Windows 8 Setup hangs on install at splash screen.

Windows 8 RTM Setup hangs on the initial splash screen when trying to install.  I'm trying to install the 64bit version of Windows 8 RTM.

The hardware is an Asus A8N-SLI Premium motherboard with an AMD 64 X-2 3800 processor.  The video card is a Gigabyte 7600GS card, but other video cards have been tried as well.  The motherboard has been stripped of all other hardware/cards, except for memory, a keyboard and an IDE DVD drive.  I have even tried unplugging the hard drive (an IDE drive), since the install doesn't even get to the point where it's writing to the hard disk. 

I have checked the hash of the download and burned a disk twice...I don't think it's a corrupted iso file issue or a bad disk.

Note: this same hardware runs Windows 7 Pro, 64bit without an issue.

August 16th, 2012 4:52am

The ISO hash is correct. 

Another data point: instead of booting from the Windows 8 DVD (which hangs), I booted into Windows 7 and then ran setup off the DVD.  This started the Windows 8 upgrade process, which proceeded correctly until the first reboot in the installation process.  The reboot hung at the inital splash screen.


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August 16th, 2012 5:08am

Got a workaround for you if you are game.   Yank the HDD, place in another machine.   Format the drive, use DISM to Apply-Image.   Place HDD back in machine and boot Windows 8 so it can finish the installation process.  Details in the link.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh824910.aspx

This does not address why boot.wim is hanging during the install, which could be a few different things.  My theory is if applying the image works, then your hardware is compatible and we need to think of something else.

Also, you should be able to verify your ISO as non-corrupt with any Hash checking software, I use a program called "HashCheck"   Check your technet download link for your SHA or MD5 of your ISO

http://code.kliu.org/hashcheck/

August 16th, 2012 7:43am

The ISO hash is correct. 

Another data point: instead of booting from the Windows 8 DVD (which hangs), I booted into Windows 7 and then ran setup off the DVD.  This started the Windows 8 upgrade process, which proceeded correctly until the first reboot in the installation process.  The reboot hung at the inital splash screen.


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August 16th, 2012 8:08am

I had this issue as well. After a number of retries I found all I needed to do was remove the DVD when the machine restarted but before it tried to boot off it. Then the install process continued as expected from the hard drive.
August 16th, 2012 10:29am

Any other ideas, is there an install log somewhere?

Not sure why you need someone else to google that for you, but I guess it's worth it if I get 5 points for a helpful post.  The log files are

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744583%28v=ws.10%29.aspx



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August 16th, 2012 3:10pm

Not sure why you need someone else to google that for you....

Guess I'm just too tired to think of the obvious after so many unsuccessful install attempts. ;)

(So you do get +5)

August 16th, 2012 4:32pm

I'm having the same issue and removing the DVD doesn't do anything. Not really game for yanking my HDD. Any other ideas, is there an install log somewhere?
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August 16th, 2012 5:32pm

Any other ideas, is there an install log somewhere?

Not sure why you need someone else to google that for you, but I guess it's worth it if I get 5 points for a helpful post.  The log files are

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744583%28v=ws.10%29.aspx



August 16th, 2012 6:10pm

Not sure why you need someone else to google that for you....

Guess I'm just too tired to think of the obvious after so many unsuccessful install attempts. ;)

(So you do get +5)

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August 16th, 2012 7:32pm

I have the same motherboard and the same problem.
August 16th, 2012 10:06pm

I had the exact same issue when I installed Windows 8 on my custom built machine. It turned out to be because the Floppy drive setting in the BIOS was enabled; changed this to disable and all was working fine!
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August 18th, 2012 1:53am

Yes, it appears that Windows 8 x64 doesn't like some 64bit CPUs.

I have tried to install Windows 8 RTM x64 on two different ASUS A8N motherboard-based computers. One had an AMD 64 X2 3800+ CPU. The other had an AMD 64 X2 4200+ CPU.  Both installs hung at the initial splash screen, regardless of DVD drives, hard drives used, etc.  Both machines had previously been running the 64bit version of Windows 7 Pro without issues.

However, using the 32bit RTM version of Windows 8 worked: the install did not hang at the inital splash screen.

So, in summary: Windows 8 64bit does not like some early 64bit CPUs.  I don't know if the problem is also related to the A8N motherboard.  In other words, would the same CPUs also fail on 64bit Windows 8 in a different motherboard?


  • Edited by bigjoesmithh Saturday, August 18, 2012 2:54 AM
  • Proposed as answer by Knuckle-Dragger Saturday, August 18, 2012 3:34 AM
  • Marked as answer by bigjoesmithh Wednesday, August 29, 2012 8:48 PM
August 18th, 2012 2:51am

Sadly disabling floppy doesn't work on A8N. Neither does the install using DISM, suggested by Knuckle-Dragger.
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August 18th, 2012 3:14am

Sadly the real problem appears to be that x64 Windows 8 does not like some 64bit CPU's.   I bet x86 installs just fine for those of you having this problem with x64 and none of the other solutions worked for you.

August 18th, 2012 5:04am

Yes, it appears that Windows 8 x64 doesn't like some 64bit CPUs.

I have tried to install Windows 8 RTM x64 on two different ASUS A8N motherboard-based computers. One had an AMD 64 X2 3800+ CPU. The other had an AMD 64 X2 4200+ CPU.  Both installs hung at the initial splash screen, regardless of DVD drives, hard drives used, etc.  Both machines had previously been running the 64bit version of Windows 7 Pro without issues.

However, using the 32bit RTM version of Windows 8 worked: the install did not hang at the inital splash screen.

So, in summary: Windows 8 64bit does not like some early 64bit CPUs.  I don't know if the problem is also related to the A8N motherboard.  In other words, would the same CPUs also fail on 64bit Windows 8 in a different motherboard?


  • Edited by bigjoesmithh Saturday, August 18, 2012 2:54 AM
  • Proposed as answer by Knuckle-Dragger Saturday, August 18, 2012 3:34 AM
  • Marked as answer by bigjoesmithh Wednesday, August 29, 2012 8:48 PM
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August 18th, 2012 5:51am

I don't know if the problem is also related to the A8N motherboard. 

Sure be nice if the Hardware team put out a patch to correct the problem.  It very well could be a missing string in the ASUS BIOS or how the CPU is designed and Windows 8 just needs to be taught to recognize it or ignore it.  Either way they work fine with Windows 7 and Linux, so it really can't be too hard to fix.  

That is unless the motive is to force you into upgrading hardware, Ballmer for the win.

August 18th, 2012 6:45am

I'm having the same problem.

I am trying to upgrade Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on a Dell Alienware PC via DVD to Windows 8 Pro 64bit (RTM) and it freezes on the Windows Splash Screen after installation and then restart. It looks like it has put the PC into standby mode.

When it happened the first time I had to manually shut it down and then restart it as the Win8 installation just stalled. It successfully rolled back to my instance of Windows 7. I've tried it again and it's done the same thing.

Very frustrating as I did a clean install of Windows 8 Pro 64bit (RTM) on my Sony Vaio VGN-Z46GD laptop with no problems.

I have an Alienware Aurora R3:

Intel Core i7-2600K

8GB RAM

1.5GB Nvidia GeoForce GTX580

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August 19th, 2012 3:57pm

Did you read the entire thread ?   Install x86 and report back.   That is what worked for the OP. 

If x86 installs, it is likely the same type of CPU issue w your machine.

However, if x86 does not install on your machine either, you may have a slightly different problem than the OP of this thread.

August 19th, 2012 4:08pm

Mate, I can't upgrade a 64bit Windows 7 Ultimate instance to a Windows 8 Pro 32bit instance.

I absolutely don't want to do a clean install on my main desktop PC (if I can help it) which is why I've been trying to use the upgrade option.

This PC is only 7 months old and the CPU is a newer model so it should not make a difference. 

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August 19th, 2012 4:16pm

If you need additional help, please start a new thread, you'll get more eyes on your problem that way.  But my guess is you'll have to wait for a patch to be developed by MSFT.

Otherwise, why can't you install x86 cleanly into a .vhd and dual boot keeping your Windows 7 intact while you test ?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/how-to-use-a-vhd-to-dual-boot-windows-8-on-a-windows-7-pc/48

August 19th, 2012 4:23pm

Try disabling Legacy USB
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August 20th, 2012 8:52pm

I am having a very similar board the "ASUS M5 A78L USB3" board and the exact same problem. is a fix to the problem known yet? None of the suggestions in this thread helped me. So anything else I can do? Thanks in advance!
August 21st, 2012 9:11pm

I am having a very similar board the "ASUS M5 A78L USB3" board and the exact same problem. is a fix to the problem known yet? None of the suggestions in this thread helped me. So anything else I can do? Thanks in advance!
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August 22nd, 2012 12:11am


Hi,

If possible, please also update BIOS and see if it works.

Thanks.

August 22nd, 2012 12:37pm


Hi,

If possible, please also update BIOS and see if it works.

Th

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August 22nd, 2012 1:14pm

I have tried the BIOS update now but no change. also ASUS re-replied to me, they said they meant they do not support it yet until the end user can purchase it.
August 22nd, 2012 8:50pm

Just had the same issue - Disable Legacy USB Support and Serial & Parrelle Ports and and thing else FDD Then try
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August 23rd, 2012 10:24pm

Thanks Dan, tried out but didn't help
August 23rd, 2012 11:37pm

I have the same problem with the slash screen freeze. Tried to boot with DVD, USB, upgrade etc nothing seems to work. It also does it with the 32bit verison. I have a Fujitsu SH760 laptop.

It works perfectly well with win7 64 bit.

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August 25th, 2012 2:53pm

Same issue here with x64 install of enterprise RTM.  Older Asus A8N SLI MB with 64bit single core AMD.  Install screens graphicaly looks fine until the 1st reboot.  Then the screen hangs on black background with the blue Windows logo.  After I power down and reboot, the grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square.  It counts through the getting devices ready but that screen is also very distorted with 2 spinners and multiple lines that flash verticaly.  It almost looks like a bad video driver.  The screen then goes into power save and the HDD is clicking away but I never get a desktop or display back.  Reboots seam to show that all the initial startup and setup are done but the display just goes back to power save.  Even the safe mode low resolution option didn't fix it.  I'll go check the log.

I've tried some safe mode options but nothing is fixing it.  Booting to the repair option screen also has distortions and a pointer trail.  I've tried to disable all onboard ports but Ethernet.  I had the release preview installed before it just fine with 0 issues.  I can not spend a day downloading the 32 bit so I'm looking for other solutions and chiming in with my issue.

August 25th, 2012 9:30pm

Same issue here with x64 install of enterprise RTM.  Older Asus A8N SLI MB with 64bit single core AMD.  Install screens graphicaly looks fine until the 1st reboot.  Then the screen hangs on black background with the blue Windows logo.  After I power down and reboot, the grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square.  It counts through the getting devices ready but that screen is also very distorted with 2 spinners and multiple lines that flash verticaly.  It almost looks like a bad video driver.  The screen then goes into power save and the HDD is clicking away but I never get a desktop or display back.  Reboots seam to show that all the initial startup and setup are done but the display just goes back to power save.  Even the safe mode low resolution option didn't fix it.  I'll go check the log.

