Work around procedure for Vista installation Freezes

Hey Gang,

As I am sure you are aware alot of us are crashing right at the end of the installation process. We all want to get going only to have it crash right in our faces. I have spent a good 5 days on this and Microsoft Tech was worthless. But the main problem for higher end Vistas is the video cards. Mine is as powerful as they get and had me doubting my processor but i kept crashing right when Tech support said I should have my video hardware taking over so this is what I did and I can now say Vista is the Ultimate.

Turn off the machine after it has done the roll back to XP(upgrade) or just turn off if you are doing a fresh full install.

Open the case..yes open the case and take out your video card.

Plug your monitor directly into the Motherboard slot on the back of the PC.
(Sounds super strange but I did it on three machines now and this is the process)

Try installing again. This time it should get past the freeze/crash. Sounds wierd but again, 3 machines now.

Once it installs entirely it will want to reboot. DONT LET IT START NORMALLY. Press F8 and start it in Safe Mode WITH Networking.

Go on the net and get the vista driver for your card and save it to your desk top.

Turn the machine off and reinstall your card. Make sure this time you start in Safe Mode AGAIN. Once in safe mode install the driver. For you ATI guys install the Catylyst later. Just the driver for now.

Once the driver is installed and the screen will flicker a few times, you get to restart normally. Makes me want to shed a tear .

Also, for your Vista Aero users. Once Vista is up it is NOT set to use Aero. Quickest way to turn it on is to go into help and do a trouble shoot for Aero. Otherwise you have to change scheme, color variations, refresh rates and monitor settings. Yawn.

Well there it is gang, maybe we can all get up and running yet but for those of you that Passed the advisor this was the only fix we could make work and its working pretty good.

GOOD LUCK!

 

is there a workaround like this for someone like myself that has no built in video support on his motherboard?, my video card is the only way to connect my monitor.

 

Try using a radeon 7000 or something similar, you can get them fairly cheaply and can sell them afterwards. Or, install Vista on a different pc, use imaging software (or vista's own backup tools) to back up the system, then reinstate it on your pc. This is legal, as you'll have to activate once you've reinstated the backup.