Installing Vista on an Uninitialized HDD

Tute · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:21

Hi.

Anyone managed to do this? Just tried to install it on a WD Raptor 150GB that I got from RMA a couple of weeks back, no other drives connected except the DVD, and it just won't go into setup.

Sometimes it gives an error that it can't write files it needs, other times it just crashes.

I'm 99% sure Microsoft wouldn't overlook something like a user installing Vista on a brand new drive, so what am I doing wrong?

|Ric| · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:30

I haven't installed vista myself but for an xp install I would be tempted to say that it is a memory problem
But I assume that your system runs fine the rest of the time if all you have done is swap out the hard drive?

Tute · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:37

|Ric| said:
I haven't installed vista myself but for an xp install I would be tempted to say that it is a memory problem
But I assume that your system runs fine the rest of the time if all you have done is swap out the hard drive?

Well I swapped the motherboard and PSU as well, I put off installing Vista until I got the new parts.

But all the other parts are unchanged from when they were running XP. And i'm in XP now on the rig, while I format the Raptor to try again.

The DVD drive was giving me some problems in XP though, could it possibly be that? Are there any programs I can try that would "stress test" a DVD drive?

bledd · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:41

i installed vista on a unformatted brand new hard drive (sata) the other day, no hic ups

|Ric| · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:42

Yeh I could see it being the dvd drive causing the problems, afraid I can't offer any help there, as I don't know how you could test it other than trying a different drive.

IAmATeaf · 5 Apr 2007 at 16:52

Try copying say the contents of a DVD (film) to the hard drive and see if XP reports any errors, if it does then you'll know there's a prob with the drive.

Tute · 5 Apr 2007 at 17:05

I managed to format the 150GB Raptor in XP, then I rebooted, attached the DVDRW drive, and got into setup!

Then it told me "You can't install on this volume as the partition isn't designed for operating systems blah blah blah." :mad:

I really want to nip out to their head office and smack some people. :mad:

DYNA_ROD · 5 Apr 2007 at 18:13

It did the same with me when i installed vista with 2X sata dvd drives and 2x sata drives i just unplugged the extra harddrive and next time i installed the os i let windows its things instead of clicking the advanced installed work a treat then.

Tute · 5 Apr 2007 at 19:13

Whoa hang on, is there some kind of bug with multiple SATA drives?

Do you think the Vista installer would consider my DVDRW as one?

philhoole · 5 Apr 2007 at 20:09

Are you overclocking during the install? Try installing it at stock.

Tute · 5 Apr 2007 at 20:18

philhoole said:
Are you overclocking during the install? Try installing it at stock.

Was at stock when I installed.

Priapus · 6 Apr 2007 at 09:49

There is a bug as far as I know, with Vista not using SATA DVD drives very well..?

However I installed Vista on to my 2x 160Gb SATA drives just fine they were in a RAID config as well.