I've tried some safe mode options but nothing is fixing it.   

This is exactly 100% what I experience too! 
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August 26th, 2012 12:34pm

I pulled my HDD and slapped it in a newer AMD PC and let the setup finish.  It booted fine there and did it's thing with setup questions.  After, I put the drive back in the older PC and it had trouble again.  But this time I could go to safe mode at least since the setup finished.  I can get a desktop, there is an issue with the 6800GT graphics driver and there was little I could do to fix it.  I went back to the RC version that I had which is 32bit so I could at least use the computer again.  I'm guessing that since even the start screen has graphical anomaly that the issue is a pre-graphics driver one and nothing is probably going to fix it short of something in the install like a presetup patch.
August 27th, 2012 2:57am

SO I think I narrowed down the issue on my system Try Disabling USB 3.0
  • Proposed as answer by rayballz Sunday, October 28, 2012 11:07 PM
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August 28th, 2012 6:27pm

SO I think I narrowed down the issue on my system Try Disabling USB 3.0
  • Proposed as answer by rayballz Sunday, October 28, 2012 11:07 PM
August 28th, 2012 9:27pm

I've tried the Nvidia drivers for x64 RP and the stock Microsoft 6800 drivers.  I even tried the Microsoft generic video driver.  None of these worked.  I get a error 43 in device manager.  I'm downloading the new Nvidia beta x64 drivers now.  One thing I will say, during setup, I didn't have this issue.  From MSCONFIG, Safemode still has this issue of distorted graphics.  BUT!  If I go to the charms and to Change PC settings>General, the LAST option for Advanced Startup does give me the option of the Boot Menu that F8 used to.  Safemode with Network support gives me no corrupted splash screen and a clear desktop with no errors in DM for my 6800 video card.  I don't know what the difference is between this boot mode and the MSCONFIG safemode with network support but I'm in it now and it's sharp and functional.  I'll repost after I install the beta drivers unless it doesn't fix it.
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August 28th, 2012 10:47pm

I can confirm the same issue. Mine might be slightly different in that even the install splash screen is full of artifacts and practically unreadable. After I fumble through the install I get the black screen at boot.

On the other hand, x86 installs without issues. Except now I cannot utilize all of my hardware (RAM, x64) very frustrating. Probably just end up going back to Windows 7.

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+

- Nvidia GeForce GT 220.

August 31st, 2012 3:09am

Windows 8 Developer Preview x64 was installed on my Fujitsu SH760 and work fine. But Windows 8 RTM Enterprise x64 installation  is hang on Splash windows.  When I enable boot log on installation, I can't find and boot log related file, so I think the problem may on the loader or very beginning  of the installation procedure.

  • Proposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:24 AM
  • Unproposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:26 AM
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September 2nd, 2012 9:08am

Windows 8 Developer Preview x64 was installed on my Fujitsu SH760 and work fine. But Windows 8 RTM Enterprise x64 installation  is hang on Splash windows.  When I enable boot log on installation, I can't find and boot log related file, so I think the problem may on the loader or very beginning  of the installation procedure.

  • Proposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:24 AM
  • Unproposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:26 AM
September 2nd, 2012 12:08pm

Same here. I'm posting from Windows 8 Pro x86, that I'll use til Microsoft come with a fixed media (I hope so).

My laptop came with Windows 7 Professional x64 but it refused to go with Windows 8 x64 (RP/Pro RTM). A friend recommended me to try the x86 media and for my surprise it worked. So I'm stuck on x86 system, but it uses just 2,6 of my 8 GB available RM, and that sucks >_<. I ever considered be stuck in Windows 7 x64 til MS fix this.
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September 2nd, 2012 3:38pm

Same here. I'm posting from Windows 8 Pro x86, that I'll use til Microsoft come with a fixed media (I hope so).

My laptop came with Windows 7 Professional x64 but it refused to go with Windows 8 x64 (RP/Pro RTM). A friend recommended me to try the x86 media and for my surprise it worked. So I'm stuck on x86 system, but it uses just 2,6 of my 8 GB available RM, and that sucks >_<. I ever considered be stuck in Windows 7 x64 til MS fix this.
September 2nd, 2012 6:38pm

I have the same problem as you, it has something to do with the new boot engine they have in windows 8 pro x64.  If you shut down instead of restart it goes into windows but EVERY time you use the restart feature it locks or freezes after the spiny dots make a couple of turns.

I have not heard any solutions from Microsoft as of yet nor any replies from them Dell/ Alienware will not respond till the Windows 8 has been released to the public or so they told me; in typical Dell action "no help just runarounds"

My computer is under a year old.

I have an Alienware Aurora R3:

Intel Core i7-2700K

16GB RAM

1.25GB Nvidia GeoForce GTX 560Ti

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September 3rd, 2012 5:30am

So the SH760 issue seems to be universal. Something broke compatibility past the developer preview. It's annoying not to be able to use it at work since it is much more responsive than Windows 7.
September 17th, 2012 11:08am

I have a dell Alienware Aurora R3 which hangs only on a restart. It appears that the problem out there is with 64 bit CPU's although working with Microsoft it appears very widespread. I spoke with Dell support and in a rare moment of candor they said it was a device driver problem and they would be releasing a new set of win8 drivers for the aurora. I suspect that other manufacturers are working on them also. Dell basically said  to take a deep breath and it will be fixed by Oct 26th. So my workaround is just to let the system hibernate and pwr down by itself. Hit the enter key  and it comes up without a problem and it's fast.  I hope this answers all the concerns out there.

Enjoy the new OS I think its great and remember guys we are the bleeding edge.....

Bob

  
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September 21st, 2012 6:48pm

LOL Same exact configuration as i have right down to the Sony Vaio laptop. And yes it worked on the Sony but failed on the Dell. see my earlier post but in essence it is a device driver problem and Dell will come out with a new set of win 8 Drivers by oct 26th.

Good luck

September 21st, 2012 6:57pm

Has anyone been able to get this working? I have the same issue where it just wont get past the first splash screen. I have tried removing all but keyboard from usb devices, have tried IDE, SATA made no difference. Tried install from DVD as well as USB flash drive. Have updated my bios however wasnt a real new one available. For what its worth developer edition installed just fine, I didnt try consumer preview so cant say on that one.

My cpu is an AMD 955 quad core

motherboard MSI 870-G45

video card nVidia 460

I dont think its a cpu issue as some have suspected as my son has the same exact cpu and works fine for him.

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October 5th, 2012 6:14pm

Has anyone been able to get this working? I have the same issue where it just wont get past the first splash screen. I have tried removing all but keyboard from usb devices, have tried IDE, SATA made no difference. Tried install from DVD as well as USB flash drive. Have updated my bios however wasnt a real new one available. For what its worth developer edition installed just fine, I didnt try consumer preview so cant say on that one.

My cpu is an AMD 955 quad core

motherboard MSI 870-G45

video card nVidia 460

I dont think its a cpu issue as some have suspected as my son has the same exact cpu and works fine for him.

Nope, didn't get it working but pre-ordered it at Amazon anyway. the soon it arrives I will let you all know whether the final works or not.

October 5th, 2012 8:05pm


Nope, didn't get it working but pre-ordered it at Amazon anyway. the soon it arrives I will let you all know whether the final works or not.

That would be interesting to see, thanks.
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October 5th, 2012 8:25pm

I have same issue. DP and CP was runing fine without any errors but since RC all the way to RTM same error. Graphical corruption during installation which starts moments before the installation loads drivers. So i see windows blue logo normaly but a second before install screen logo goes distorted just goes pixelated. The installation process is distorted as well. Arrow lives traces across screen when ever it moves. I managed some how to get it installed fully but after "getting devices ready" screen (which is all distorted as well) goes black and my gpu fan goes spining like crazy at 100% and doesnt stop and monitor goes in power save mod.

motherboard: gigabyte 520le

gpu: gts450

cpu: amd phenom 9650

i think as well that the boot driver/engine or how ever its called is messed up somehow but thats not the only problem. it appears that drivers inside windows it self are messed up as well. i tried to use installation files from CP and the installation went smoothly until the "getting devices ready" screen where it goes distorted again and gpu spun out to max again. didnt tried x32 version but will do for shure to see if that theory is right. but for now i see no sollution. one more thing i managed to boot without graphical corrupton 3 or 4  times by changing some bios options which lasted until "getting devices ready" screen.

  • Proposed as answer by Vasva Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:09 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by Vasva Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:09 PM
October 11th, 2012 2:23am

I have same issue. DP and CP was runing fine without any errors but since RC all the way to RTM same error. Graphical corruption during installation which starts moments before the installation loads drivers. So i see windows blue logo normaly but a second before install screen logo goes distorted just goes pixelated. The installation process is distorted as well. Arrow lives traces across screen when ever it moves. I managed some how to get it installed fully but after "getting devices ready" screen (which is all distorted as well) goes black and my gpu fan goes spining like crazy at 100% and doesnt stop and monitor goes in power save mod.

motherboard: gigabyte 520le

gpu: gts450

cpu: amd phenom 9650

i think as well that the boot driver/engine or how ever its called is messed up somehow but thats not the only problem. it appears that drivers inside windows it self are messed up as well. i tried to use installation files from CP and the installation went smoothly until the "getting devices ready" screen where it goes distorted again and gpu spun out to max again. didnt tried x32 version but will do for shure to see if that theory is right. but for now i see no sollution. one more thing i managed to boot without graphical corrupton 3 or 4  times by changing some bios options which lasted until "getting devices ready" screen.

  • Proposed as answer by Vasva Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:09 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by Vasva Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:09 PM
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October 11th, 2012 5:23am

the solution might be to unpack wim file and to rollback complete drivers from dp/cp to rp or rtm. ill do it my self if i find the proper tools to unpack and pack back wim file :)
  • Edited by zaeb Saturday, October 27, 2012 2:52 AM
October 11th, 2012 9:20pm

The same problem on upgrade W8 ProX64 from W7x64 ultimate (1st test)

MB Gigabyte X-79-UD3, i7 Proc

... so back to w7 and wait to w9 :))))))

 
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October 12th, 2012 12:11am

 


Nope, didn't get it working but pre-ordered it at Amazon anyway. the soon it arrives I will let you all know whether the final works or not.

That would be interesting to see, thanks.
You are welcome. :)
October 12th, 2012 12:15am

the solution might be to unpack wim file and to rollback complete drivers from dp/cp to rp or rtm. ill do it my self if i find the proper tools to unpack and pack back wim file :)
  • Edited by zaeb Saturday, October 27, 2012 2:52 AM
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October 12th, 2012 12:20am

Has anyone been able to get this working? I have the same issue where it just wont get past the first splash screen. I have tried removing all but keyboard from usb devices, have tried IDE, SATA made no difference. Tried install from DVD as well as USB flash drive. Have updated my bios however wasnt a real new one available. For what its worth developer edition installed just fine, I didnt try consumer preview so cant say on that one.

