

 

[RedhouseRead]

Afternoon,

I bit the bullet and went for another clean install as recommended, I implemented the hardware & Bios changes that eventually allowed me to install before (unplug everything, removed 2GB of Ram, switched off 'Cool & Quiet', USB Ports and adjusted Hyper Threading Settings in Bios).....it all installed ok from the newly burned disk, got user accounts etc set up, and all appeared to be running smoothly within Windows.

Then come the time to install some Drivers & software, just wont have it, not anything!! just gets stuck during installation.....then web pages wont load (to try and re-download drivers) & gets stuck when shutting down. when I reboot into safe mode, then back to normal mode all appears to be fine, can shut down normally etc...but as soon as I try to install anything it flips out, this is what I have so far tried to install:

AVG Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials (just to see if I could get some antivirus loaded!!)
Printer Drivers (Printer is supported in W7)
ATI Catalyst Drivers

Loosing patience with all this, surely it cant be this much of a pain in the arse just to use W7?

Regards

RR

 

[gregrocker]

I would not use AVG since it bloated up some years back and never slimmed back down - use Microsoft Security Essentials instead for best performance.

Did you wipe the HD of all boot code as I suggested?

What drivers are you still missing after all rounds of Important and Optional Updates. You're not trying to install any others, are you? Confirm you didn't install anything other than LAN driver before doing all rounds of Important and Optional Updates.

This is not behavior we see characteristic of Win7 at all, so the issue is likely a program or driver or possibly even hardware. Have you tested your hardware yet? If not test the RAM and HD from Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

 

[RedhouseRead]

Yeah boot code was wiped, proper clean install as recommended.

Thanks for the tip about AVG, just always used it in recent years......but alas had the same install issue with Microsoft Security Essentials.

As for the drivers, did not actually check what I needed, just got in the habit of installing latest display drivers etc...as I assumed the ones direct from ATI would be better than the standard Windows installed ones.

RR

 

[gregrocker]

What did I just write above? :shock:

Pay special attention to how drivers are handled in Win7 as it is not like XP at all. First do all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates, after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware (Step 3). Only import drivers still missing after all Updates are done.

Why would you ask for help here and then just deliberately ignore advice based on helping with tens of thousands of Win7 installs, forcing XP methods on a driver-complete OS?