Windows 7 help

[avgas]

Setting as follows... why I don't know, but hey...

BIOS

System Configuration -> Device Configurations

Change SATA Device Mode to IDE

Might be worth changing the boot order for the Upgrade Bay (wanky name... it's a fuckin DVD DRIVE)... anyhoo... I seem to remember doing that at one point, but I was experimenting at the time...

What he said.
That IDE thing is almost a joke now - seems to be the panadol solution to any new PC.

But change the boot order.

If your still stuck this weekend, chuck me a PM and I can give you a hand.

[SMOKEU]

No but that is exactly what I want to do. Dunno how to though?! All I can find is the annoying HP assistant shit.

Go into the BIOS and set the boot setup so it will only boot from the CD/DVD. Disable booting up from all other drives. Each BIOS is different, but there should be a menu somewhere saying "boot setup" or "boot priority" or similar.

Once you have done this, save the change and exit the BIOS. The computer should now run from the disc. The screen may go blank for several minutes. Follow the instructions on the Windows installer and format the drive from the Windows installer in NTFS.

[Gremlin]

Basic steps (generic to any machine, but specific keys will vary).

1. Check manufacturers website for drivers for your OS of choice. Chances are (especially with Windows 7) that you won't need them, but if there are issues, then you need to fall back to the website, and download specific drivers. If drivers are not available for your choice of OS, its indicative that you should only proceed if you REALLY want that OS, as you could have issues with getting correct drivers (ok, so it also depends on driver, some can be found at OEM).

2. Backup your machine. If this all goes wrong, you have something to go back to, after you've destroyed everything your machine pretty much knows (will be doing this later on). This is where being a mech has advantages. We have software for complete imaging of a machine (very handy for restoring to, if something doesn't work out). I believe there are free alternatives, no idea how well they work.

3. Make sure the machine will look at devices in the correct order on start. ie, called the boot priority. The optical device (dvd drive) must be higher in the list than the hard drive, otherwise, the machine will find the OS on the hard drive, and start it. To change this, you need to get into the BIOS. There should be a key (F2, F8, ESC etc) as soon as you start the machine, corresponding to setup (ie, the BIOS). Even if you get a boot priority, take that as well. This would give you manual control over what you want to boot from (floppy, optical, hdd, network and so on).

4. Once you get the machine reading the optical device first, make sure the device can actually read the type of media you have. ie, don't try to read a DVD with a CD drive (unusual to see this now, but it can trip people up).

5. You should get a prompt saying "Press any key to read DVD" or words to the effect. Don't look for the key marked Any... just hit enter. Its possible this will be skipped, and it will start windows 7 OS installation automatically.

6. You're starting the install process. At one point (near the beginning) it will look at your available hard drives (its most definitely advised not to have any extra drives, flash drives etc, plugged in during the entire process. You will need to locate the machines primary hard drive. If you have a simple install (not multiple partitions etc) remove any partitions on it. Once you re-install, unless you set it up, the recovery partition won't be used. Leaving a partition can also cause problems with labelling partitions in the OS. If you have multiple partitions, remove the old OS partition. This would allow you to leave data intact on a separate partition.

7. Create a new partition using the freed up space, tell Windows 7 to install on it.

8. Sit back, wait for the OS to be installed.

9. Once complete, boot into the OS, get an internet connection and run Windows Updates. With Windows 7, its easiest to tell you this, instead of getting you to apply each update. Windows 7 should be capable of getting the correct drivers for most hardware (amazingly simple actually).

10. If you have remaining issues, you'll need to use the Device Manager to locate the problem hardware, and obtain the drivers for it.

wow... this is a long post...

[SMOKEU]

Basic steps (generic to any machine, but specific keys will vary).

1. Check manufacturers website for drivers for your OS of choice. Chances are (especially with Windows 7) that you won't need them, but if there are issues, then you need to fall back to the website, and download specific drivers. If drivers are not available for your choice of OS, its indicative that you should only proceed if you REALLY want that OS, as you could have issues with getting correct drivers (ok, so it also depends on driver, some can be found at OEM).

There shouldn't be any driver issues with Windows 7, unless some of the hardware is ancient. My 7 year old PCI TV tuner works fine on 7, as do some old webcams I have.

[scracha]

System Configuration -> Device Configurations

Change SATA Device Mode to IDE

But only do that for the hard drive if you're trying to load Win XP and don't have the savvy to slipstream SATA drivers onto the CD. Shouldn't have to do this on the optical drive but I guess it won't hurt.

Change the boot order in the bios. Actually...what Smokeu said about disabling every other advice seems to be a common trick.
If you get no joy then try another bootable CD (just to test).
If still no joy then try a USB external DVD (or be a clever clogs and get a bootable USB drive with the files on it).
If still no joy then take it to someone who knows what the hell they're doing. It's called OEM software for a reason, and that reason is something to do with end users.

If you have to deal with HP then you'll realise that they suck the big one.

It's only worth changing to 64 bit if you're running more than 3GB of RAM IMHO. Will cause too many problems with legacy stuff otherwise.

[Gremlin]

There shouldn't be any driver issues with Windows 7, unless some of the hardware is ancient. My 7 year old PCI TV tuner works fine on 7, as do some old webcams I have.

Seen issues with hardware less than 3 years old, some even brand new.

Just saying it happens. Don't run around say there shouldn't be... its a very bold statement to make

[SMOKEU]

Seen issues with hardware less than 3 years old, some even brand new.

Just saying it happens. Don't run around say there shouldn't be... its a very bold statement to make

I didn't say there won't be any driver issues, I said there shouldn't be any driver issues, implying that there is a possibility of those issues occurring.

[avgas]

Thread dead - problem solved.

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