My cpu is an AMD 955 quad core

motherboard MSI 870-G45

video card nVidia 460

I dont think its a cpu issue as some have suspected as my son has the same exact cpu and works fine for him.

I just ran into the same problem as the OP when trying to install Win8 64 bit Enterprise RTM from a USB stick on an HP Pavilion p6510f Desktop PC (AMD Quad Core) with 8 GB RAM and a brand new unformatted Kingston 128 GB SSD.  The p6510f is running the current release BIOS from HP and is a Foxconn manufactured motherboard with an AMD 785G Chipset.  The link below has the full specs.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c02153181&lc=en&product=4215700#N77

I was able to get around the issue by performing a BIOS reset to defaults.  The only notable changes were the defaults had SATA controller set to RAID instead of AHCI and the Processor Virtualization settings was off instead of on.  I had previously tried turning off the virtualization setting manually but that did not clear up the issue for me.  In my situation the problem appears to be related to the SATA controller setting.  YMMV.

I'm posting this here in the hope that is helps arrive at the root cause of the problem and might give some of you additional helpful information when troubleshooting your own situation.

After installing with the setting set to RAID, I was then able to reset the SATA controller to AHCI and reinstall Win8 again without problem.

I'm totally baffled.  None of this makes any sense.  Thank you Microsoft.  :)


  • Edited by c_h_u_c_k_o Saturday, October 13, 2012 9:13 PM typos
October 13th, 2012 8:10pm

Has anyone been able to get this working? I have the same issue where it just wont get past the first splash screen. I have tried removing all but keyboard from usb devices, have tried IDE, SATA made no difference. Tried install from DVD as well as USB flash drive. Have updated my bios however wasnt a real new one available. For what its worth developer edition installed just fine, I didnt try consumer preview so cant say on that one.

My cpu is an AMD 955 quad core

motherboard MSI 870-G45

video card nVidia 460

I dont think its a cpu issue as some have suspected as my son has the same exact cpu and works fine for him.

I just ran into the same problem as the OP when trying to install Win8 64 bit Enterprise RTM from a USB stick on an HP Pavilion p6510f Desktop PC (AMD Quad Core) with 8 GB RAM and a brand new unformatted Kingston 128 GB SSD.  The p6510f is running the current release BIOS from HP and is a Foxconn manufactured motherboard with an AMD 785G Chipset.  The link below has the full specs.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c02153181&lc=en&product=4215700#N77

I was able to get around the issue by performing a BIOS reset to defaults.  The only notable changes were the defaults had SATA controller set to RAID instead of AHCI and the Processor Virtualization settings was off instead of on.  I had previously tried turning off the virtualization setting manually but that did not clear up the issue for me.  In my situation the problem appears to be related to the SATA controller setting.  YMMV.

I'm posting this here in the hope that is helps arrive at the root cause of the problem and might give some of you additional helpful information when troubleshooting your own situation.

After installing with the setting set to RAID, I was then able to reset the SATA controller to AHCI and reinstall Win8 again without problem.

I'm totally baffled.  None of this makes any sense.  Thank you Microsoft.  :)


  • Edited by c_h_u_c_k_o Saturday, October 13, 2012 9:13 PM typos
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October 13th, 2012 11:10pm

I too have an Fujitsu SH760, the Win8 Preview was fine, but the MSDN RTM Enterpise and Retail version's both hang on the initail Windows Flag splash screen and the circle of moving dot's never apears.

To solve this you will need to do the following

    • Make sure you are running the latest Firmware for the SH760, V1.13 if you have an SH760 with and NVidia card it in
    • Boot into the Bios setup
    • Go to the Exit page and select the "Load Bios Defaults" option
    • Now goto the "Advanced" page and select "USB Features"
    • Set the "Legacy USB Support:" feature to "[Disabled]"
    • Exit the bios setup, saving the settings as you exit.
    • Insert either your Retail or Enterprise Windows 8 DVD and boot from the DVD as normal
    • Now for the difficult bit, when the Windows Flag Splash screen comes up, you have to be very patient. It can take up to 120 secondes before the circle of moving dot's appears.
    • Proceed with the Win8 install as normal...
    • Don't forget to enable your USB features (and the CPU VT mode if you need it) after the install has completed

I've not yet completed the install as I need to backup my current Windows 7 setup, but at least this solves the hanging Splash page on a Fujitsu SH760

Enjoy!

  • Proposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:39 AM
October 17th, 2012 4:39am

I too have an Fujitsu SH760, the Win8 Preview was fine, but the MSDN RTM Enterpise and Retail version's both hang on the initail Windows Flag splash screen and the circle of moving dot's never apears.

To solve this you will need to do the following

    • Make sure you are running the latest Firmware for the SH760, V1.13 if you have an SH760 with and NVidia card it in
    • Boot into the Bios setup
    • Go to the Exit page and select the "Load Bios Defaults" option
    • Now goto the "Advanced" page and select "USB Features"
    • Set the "Legacy USB Support:" feature to "[Disabled]"
    • Exit the bios setup, saving the settings as you exit.
    • Insert either your Retail or Enterprise Windows 8 DVD and boot from the DVD as normal
    • Now for the difficult bit, when the Windows Flag Splash screen comes up, you have to be very patient. It can take up to 120 secondes before the circle of moving dot's appears.
    • Proceed with the Win8 install as normal...
    • Don't forget to enable your USB features (and the CPU VT mode if you need it) after the install has completed

I've not yet completed the install as I need to backup my current Windows 7 setup, but at least this solves the hanging Splash page on a Fujitsu SH760

Enjoy!

  • Proposed as answer by ASpittles Wednesday, October 17, 2012 4:39 AM
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October 17th, 2012 7:39am

To clarify my problem I could not get the upgrade to work so I did a clean install.  Although window 8 pro x64 is working fine I still can not restart or it WILL freeze on the splash screen after about three turns of the circulating dots that are on the splash screen.  So as a work around I have to shut down the computer instead of restart and then it goes right into windows.   I should note that you have to change the shut down to a complete shutdown in order to do a true shut down otherwise Windows 8 does a type of hibernate shutdown.   To do so go to "All Control Pane Items" on the left click "Choose what the power button does" once it loads click the "change settings that are currently unavailable" then change it to "shut down".  You can also turnoff the hibernate function completely to.
October 17th, 2012 5:18pm

Same issues as others.

MOBO: ASUS P9X79 PRO

CPU: Intel i7 3930K

BIOS: 3009 [latest for windows 8 compatibility - LOL] 

OS: Windows 7 64 bit

After first reboot install hangs on black screen with blue window...the little circles spin and and spin.

Windows 8 is a Damn waste of money!


  • Edited by RUQRU Saturday, October 27, 2012 12:14 PM
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October 27th, 2012 12:56am

Same issues as others.

MOBO: ASUS P9X79 PRO

CPU: Intel i7 3930K

BIOS: 3009 [latest for windows 8 compatibility - LOL] 

OS: Windows 7 64 bit

After first reboot install hangs on black screen with blue window...the little circles spin and and spin.

Windows 8 is a Damn waste of money!


  • Edited by RUQRU Saturday, October 27, 2012 12:14 PM
October 27th, 2012 3:56am

Throwing mine on the pile:

MOBO: ASUS M3A78-CM

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945

BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 0025 04/28/2010

OS: Windows 8 Release Preview x64 Build 8400

I launched the upgrade assistant from the desktop (Windows 8 Pro x64 RTM). After the first reboot, I got hung up on the splash screen (black screen with the windows logo).  I had a spinner, and it said something like Preparing - 10% for an hour. I did a cold boot and ended up back in Release Preview where I started.

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October 27th, 2012 4:16am

iw integrated latest nvidia drivers into installation. i still hed corruption during the install but i managed to boot into windows and all worked fine but... once i restarted right after the loading logo disappears gpu fan goes to 100% and monitor goes to stand by mod. maybe this gives a hint to some one on what it can be the problem.
October 27th, 2012 5:56am

Same here with my Asus M2N-SLI motherboard. Seems to be a general problem with some Asus AMD-boards, that they crash after the dots turned around for a few times.

I will ask Asus as well, but I expect that I will only get an answer containign the fact, that the board is too old...

The 32bit (trial-)version installs just fine but this doesn't help, since I already bought the 64bit Version and need more than 3GB of ram.

Btw. installing in VMware works fine with the 64bit version, so the CPU is not the problem!


  • Edited by Celurian85 Saturday, October 27, 2012 2:16 PM
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October 27th, 2012 2:04pm

Spinner on splash screen is spinning for 45 minutes now. Is this very same issue?

i7-3930k , worked fine on win7 pro 64bit . 

October 27th, 2012 2:10pm

imerge95: I have the same CPU and the same problem. No one seems to have an answer. Just waste $$$ on the damn upgrade I cannot use!
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October 27th, 2012 3:15pm

So I re-sent my issue to ASUS Germany support and opened a technical support Request at microsoft germany as well. I don't understand why they waited till the issue went out of control and didn't work on a solution considering that it has been reported since August already!!

October 27th, 2012 4:23pm

I have had the same Problem and I just flashed my bios to 3009 as well.  Still nothing.  Tried installing from USB, DVD, amd directly from desktop.  All ends up hanging after the first reboot as well

CPU:Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz

 MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth X79

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October 27th, 2012 4:58pm

Same here with my Asus M2N-SLI motherboard. Seems to be a general problem with some Asus AMD-boards, that they crash after the dots turned around for a few times.

I will ask Asus as well, but I expect that I will only get an answer containign the fact, that the board is too old...

The 32bit (trial-)version installs just fine but this doesn't help, since I already bought the 64bit Version and need more than 3GB of ram.

Btw. installing in VMware works fine with the 64bit version, so the CPU is not the problem!


  • Edited by Celurian85 Saturday, October 27, 2012 2:16 PM
October 27th, 2012 5:04pm

Just for fun I tried installing in VMware Player. Installed and runs OK on my machine as a 64bit virtual computer. I am not going to try to install "for real" until MS finds a solution to this issue. This proves there is a problem in the update installer. The clean install as a virtual machine went really fast.

Anyway, I can play with it as a virtual machine. Not all that great, really. I think I'll stick with Windows 7 for now. I did install  Stardock's Start8 so I have a Start menu to get around. The new interface is really confusing.


  • Edited by RUQRU Saturday, October 27, 2012 6:26 PM
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October 27th, 2012 6:25pm

I am using Windows 8 Release Preview x64

I have installed Windows 8 RTM 9200 x64 on VirtualBox without any problem.

But when I try to install RTM on my laptop, it come to "GETTING DEVICES READY 76%" then hang with a totally black screen.

  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Saturday, October 27, 2012 8:18 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Saturday, October 27, 2012 8:18 PM
October 27th, 2012 7:04pm

just installed and used it until i restarted it. some how i was able to boot after several unusucsesful retryes. picture was totaly distorted and unusable. i would post pics but they dont let me which is shit.

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October 27th, 2012 7:54pm

Just for fun I tried installing in VMware Player. Installed and runs OK on my machine as a 64bit virtual computer. I am not going to try to install "for real" until MS finds a solution to this issue. This proves there is a problem in the update installer. The clean install as a virtual machine went really fast.

Anyway, I can play with it as a virtual machine. Not all that great, really. I think I'll stick with Windows 7 for now. I did install  Stardock's Start8 so I have a Start menu to get around. The new interface is really confusing.


  • Edited by RUQRU Saturday, October 27, 2012 6:26 PM
October 27th, 2012 9:25pm

Just to follow up on mine, I've got Windows 8 installed now. I got on support chat with Microsoft, and after poking around a little, they had me run the installer from the desktop a second time. It worked fine and I'm not sure why. The only things I can think of that were different:

  • A day later, maybe the installer downloaded new updates
  • I uninstalled CheckPoint endpoint security VPN client
  • I ejected a software CD (non bootable) from my optical drive
  • The installer was launched during a remote desktop session
  • I had an opportunity to look like an idiot if it worked

I have my PC info posted above.

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October 27th, 2012 9:31pm

I am using Windows 8 Release Preview x64

I have installed Windows 8 RTM 9200 x64 on VirtualBox without any problem.

But when I try to install RTM on my laptop, it come to "GETTING DEVICES READY 76%" then hang with a totally black screen.

  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Saturday, October 27, 2012 8:18 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Saturday, October 27, 2012 8:18 PM
October 27th, 2012 10:04pm

the problem is in core of the boot files. system it self is working but something is messed up in boot loader. maybe im wrong donno to me it looks like the problem is there. the more interesting thing is how microsoft is "oblivious" to the problem.
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October 27th, 2012 11:37pm

Don't ask to mark this as answered when it is not even close from being answered or solved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 27th, 2012 11:43pm

iw integrated latest nvidia drivers into installation. i still hed corruption during the install but i managed to boot into windows and all worked fine but... once i restarted right after the loading logo disappears gpu fan goes to 100% and monitor goes to stand by mod. maybe this gives a hint to some one on what it can be the problem.
How to integrate graphics driver into installation?
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October 27th, 2012 11:50pm

iw integrated latest nvidia drivers into installation. i still hed corruption during the install but i managed to boot into windows and all worked fine but... once i restarted right after the loading logo disappears gpu fan goes to 100% and monitor goes to stand by mod. maybe this gives a hint to some one on what it can be the problem.

How to integrate graphics driver into installation?
dowload free microsoft tool called DISM GUI. u can find it on softpedia. extract windows 8 installation on to hdd/ssd then extract boot.wim and install.wim files located in sources folder using DISM GUI. u will find driver manager tab in DISM GUI just choose folder. for nvidia it ask u where u want to extract files i dont know for ati. choose that folder u extracted.
October 28th, 2012 12:00am

Try holding the power key down till it powers off.  then start the computer.  On mine it will then go right into windows.  But if I ever have to hit the restart option it will do the same over and over.  but shut downs and start up works fine its just the restarts that freeze on the screen you described which is the windows 8 load screen or Splash Screen. 
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October 28th, 2012 12:23am

Ahh yes finally, upon every freeze during installation of win8, when you then turn computer back on immediately hold power button down and then back on again, it will resume where it froze. About 4 of these steps until you are up and running win8. Once Win 8 is running, run win update. Still cannot restart, but can shutdown or sleep just fine. WTF
  • Proposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:14 AM
  • Unproposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:14 AM
October 28th, 2012 1:53am

Ok after the above steps for my Alienware R3 this has now solved everything and can restart just fine:

But this worked and has worked 12 times in a row with no restart issue.

 

override the current Intel chipset, it appears to be the issue, and run this older one for now:

 

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/alienware-aurora-r3?driverId=R284186&osCode=W764&fileId=2731115303

 

also install this:

 

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/alienware-aurora-r3?driverId=R286402&osCode=W764&fileId=2731116122


  • Proposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:16 AM
  • Edited by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 6:25 AM
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October 28th, 2012 2:16am

Ahh yes finally, upon every freeze during installation of win8, when you then turn computer back on immediately hold power button down and then back on again, it will resume where it froze. About 4 of these steps until you are up and running win8. Once Win 8 is running, run win update. Still cannot restart, but can shutdown or sleep just fine. WTF
  • Proposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:14 AM
  • Unproposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:14 AM
October 28th, 2012 4:53am

I found a workaround. I've been messing around with the install on a bunch of systems and it does seem to be an issue with boot.wim and something to do with 64 bit cpus but only pertains to rebooting a system.  That being said there is a way to get the installations problems however it does generate a small annoyance later on.  During installation, any time your computer goes to reboot itself, stop it during post by holding down the power button to force shutdown.  Then power on the system and let it continue normally.  Do this at any time the installation wants to reboot.  Again, never let it reboot, force it to shut down right when the machine starts to post and then turn it back on.  Do this and windows 8 will install fine.  I've done this from the Dev Preview, through RTM and on to full retail version on all versions of windows 8.

This does cause one issue during the normal operation of windows 8.  Your computer cannot reboot properly and has to be shutdown and turned on again rather than rebooted whenever the need arises.  Minor annoyance and something I would hope can just be patched out in the future or a workaround found but for those of you who really want 8 up and running this is how you do it.

  • Proposed as answer by Frimlin Sunday, November 04, 2012 11:20 AM
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October 28th, 2012 4:57am

Ok after the above steps for my Alienware R3 this has now solved everything and can restart just fine:

But this worked and has worked 12 times in a row with no restart issue.

 

override the current Intel chipset, it appears to be the issue, and run this older one for now:

 

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/alienware-aurora-r3?driverId=R284186&osCode=W764&fileId=2731115303

 

also install this:

 

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/alienware-aurora-r3?driverId=R286402&osCode=W764&fileId=2731116122


  • Proposed as answer by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 2:16 AM
  • Edited by coreness Sunday, October 28, 2012 6:25 AM
October 28th, 2012 5:16am

man this hes nothing to do with the problem. i cant even install it unles i modify it. how can this be solution to global problem when i dont even have intel.
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October 28th, 2012 5:23am

I found a workaround. I've been messing around with the install on a bunch of systems and it does seem to be an issue with boot.wim and something to do with 64 bit cpus but only pertains to rebooting a system.  That being said there is a way to get the installations problems however it does generate a small annoyance later on.  During installation, any time your computer goes to reboot itself, stop it during post by holding down the power button to force shutdown.  Then power on the system and let it continue normally.  Do this at any time the installation wants to reboot.  Again, never let it reboot, force it to shut down right when the machine starts to post and then turn it back on.  Do this and windows 8 will install fine.  I've done this from the Dev Preview, through RTM and on to full retail version on all versions of windows 8.

This does cause one issue during the normal operation of windows 8.  Your computer cannot reboot properly and has to be shutdown and turned on again rather than rebooted whenever the need arises.  Minor annoyance and something I would hope can just be patched out in the future or a workaround found but for those of you who really want 8 up and running this is how you do it.

  • Proposed as answer by Frimlin Sunday, November 04, 2012 11:20 AM
October 28th, 2012 7:57am

Your method isn't worked.

Everyone try this:

After splash screen disappear, you see a blank black screen.

Wait 1-2 minute. In fact, you computer is still starting.
- Now, the installation go to "input PC name" step, but you can't see anything. Don't worry, input your PC name and hit Enter to next.

- [Select wifi screen] Press TAB, then ENTER, then ENTER again.

- [Email screen] Type your email and hit ENTER

- Wait about 1 minute, type the password of your MS account and hit Enter, and Enter one more time.

- Wait about 5 minute to finish installation.

Now, you can press Power button to turn off computer and turn it on again to boot into Safe Mode by following h ttp:// www.howtogeek.com/107511/how-to-boot-into-safe-mode-on-windows-8-the-easy-way/

But I don't know what to do next...

How do you think?

This is screenshot of Device Manager: h ttp:// imageshack.us/f/194/screenshot1ta.png/

  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Sunday, October 28, 2012 8:24 AM
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October 28th, 2012 8:24am

Your method isn't worked.

Everyone try this:

After splash screen disappear, you see a blank black screen.

Wait 1-2 minute. In fact, you computer is still starting.
- Now, the installation go to "input PC name" step, but you can't see anything. Don't worry, input your PC name and hit Enter to next.

- [Select wifi screen] Press TAB, then ENTER, then ENTER again.

- [Email screen] Type your email and hit ENTER

- Wait about 1 minute, type the password of your MS account and hit Enter, and Enter one more time.

- Wait about 5 minute to finish installation.

Now, you can press Power button to turn off computer and turn it on again to boot into Safe Mode by following h ttp:// www.howtogeek.com/107511/how-to-boot-into-safe-mode-on-windows-8-the-easy-way/

But I don't know what to do next...

How do you think?

This is screenshot of Device Manager: h ttp:// imageshack.us/f/194/screenshot1ta.png/

  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Sunday, October 28, 2012 8:24 AM
October 28th, 2012 11:24am

I found a workaround. I've been messing around with the install on a bunch of systems and it does seem to be an issue with boot.wim and something to do with 64 bit cpus but only pertains to rebooting a system.  That being said there is a way to get the installations problems however it does generate a small annoyance later on.  During installation, any time your computer goes to reboot itself, stop it during post by holding down the power button to force shutdown.  Then power on the system and let it continue normally.  Do this at any time the installation wants to reboot.  Again, never let it reboot, force it to shut down right when the machine starts to post and then turn it back on.  Do this and windows 8 will install fine.  I've done this from the Dev Preview, through RTM and on to full retail version on all versions of windows 8.

This does cause one issue during the normal operation of windows 8.  Your computer cannot reboot properly and has to be shutdown and turned on again rather than rebooted whenever the need arises.  Minor annoyance and something I would hope can just be patched out in the future or a workaround found but for those of you who really want 8 up and running this is how you do it.

Sorry, this is more of a kluge than a solution. Look, MS needs to fix this issue. People should not have to abandon standard features or jump through hoops to install and OS.

I tried installing on my Dell E6510 laptop. It is running an i7 and 64bit Win7. After updating to the latest BIOS Windows 8 installed perfectly. Run fine. Boots, restarts and shuts down without issue. I applied all the latest updates, rebooted and it runs great. So not all i7 64 bit machines have the problem, whatever it is.

Just the opposite on my i7 desktop. So, MS have failed in their testing. For some reason the people posting in this thread have something that the installer cannot handle.

Until someone posts a real solution I will continue to run Win 7 64 bit on my desktop. 

Thanks Doritokir, I know you are trying to help us. But not being able to do a normal reboot is not acceptable. Let's hope MS can fix this so when the installer goes to find the latest update it patches itself to install goes normally.

 
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October 28th, 2012 11:30am

But the question is what causes this on some machines and not others? There does not seem to be an constant in the messages posted here. It does not seem to be the CPU or motherboard. I have installed it fine on a DELL E6510 (i7 64bit) without jumping through any hoops. Just ran the install and let it go. 

The only thing that "seems" to be common on this thread is many custom built machines. But even then, they all use standard Win/tel parts.

I hope MS figures a solution soon...if they even care.


  • Edited by RUQRU Sunday, October 28, 2012 1:23 PM
October 28th, 2012 1:22pm

Read my post above.

I think reason is some monitor isn't compability with Windows 8.

it hes nothing to do with the monitor. this is my second monitor since i started trying to install win8. both hed different resolutions. problem is in boot loader.
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 1:35 PM
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October 28th, 2012 1:35pm

I am suffering the same issue.

I'm launching the upgrade installer from within windows 7. All fine until the installer performs its first reboot- at which point the system hangs at the splash screen (windows logo and the spinner).

I spent the best part of an hour with Microsoft on the phone trying to sort the problem out. I got the usual "please uninstall 3rd party antivirus" and they also had me install a hotfix (KB947821-v24-x64). These suggestions did not work. I'm expecting a follow up call scheduled for Tuesday night, but I'd love to have this sorted out sooner!

The common issue here is clearly the 3930K CPU. Microsoft, please help!

My System:

Issue: Windows 8 Pro x64 (wont install)

Current OS: Windows 7 Pro x64

CPU: Intel i7 3930K

MB: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5

October 28th, 2012 2:24pm

I am suffering the same issue.

I'm launching the upgrade installer from within windows 7. All fine until the installer performs its first reboot- at which point the system hangs at the splash screen (windows logo and the spinner).

I spent the best part of an hour with Microsoft on the phone trying to sort the problem out. I got the usual "please uninstall 3rd party antivirus" and they also had me install a hotfix (KB947821-v24-x64). These suggestions did not work. I'm expecting a follow up call scheduled for Tuesday night, but I'd love to have this sorted out sooner!

The common issue here is clearly the 3930K CPU. Microsoft, please help!

My System:

Issue: Windows 8 Pro x64 (wont install)

Current OS: Windows 7 Pro x64

CPU: Intel i7 3930K

MB: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5

u r so badly mistaken. cpu is not the issue. i have amd and same problem. it is boot loader to be precise boot.wim file. i em trying to use boot loader from CP and see if it works but it asks for key and that key is not for enterprise. so a bit more work on that mater.
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October 28th, 2012 3:06pm

But the question is what causes this on some machines and not others? There does not seem to be an constant in the messages posted here. It does not seem to be the CPU or motherboard. I have installed it fine on a DELL E6510 (i7 64bit) without jumping through any hoops. Just ran the install and let it go. 

The only thing that "seems" to be common on this thread is many custom built machines. But even then, they all use standard Win/tel parts.

I hope MS figures a solution soon...if they even care.


  • Edited by RUQRU Sunday, October 28, 2012 1:23 PM
October 28th, 2012 4:22pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any single error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

if any one can tell me the name and where is loading logo file located it would mean allot.

  • Proposed as answer by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:26 PM
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:30 PM
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October 28th, 2012 4:26pm

Read my post above.

I think reason is some monitor isn't compability with Windows 8.

October 28th, 2012 4:28pm

Read my post above.

I think reason is some monitor isn't compability with Windows 8.

it hes nothing to do with the monitor. this is my second monitor since i started trying to install win8. both hed different resolutions. problem is in boot loader.
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 1:35 PM
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October 28th, 2012 4:35pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any l error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

wow, can you list all boot files need to replace?

And you have used which key for new built one?

i modified enterprise n version. so its allready activated for 90days. the list would be reather long. iw modified 400 files. locate boot folders in both boot.wim and install.wim and any files that contain boot in their name or description.

i will try to modifie only certan files which i think r causing the problem. i only hope ill pinpoint exact file causing the problem. will report when im able and hopefully solve the problem for many others.
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:49 PM
  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:57 PM
October 28th, 2012 4:41pm

Read my post above.

I think reason is some monitor isn't compability with Windows 8.

it hes nothing to do with the monitor. this is my second monitor since i started trying to install win8. both hed different resolutions. problem is in boot loader.
Why I still can log on although I don't see any thing.
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October 28th, 2012 5:40pm

I am going to mark yours as the answer it was the Intel chipset driver that did the trick, I had the USB one installed.  As soon as I installed the Intel chipset it worked like a CHARM!  So others that have different brands locate the Intel Chipset driver from the manufacture of your computer (the windows 7 version seems to work if no Win 8 is availed).   Yeah it works NOW!!!!

October 28th, 2012 5:42pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any single error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

if any one can tell me the name and where is loading logo file located it would mean allot.

  • Proposed as answer by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:26 PM
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:30 PM
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October 28th, 2012 7:26pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any l error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

wow, can you list all boot files need to replace?

And you have used which key for new built one?

October 28th, 2012 7:33pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any l error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

wow, can you list all boot files need to replace?

And you have used which key for new built one?

i modified enterprise n version. so its allready activated for 90days. the list would be reather long. iw modified 400 files. locate boot folders in both boot.wim and install.wim and any files that contain boot in their name or description.

i will try to modifie only certan files which i think r causing the problem. i only hope ill pinpoint exact file causing the problem. will report when im able and hopefully solve the problem for many others.
  • Edited by zaeb Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:49 PM
  • Proposed as answer by Duong Kim Ngoc Sunday, October 28, 2012 4:57 PM
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October 28th, 2012 7:41pm

So cool...

Will you upload the ISO file for everyone here?

October 28th, 2012 7:48pm

So cool...

Will you upload the ISO file for everyone here?

sorry man i doubt ill do that my upload speed is very weak :/ . maybe from 1st november i get faster internet. but i will try at least to make tutorial on how to do it.
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October 28th, 2012 8:04pm

I'm waiting... :D

Thanks a lots!

October 28th, 2012 8:12pm

Similar problem but my computer hangs on the "personalization" part of windows 8. The very first step of the setup where you pick the background color and type in the name for the PC. If it doesn't hang there, it hangs a little later on one of the first setup portions.

I've tried upgrade install, a clean install and none work. I managed to get Windows 8 to install a few attempts ago, but it was a clean install without windows 7 installed first and I couldn't activate windows 8 with my upgrade cd key, so I had to try and fix it- I installed windows 7 from the install CD and didn't install *anything* except windows updates and had all devices disconnected except mouse and keyboard. Same thing- still hangs on personalization part.

Trying to install Windows 8 Pro 64-bit- no interest in trying to install 32 bit, as I have 16gb of ram and mainly use the PC for gaming.

Intel i7 3960X processor and Rampage IV Extreme motherboard here- custom built Digital Storm Aventum PC.



  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:09 PM
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October 28th, 2012 8:28pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any single error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

if any one can tell me the name and where is loading logo file located it would mean allot.

What is "CP"?
October 28th, 2012 9:13pm

problem solved. as i sed in my previous posts the problem was only in the boot loader. i replaced all boot files with the ones from CP and it installed and booted several times without any single error. the only thing thats changed is loading logo. its not blue windows its fish from CP. i will try to pinpoint the exact file thats causing problem so the loading logo would be the same.

if any one can tell me the name and where is loading logo file located it would mean allot.

What is "CP"?
Consumer Preview :)
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October 28th, 2012 9:17pm

My problem is very similar yet my PC uses some of the latest hardware on the market. I have also updated my BIOS to the latest version (released 5 days ago) that is 3 versions past the version that added "windows 8 compatibility." My motherboard and BIOS are fully windows 8 supported and I still have this lock-up.


  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:46 PM
October 28th, 2012 9:45pm

I have an ASUS P5K motherboard. I tried loading the intel chipset drivers during installation of the X86 version.

Nothing works. It starts checking the devices and it goes to the neverland.

I seems that Microsoft rushed this the stores without enough testing.

this is the first OS i am having these of problems during installation.

It really tells a lot about the quality of the product.

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October 28th, 2012 10:35pm

Chassis Model: - Black OPS Aventum
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 3960X 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) <b></b>
Power Supply: 1500W Silverstone (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Recommended)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (240GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F240GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 0 Config - Stripe Performance (Requires Two HDDs)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (600GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (32MB Cache) (Model: WD6000HLHX)
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) <b></b>
Video Card(s): 2x SLI Quad SLI (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Some of the newest high-end gaming hardware available and the Windows 8 setup still hangs at "Personalization." My basic PC config above.


  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 10:40 PM
October 28th, 2012 10:38pm

Similar problem but my computer hangs on the "personalization" part of windows 8. The very first step of the setup where you pick the background color and type in the name for the PC. If it doesn't hang there, it hangs a little later on one of the first setup portions.

I've tried upgrade install, a clean install and none work. I managed to get Windows 8 to install a few attempts ago, but it was a clean install without windows 7 installed first and I couldn't activate windows 8 with my upgrade cd key, so I had to try and fix it- I installed windows 7 from the install CD and didn't install *anything* except windows updates and had all devices disconnected except mouse and keyboard. Same thing- still hangs on personalization part.

Trying to install Windows 8 Pro 64-bit- no interest in trying to install 32 bit, as I have 16gb of ram and mainly use the PC for gaming.

Intel i7 3960X processor and Rampage IV Extreme motherboard here- custom built Digital Storm Aventum PC.



  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:09 PM
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October 28th, 2012 11:28pm

Anybody from Microsoft to address all these problems????

They have to understand we suppose to be their customers not unpaid system testers.

Do they have a list so we can see the motherboards a CPUs they did their testing on.

It seems that a large number of systems with different configurations exhibit the same

kind of problems during installations.

It makes you wonder what kind of configuration testing they really did.

I am familiar with installations of previous windows  and a large number of

UNIX flavor systems and never seen anything like this.

I am surprised they is no official company response to indicate that they really

working to fix the problems.

October 28th, 2012 11:54pm

Anybody from Microsoft to address all these problems????

They have to understand we suppose to be their customers not unpaid system testers.

Do they have a list so we can see the motherboards a CPUs they did their testing on.

It seems that a large number of systems with different configurations exhibit the same

kind of problems during installations.

It makes you wonder what kind of configuration testing they really did.

I am familiar with installations of previous windows  and a large number of

UNIX flavor systems and never seen anything like this.

I am surprised they is no official company response to indicate that they really

working to fix the problems.

yea that is probably most interesting part of the whole problem. no response from microsoft at all. there is no way they dont know about it. hell they maybe even did it on purspose se we have to buy new hardware. but that is conspiracy theory and i will not go any deeper on that theme. what matter is i have managed to solve the problem 100% and the only thing that remains is for me to conduct some more testing and modifications. i em curently trying to to get back new loading screen. if u dont know what im talking about read my previous posts.
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October 29th, 2012 12:04am

We have to make sure that your fix in the boot code is really generic one and resolves all the failure

it seems to me this has probably to do with some bios problem and their rush to get the product out without

testing a large number of old hardware configurations.

I just want to see my motherboard and CPU in the list of tested configurations

ASUS P5K

QUAD CPU 6600

October 29th, 2012 12:15am

My problem is very similar yet my PC uses some of the latest hardware on the market. I have also updated my BIOS to the latest version (released 5 days ago) that is 3 versions past the version that added "windows 8 compatibility." My motherboard and BIOS are fully windows 8 supported and I still have this lock-up.


  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 9:46 PM
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October 29th, 2012 12:45am

My problem is very similar yet my PC uses some of the latest hardware on the market. I have also updated my BIOS to the latest version (released 5 days ago) that is 3 versions past the version that added "windows 8 compatibility. My motherboard and BIOS are fully windows 8 supported and I still have this lock-up.

At the same time I loaded Windows 8 64 bit on a 2 year old Dell laptop with their latest BIOS without ANY problems. Yet my desktop using the X79 chipset -- which is newer, fails. MS did a poor job on this upgrade. I have never had a Windows upgrade fail before.
October 29th, 2012 12:50am

I though that this was happening on some "old" hardware configurations.

Now, i realize that the problem if more serious if it can be reproduced in new hardware.

This is why Microsoft is not addressing the problem. Maybe, we should wait for SP3 and in

the meantime I sell my Microsoft stock.

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October 29th, 2012 1:11am

Chassis Model: - Black OPS Aventum
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 3960X 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) <b></b>
Power Supply: 1500W Silverstone (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Recommended)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (240GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F240GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 0 Config - Stripe Performance (Requires Two HDDs)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (600GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (32MB Cache) (Model: WD6000HLHX)
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) <b></b>
Video Card(s): 2x SLI Quad SLI (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Some of the newest high-end gaming hardware available and the Windows 8 setup still hangs at "Personalization." My basic PC config above.


  • Edited by Err0xx Sunday, October 28, 2012 10:40 PM
October 29th, 2012 1:38am

as i wrote before solution is now fully complete but i have to test it a bit more before i release the fix. the only problem i encountered with my fix is that repair section is missing. the part when u hit F8 after bios finish loading. i mean its there but u dont see text. so ur tiping on blind. other then that i havent encountered any problems in the os it self. i have now fixed the loading screen and its the new one the rtm uses. my first fix used old fish logo from CP. be patient as i will probably release the fix tomorrow for testing and we can see if i fixed problem in general or just in some cases. if u were able to install CP then ur be able to install rtm as well.
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October 29th, 2012 2:45am

good work. I will give it a try when you make it available.

where are the Microsoft guys?????

are they testing or try to sell tablets???

October 29th, 2012 4:05am

good work. I will give it a try when you make it available.

where are the Microsoft guys?????

are they testing or try to sell tablets???

ty. guess theyr drulling on tablets :/
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October 29th, 2012 4:26am

Also, for those of you with nvidia cards, like I have, be prepared for nightmares once you get Windows 8 up. Their drivers are HORRIBLE and you have to mix-and-match drivers to get a stable combo for the moment. At least I did, anyway.

My Cards are on the newest 310 beta, my 3d vision, hd audio, and software are running from the 306.97 drivers. If I install the same driver for all of them, the system is so unstable you can't use it. Mixing the drivers for different parts of the nvidia software/hardware is the most stable so far for me.

mate read previous posts before you acuse drivers for being problem. it hes nothing to do with the drivers. it is boot loader. it is bridge betvin bios and os and it fail to conect this two together. i have succesfuly resolved the problem and only testing it a bit more to see if all is working as it should before posting my fix for furthur testing on varaety of machines. for now the only potential problem is repair screen. it is there and u can use it but it hes no text so u have to choose options blindly. in that screen u choose option like to boot in safe mod.

"Mate" I think it's hilarious that you think you have a solve-all fix to this issue, when computers are composed of so many different components it's nuts. What likely works for you, or even a hundred people, has no guarantee of working on 10000000 people.  I've read your previous posts and I looked at your profile. You've been a member for 2 weeks, you have only 17 posts and absolutely nothing that shows me that you might know what you're talking about. I'm supposed to take your "theories" as fact? I didn't and I kept troubleshooting and I have fixed my issues.

If it has nothing to do with the drivers, then please explain why I have gone several hours with no restarts, no freezes, I've tried gaming and can't find a way to make my pc freeze *knock on wood*. Since I got windows 8 installed, all I've altered are drivers and the problems have totally gone.

Also, try to re-install windows 8 again if you haven't today. I noticed that the install size (I installed from a thumb drive and clicked to update) is 11.2 megabytes bigger than it was yesterday when my install attempts failed. So, something has been added to the install and I can't help but think that maybe that's what made mine go through.

If you read MY previous posts, you will see that I said my issue was "similiar." Posting here in case the issues were related because they were close. Different issues have different fixes and your "fix" wasn't what my problem needed- it was a driver issue.


  • Edited by Err0xx Monday, October 29, 2012 5:20 AM typo
October 29th, 2012 5:16am

Got windows 8 installed, though I am still having some restart/freeze issues, the install went through and it's stable in-between freezes. I believe my current issues are all driver related. How I got windows to install makes no sense at all, but I replicated it 8 times.

When I get to the personalization screen (if you can get this far) limit how much you move your mouse. Imagine your mouse pointer is a pen and the pen only has a small amount of ink in it- when the ink runs out, the install fails. Well I got a measuring tape and I can move my mouse equal to 284 inches on the screen. If I move it more than that (284 total inches) the setup immediately freezes. I minimized mouse movement by only going to the areas I had to click and tabbing to select other text boxes. Installing windows while not going over that magical 284 and it installed.

Now if I could sort these other drivers out, I'd be thrilled.

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October 29th, 2012 5:21am

Also, for those of you with nvidia cards, like I have, be prepared for nightmares once you get Windows 8 up. Their drivers are HORRIBLE and you have to mix-and-match drivers to get a stable combo for the moment. At least I did, anyway.

My Cards are on the newest 310 beta, my 3d vision, hd audio, and software are running from the 306.97 drivers. If I install the same driver for all of them, the system is so unstable you can't use it. Mixing the drivers for different parts of the nvidia software/hardware is the most stable so far for me.

October 29th, 2012 5:24am

Also, for those of you with nvidia cards, like I have, be prepared for nightmares once you get Windows 8 up. Their drivers are HORRIBLE and you have to mix-and-match drivers to get a stable combo for the moment. At least I did, anyway.

My Cards are on the newest 310 beta, my 3d vision, hd audio, and software are running from the 306.97 drivers. If I install the same driver for all of them, the system is so unstable you can't use it. Mixing the drivers for different parts of the nvidia software/hardware is the most stable so far for me.

mate read previous posts before you acuse drivers for being problem. it hes nothing to do with the drivers. it is boot loader. it is bridge betvin bios and os and it fail to conect this two together. i have succesfuly resolved the problem and only testing it a bit more to see if all is working as it should before posting my fix for furthur testing on varaety of machines. for now the only potential problem is repair screen. it is there and u can use it but it hes no text so u have to choose options blindly. in that screen u choose option like to boot in safe mod.
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October 29th, 2012 5:40am

Also, for those of you with nvidia cards, like I have, be prepared for nightmares once you get Windows 8 up. Their drivers are HORRIBLE and you have to mix-and-match drivers to get a stable combo for the moment. At least I did, anyway.

My Cards are on the newest 310 beta, my 3d vision, hd audio, and software are running from the 306.97 drivers. If I install the same driver for all of them, the system is so unstable you can't use it. Mixing the drivers for different parts of the nvidia software/hardware is the most stable so far for me.

mate read previous posts before you acuse drivers for being problem. it hes nothing to do with the drivers. it is boot loader. it is bridge betvin bios and os and it fail to conect this two together. i have succesfuly resolved the problem and only testing it a bit more to see if all is working as it should before posting my fix for furthur testing on varaety of machines. for now the only potential problem is repair screen. it is there and u can use it but it hes no text so u have to choose options blindly. in that screen u choose option like to boot in safe mod.

"Mate" I think it's hilarious that you think you have a solve-all fix to this issue, when computers are composed of so many different components it's nuts. What likely works for you, or even a hundred people, has no guarantee of working on 10000000 people.  I've read your previous posts and I looked at your profile. You've been a member for 2 weeks, you have only 17 posts and absolutely nothing that shows me that you might know what you're talking about. I'm supposed to take your "theories" as fact? I didn't and I kept troubleshooting and I have fixed my issues.

If it has nothing to do with the drivers, then please explain why I have gone several hours with no restarts, no freezes, I've tried gaming and can't find a way to make my pc freeze *knock on wood*. Since I got windows 8 installed, all I've altered are drivers and the problems have totally gone.

Also, try to re-install windows 8 again if you haven't today. I noticed that the install size (I installed from a thumb drive and clicked to update) is 11.2 megabytes bigger than it was yesterday when my install attempts failed. So, something has been added to the install and I can't help but think that maybe that's what made mine go through.

If you read MY previous posts, you will see that I said my issue was "similiar." Posting here in case the issues were related because they were close. Different issues have different fixes and your "fix" wasn't what my problem needed- it was a driver issue.


  • Edited by Err0xx Monday, October 29, 2012 5:20 AM typo
October 29th, 2012 8:16am

what do you mean (I installed from a thumb drive and clicked to update)

Should we be connected to internet and when it reads from the stick and expands the archives to

pick up the updates???

There is no click. It is part of the process. Am I missing something?

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October 29th, 2012 11:48am

Maybe you are right, because I have a GeForce 9600GT. I have read trough this thread and saw that the 32bit version doesn't hang, but unfortunately that's not the case. It still hangs at the Windows logo and I don't even see the spinning loading animation. I tried making a bootable USB stick with the 32 and 64bit versions and after booting from it it just stopped. I waited at least 10 minutes but still nothing. No hard drive activity, nothing. I just stare at the Windows logo. Haven't tried to Upgrade from Windows 7 64bit Service Pack 1 with all the updates, but I'm pretty much confident that it will just fail.

I do have an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ processor and an old ASUS motherboard so that might be a problem too if the problem is in the bootloader. Windows 7 doesn't hang just like Windows 8, the installer starts without any issues. 

Also I have a 17" LCD that has an aspect ratio of 4:3, and the Windows 8 logo just looks distorted, mainly because I don't have a 16:9 screen. That shouldn't be a problem as far as I know.

Tried every single workarounds that was mentioned in this thread and nothing seems to help. Disabled Legacy USB, used another USB port, unplugged keyboard and mouse, tried restoring my BIOS to defaults, used the retail disks but none of these work.

I can't install my copy of Windows 8, and must stick to Windows 7 until this gets fixed. It's interesting indeed that nobody has any problems with Radeon cards. So it should be a NVIDIA or AMD or Bootloader issue.

Best regards


  • Edited by Tihamér Monday, October 29, 2012 5:41 PM
October 29th, 2012 4:31pm

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.
  • Edited by RUQRU Monday, October 29, 2012 4:38 PM
  • Proposed as answer by HexC0De Monday, October 29, 2012 8:21 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by HexC0De Monday, October 29, 2012 8:21 PM
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October 29th, 2012 4:37pm

As suggested by Err0xx, I tried installing again just now. Unfortunately I had no luck, the problem persists.
October 29th, 2012 4:51pm

I think the problem is only with NVIDIA based chipset video cards.I just read most of posts in this threat and didnt see anyone with ATi Videocards  to have such hang issue.I make some test with couple NVIDIA old cards like 6600,7300,9600 ...they all hang on blue windows logo.When i change the vide ocard with my old ATI X550 and the setup started normally.I hope they fix soon this bugged NVIDIA boot driver,probably updating the driver under windows will not solve the problem.

Regards

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October 29th, 2012 7:01pm

Maybe you are right, because I have a GeForce 9600GT. I have read trough this thread and saw that the 32bit version doesn't hang, but unfortunately that's not the case. It still hangs at the Windows logo and I don't even see the spinning loading animation. I tried making a bootable USB stick with the 32 and 64bit versions and after booting from it it just stopped. I waited at least 10 minutes but still nothing. No hard drive activity, nothing. I just stare at the Windows logo. Haven't tried to Upgrade from Windows 7 64bit Service Pack 1 with all the updates, but I'm pretty much confident that it will just fail.

I do have an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ processor and an old ASUS motherboard so that might be a problem too if the problem is in the bootloader. Windows 7 doesn't hang just like Windows 8, the installer starts without any issues. 

Also I have a 17" LCD that has an aspect ratio of 4:3, and the Windows 8 logo just looks distorted, mainly because I don't have a 16:9 screen. That shouldn't be a problem as far as I know.

Tried every single workarounds that was mentioned in this thread and nothing seems to help. Disabled Legacy USB, used another USB port, unplugged keyboard and mouse, tried restoring my BIOS to defaults, used the retail disks but none of these work.

I can't install my copy of Windows 8, and must stick to Windows 7 until this gets fixed. It's interesting indeed that nobody has any problems with Radeon cards. So it should be a NVIDIA or AMD or Bootloader issue.

Best regards


  • Edited by Tihamér Monday, October 29, 2012 5:41 PM
October 29th, 2012 7:31pm

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.
  • Edited by RUQRU Monday, October 29, 2012 4:38 PM
  • Proposed as answer by HexC0De Monday, October 29, 2012 8:21 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by HexC0De Monday, October 29, 2012 8:21 PM
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October 29th, 2012 7:37pm

As long as we don't have the detailed list of the hardware configurations  that have been tested

by the Miscosoft geniuses we resort to theories.

Microsoft people are no-show. Did you see anybody posting an official reply?

They may not support  their OS anymore and try to make money by selling tablets.

They should tell us so we can stop trying to install this ugly beast.

October 29th, 2012 9:24pm

I found the following in another forum. This does not explain why this is failing on new hardware.

On the Microsoft Answers forum for Windows 8 Release Preview, a Microsoft employee provided reasons into the Companys decision for requiring NX support in order to run Windows 8 going forward:

We did make changes in the upgrade detection logic since the CP. The changes revolve around the default installer and how it checks for precise CPU features before continuing. Windows 8 requires the NX capabilities of modern CPUs. This is done for security reasons to ensure that malware defense features work reliably. This is important as we want to ensure that people can feel safe using lots of different software including desktop apps and apps from the Windows Store. This means some very old CPUs will not work with Windows 8. In the CP we did not block the installer for the NX feature. Based on CP telemetry we felt adding the block to setup was warranted to respect peoples time. It is better to get it over with quickly, even if it is disappointing. We also used the telemetry to get some handle on how many CPUs would fail the NX requirement so we could be sure enforcing NX presence was responsible in the ecosystem. We learned that less than 1% of CPUs did not have NX capability available and configured correctly and out of those 0.1% did not have the NX capability at all. Based on this we feel that enforcing NX presence is a good thing to do since it results in better malware defenses. Thus we now enforce NX presence in the kernel boot sequence.

 It is interesting to look at the case where NX is available but not configured correctly. It is possible on most CPUs in this state to override the BIOS setting in software. Because the opposite of most CPUs case means a code 5D bluescreen later on, it saves time to get it out up front and ask the user to fix the BIOS setting during setup. However, the most CPUs case does mean there is a potential workaround, which Ill describe in a moment.

 We didnt make any change related to PAE detection, but it is good to note that PAE is a pre-requisite for NX on 32 bit processors due to how NX is implemented in memory manager page tables.

 We did change SSE2 instruction set detection based on telemetry from the CP and Windows 7. SSE2 became standard on CPUs a long time ago, but Windows did not rely on those instructions. It turns out though, that an increasing number of 3 party applications and drivers have started using those instructions, and not checking for them before use. We get to see this in our telemetry, as application crashes and in- the- driver case bluescreens. Taking into account that the rate of these differences in 3 party programming is increasing -- and that SSE2 has been present on all CPUs since 2003 and most since 2001-- we decided to check for SSE2 in setup. The result for users at large is their PC is more reliable. We do not check for SSE2 in the kernel boot sequence,;however, if your CPU has NX it also almost certainly has SSE2.

 Before I provide the potential workaround, if you can, please properly configure NX in your BIOS.

 

 Here is the potential workaround: Download the ISO and burn it to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive. Boot from the media that you created. If your CPU does not support NX you will see a code 5D bluescreen before setup starts. This is rare, but if it happens we wont be able to help you run Windows 8.

This workaround may succeed because Windows contains two installers: the end user installer (setup.exe at the root of the Windows DVD) and the commercial installer (setup.exe found in the \sources directory of the Windows DVD). The commercial installer runs when the PC is booted from DVD/USB media and does not perform the NX/SSE2 checks and attempts to enable NX/SSE2 on supported systems.

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October 29th, 2012 9:33pm

Ok seems nice but our processors do have NX/PAE/SSE2. I just downloaded Coreinfo just to double check if my processor supports all of the required instruction sets and other stuff. Here's a log from Coreinfo, so I still think that there is some serious problem that doesn't let us install Windows 8 for some reason.

Coreinfo v3.1 - Dump information on system CPU and memory topology
Copyright (C) 2008-2012 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+
AMD64 Family 15 Model 75 Stepping 2, AuthenticAMD
HTT             *       Multicore
HYPERVISOR      -       Hypervisor is present
VMX             -       Supports Intel hardware-assisted virtualization
SVM             *       Supports AMD hardware-assisted virtualization
EM64T           *       Supports 64-bit mode

SMX             -       Supports Intel trusted execution
SKINIT          -       Supports AMD SKINIT

NX              *       Supports no-execute page protection
SMEP            -       Supports Supervisor Mode Execution Prevention
PAGE1GB         -       Supports 1 GB large pages
PAE             *       Supports > 32-bit physical addresses
PAT             *       Supports Page Attribute Table
PSE             *       Supports 4 MB pages
PSE36           *       Supports > 32-bit address 4 MB pages
PGE             *       Supports global bit in page tables
SS              -       Supports bus snooping for cache operations
VME             *       Supports Virtual-8086 mode
RDWRFSGSBASE    -       Supports direct GS/FS base access

FPU             *       Implements i387 floating point instructions
MMX             *       Supports MMX instruction set
MMXEXT          *       Implements AMD MMX extensions
3DNOW           *       Supports 3DNow! instructions
3DNOWEXT        *       Supports 3DNow! extension instructions
SSE             *       Supports Streaming SIMD Extensions
SSE2            *       Supports Streaming SIMD Extensions 2
SSE3            *       Supports Streaming SIMD Extensions 3
SSSE3           -       Supports Supplemental SIMD Extensions 3
SSE4.1          -       Supports Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.1
SSE4.2          -       Supports Streaming SIMD Extensions 4.2

AES             -       Supports AES extensions
AVX             -       Supports AVX intruction extensions
FMA             -       Supports FMA extensions using YMM state
MSR             *       Implements RDMSR/WRMSR instructions
MTRR            *       Supports Memory Type Range Registers
XSAVE           -       Supports XSAVE/XRSTOR instructions
OSXSAVE         -       Supports XSETBV/XGETBV instructions
RDRAND          -       Supports RDRAND instruction

CMOV            *       Supports CMOVcc instruction
CLFSH           *       Supports CLFLUSH instruction
CX8             *       Supports compare and exchange 8-byte instructions
CX16            *       Supports CMPXCHG16B instruction
DCA             -       Supports prefetch from memory-mapped device
F16C            -       Supports half-precision instruction
FXSR            *       Supports FXSAVE/FXSTOR instructions
FFXSR           *       Supports optimized FXSAVE/FSRSTOR instruction
MONITOR         -       Supports MONITOR and MWAIT instructions
MOVBE           -       Supports MOVBE instruction
PCLULDQ         -       Supports PCLMULDQ instruction
POPCNT          -       Supports POPCNT instruction
SEP             *       Supports fast system call instructions
LAHF-SAHF       *       Supports LAHF/SAHF instructions in 64-bit mode

DE              *       Supports I/O breakpoints including CR4.DE
DTES64          -       Can write history of 64-bit branch addresses
DS              -       Implements memory-resident debug buffer
DS-CPL          -       Supports Debug Store feature with CPL
PCID            -       Supports PCIDs and settable CR4.PCIDE
PDCM            -       Supports Performance Capabilities MSR
RDTSCP          *       Supports RDTSCP instruction
TSC             *       Supports RDTSC instruction
TSC-DEADLINE    -       Local APIC supports one-shot deadline timer
TSC-INVARIANT   -       TSC runs at constant rate
xTPR            -       Supports disabling task priority messages

EIST            -       Supports Enhanced Intel Speedstep
ACPI            -       Implements MSR for power management
TM              -       Implements thermal monitor circuitry
TM2             -       Implements Thermal Monitor 2 control
APIC            *       Implements software-accessible local APIC
x2APIC          -       Supports x2APIC

CNXT-ID         -       L1 data cache mode adaptive or BIOS

MCE             *       Supports Machine Check, INT18 and CR4.MCE
MCA             *       Implements Machine Check Architecture
PBE             -       Supports use of FERR#/PBE# pin

PSN             -       Implements 96-bit processor serial number

PREFETCHW       *       Supports PREFETCHW instruction

Logical to Physical Processor Map:
*-  Physical Processor 0
-*  Physical Processor 1

Logical Processor to Socket Map:
**  Socket 0

Logical Processor to NUMA Node Map:
**  NUMA Node 0

Logical Processor to Cache Map:
*-  Data Cache          0, Level 1,   64 KB, Assoc   2, LineSize  64
*-  Instruction Cache   0, Level 1,   64 KB, Assoc   2, LineSize  64
*-  Unified Cache       0, Level 2,  512 KB, Assoc  16, LineSize  64
-*  Data Cache          1, Level 1,   64 KB, Assoc   2, LineSize  64
-*  Instruction Cache   1, Level 1,   64 KB, Assoc   2, LineSize  64
-*  Unified Cache       1, Level 2,  512 KB, Assoc  16, LineSize  64

Logical Processor to Group Map:
**  Group 0
October 29th, 2012 10:02pm

Sorry the installer didn't work for the above poster but it's worth keeping an eye on. The installer size seems to be changing constantly- checked the installer size on another PC today and it's 2.2mb larger than yesterday, so things are being actively added.

On a side note, the Windows 8 install that I finally got to work on this PC yesterday has been flawless; gaming, browsing, minsc OS usage has resulted in no errors. For me, it was an Nvidia card issue that disappeared when I mixed versions of the nvidia software. Running great so far.

So keep a check on that installer- it's at least a good sign that the size is constantly changing, which shows that work is being done somewhere on something.

This may explain why, despite all the voodoo people claim works, like changing BIOS settings, may be mere coincidence. They made a change but the installer is a moving target so we have no way of really knowing what worked. Since we have no idea what is in the installer code and the code is constantly changing it is hard to isolate what really works. 

It is also super poor customer service that no official response from MS has been posted on this thread (or anywhere else).

  • Edited by RUQRU Monday, October 29, 2012 10:05 PM
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October 29th, 2012 10:04pm

Yes this is correct but this is the only unofficial response from Microsoft i was able to find.

All the CPUs for the past 4 years provide support for all these features microsoft is looking for.

They may screwed up the boot code by testing for specific processor features.

Really, I cannot make any sense why this is failing for numerous configurations even for very expensive

top of the line hardware.

October 29th, 2012 10:47pm

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.


Yes you are right ,people make theories based on insufficient data.I just share what i saw .In same Mainboard&CPU&RAM&HDD i just change the video cards from NVIDIA 7300 with ATI X550 and splash screen hangs was gone.Probably problem can be complex not only in video card, some people have black screen after reboot another (like in my case) during start of installation process.

"theories based on insufficient data" ? hm... i wasent able to instal it. i hed graphical corruption during installation. now i em able to install it and dont have graphical corruption while installing it by narrowing the problem to the boot loader. hm... i must be delusional then. i must be seeing things.

quit going through and flagging my comments as abusive, when I am not the one that flagged your childish comment about me being an idiot as abusive. I ignored it, but someone else flagged it. Your fix worked for you, great. My fix worked for me, great. That just goes to show that you do not have a "fix all" solution. That's all I'm saying.

I fully believe that the install changes are what allowed me to install windows 8 and that the nvidia drivers were just additional problems that reared their heads more after the OS was installed. It seems like there are many possible problems amidst different hardware. At least the installer is changing, hopefully making improvements to all of the issues in this thread.

Again zaeb, quit being childish- you'll get reprimanded for flagging comments as abusive that aren't, which is clearly the case with my above comment that is not abusive.


  • Edited by Err0xx Monday, October 29, 2012 11:36 PM
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October 29th, 2012 11:26pm

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.

Yes you are right ,people make theories based on insufficient data.I just share what i saw .In same Mainboard&CPU&RAM&HDD i just change the video cards from NVIDIA 7300 with ATI X550 and splash screen hangs was gone.Probably problem can be complex not only in video card, some people have black screen after reboot another (like in my case) during start of installation process.
October 29th, 2012 11:37pm

Sorry the installer didn't work for the above poster but it's worth keeping an eye on. The installer size seems to be changing constantly- checked the installer size on another PC today and it's 2.2mb larger than yesterday, so things are being actively added.

On a side note, the Windows 8 install that I finally got to work on this PC yesterday has been flawless; gaming, browsing, minsc OS usage has resulted in no errors. For me, it was an Nvidia card issue that disappeared when I mixed versions of the nvidia software. Running great so far.

So keep a check on that installer- it's at least a good sign that the size is constantly changing, which shows that work is being done somewhere on something.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 29th, 2012 11:42pm

I had the same issue for days. I finally got the system to install. I went to the Bios and change the setting on Sata Controller Mode to IDE instead of the default AHCI. Now Windows 8 is fully functional.
October 30th, 2012 12:24am

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.


Yes you are right ,people make theories based on insufficient data.I just share what i saw .In same Mainboard&CPU&RAM&HDD i just change the video cards from NVIDIA 7300 with ATI X550 and splash screen hangs was gone.Probably problem can be complex not only in video card, some people have black screen after reboot another (like in my case) during start of installation process.

"theories based on insufficient data" ? hm... i wasent able to instal it. i hed graphical corruption during installation. now i em able to install it and dont have graphical corruption while installing it by narrowing the problem to the boot loader. hm... i must be delusional then. i must be seeing things.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 30th, 2012 12:35am

Sorry the installer didn't work for the above poster but it's worth keeping an eye on. The installer size seems to be changing constantly- checked the installer size on another PC today and it's 2.2mb larger than yesterday, so things are being actively added.

On a side note, the Windows 8 install that I finally got to work on this PC yesterday has been flawless; gaming, browsing, minsc OS usage has resulted in no errors. For me, it was an Nvidia card issue that disappeared when I mixed versions of the nvidia software. Running great so far.

So keep a check on that installer- it's at least a good sign that the size is constantly changing, which shows that work is being done somewhere on something.

This may explain why, despite all the voodoo people claim works, like changing BIOS settings, may be mere coincidence. They made a change but the installer is a moving target so we have no way of really knowing what worked. Since we have no idea what is in the installer code and the code is constantly changing it is hard to isolate what really works. 

It is also super poor customer service that no official response from MS has been posted on this thread (or anywhere else).

  • Edited by RUQRU Monday, October 29, 2012 10:05 PM
October 30th, 2012 1:04am

I don't understand this. If the installer keeps changing why they release the product?

They met the deadline but they came out with a crappy product.

Do we suppose to wake up every day, try the new installer and pray to god that

their night fix works?

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 30th, 2012 1:47am

Not true. I have a Radeon HD6850 running Win 7 64bit and get the same problem of the installer hanging after first reboot. I think people on this thread are making-up theories based on insufficient data. There is a problem affecting 64bit machines of all kinds.


Yes you are right ,people make theories based on insufficient data.I just share what i saw .In same Mainboard&CPU&RAM&HDD i just change the video cards from NVIDIA 7300 with ATI X550 and splash screen hangs was gone.Probably problem can be complex not only in video card, some people have black screen after reboot another (like in my case) during start of installation process.

"theories based on insufficient data" ? hm... i wasent able to instal it. i hed graphical corruption during installation. now i em able to install it and dont have graphical corruption while installing it by narrowing the problem to the boot loader. hm... i must be delusional then. i must be seeing things.

quit going through and flagging my comments as abusive, when I am not the one that flagged your childish comment about me being an idiot as abusive. I ignored it, but someone else flagged it. Your fix worked for you, great. My fix worked for me, great. That just goes to show that you do not have a "fix all" solution. That's all I'm saying.

I fully believe that the install changes are what allowed me to install windows 8 and that the nvidia drivers were just additional problems that reared their heads more after the OS was installed. It seems like there are many possible problems amidst different hardware. At least the installer is changing, hopefully making improvements to all of the issues in this thread.

Again zaeb, quit being childish- you'll get reprimanded for flagging comments as abusive that aren't, which is clearly the case with my above comment that is not abusive.


  • Edited by Err0xx Monday, October 29, 2012 11:36 PM
October 30th, 2012 2:26am

I don't understand this. If the installer keeps changing why they release the product?

They met the deadline but they came out with a crappy product.

Do we suppose to wake up every day, try the new installer and pray to god that

their night fix works?

All I can figure is they wanted cash and released a product that worked with the majority of PCs. I think they knew full and well that it would only work error-free with about 70% of their install base. They wanted the money from this 70% and figured they'd fix the 30% after this initial release. This isn't an uncommon business practice. It's the same with restaurants. If you go to a busy restaurant and they tell you its a 45 minute wait, then seat you in 25 minutes, you'll probably have to wait another 30 minutes for the kitchen to get your food out but once your seated, you're more likely to not leave. Once they release a product and have the customer committed (they get your money/time/commitment) then the consumer is more likely to "wait it out" for things to get fixed then to abandon the purchase altogether. Sure, some get refunds and wait, but most don't. Microsoft banks on this to make money when and how they can. Not a great thing, but one that's common nonetheless.

I can't fault Microsoft as much as Apple. Mountain Lion KILLED battery life, wifi connectibility and overall speed when it was released and Apple is only working with a handful of mac configurations; in their defense, Microsoft has a near infinite combination of hardware to support so I understand bugs more in a case like this.

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October 30th, 2012 2:33am

I suppose you are right as long as they will fix it.

In the windows 7 release they didn't have these kind of problems.

I am surprised they haven't done any extensive backwards compatibility testing because

this is failing on a very large number of configurations.  They could easily discover the problems well

in advance of the official release date.

I am assuming that they made extensive changes to the installation and boot code after

the CP release and without sufficient testing Ballmer made the announcement.

It also seems that they spent a lot of resources in the development of their new tablets (ARM and intel)

and the OS testing was not really  at the same level as in their previous major product releases.


October 30th, 2012 3:10am

I suppose you are right as long as they will fix it.

In the windows 7 release they didn't have these kind of problems.

I am surprised they haven't done any extensive backwards compatibility testing because

this is failing on a very large number of configurations.  They could easily discover the problems well

in advance of the official release date.

I am assuming that they made extensive changes to the installation and boot code after

the CP release and without sufficient testing Ballmer made the announcement.

It also seems that they spent a lot of resources in the development of their new tablets (ARM and intel)

and the OS testing was not really  at the same level as in their previous major product releases.


That right there hit the nail on the head. I think the last minute changes after the CP release is what caused a lot of bugger ups we are seeing now. If, however, they tested the boot code changes for the retail version as extensively as the CP version, they wouldn't have released till Q1/Q2 2013 and they weren't willing to put off sales till then.

I find it amazing how many people are having trouble in general but there doesn't seem to be a single review site that has installed Windows 8 and had serious issues. Several review sites wrote a review from start to finish of the Windows 8 process, both upgrading and clean installing on a variety of PC configurations, and out of the 14+ I've read, none of had any real hiccups. I find that a bit odd.

Just give it time- things will get sorted out. I'm still messing with Windows 8 installs on other PCs so I'll report back should I find anything. Windows 8 still running great on this PC, *fingers crossed* that it continues.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 30th, 2012 3:26am

If we have a boot-able USB stick with a windows 8 installation distribution, what files do we have to replace with the ones from

the CP version to have a meaningful test case scenario?

I don't have access to internal Microsoft memos to understand the boot process, the inter dependencies and how

the entire thing works.They may have made extensive and undocumented changes since the windows 7 release.

Drop on top of this the Intel chip-set drivers, basic graphics drivers and the process

will get very complicated.

I am willing to try it  if you can provide the files, destination folders,  and some short description of what needs to be done.


IMPORTANT INFO READ THIS FIRST

EVERYTHING YOU DO YOU DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK

ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR FILES FIRST BUT THIS IS NOT NESSESARY IF YOU HAVE SEPARATE HDD/SSD

IN THE CASE OF MULTIPLE HDD/SSD IN THE SYSTEM DISSCONECT THE ONE THAT HES OS INSTALLED ON IT TO PREVENT ANY DAMAGE TO BOOT CONFIGURATION

IF YOU INSTALL IT ON THE SAME HDD/SSD WHICH CONTAINS YOUR MAIN OS IT WILL DEACTIVATE IT

IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS THEN DO NOT TRY IT. IT WILL SAVE YOU SOME HEADACHE

This is not problem free solution. It still hes some bugs. Circle is not showing in loading screen just Blue Windows Logo (tbh i dont  even know if circle is there in the first place cose i couldnt install it without this modification i just assume it is since its in the install process) . Hibernate doesnt work (when resuming from hibernation state just before os loads gpu fan runs at maximum speed and the restart is necesary to boot to os again. after the restart everything is fine. These r the only errors i have encountered but they might be isolated case and more errors might appear on different configurations. This should work for the people who were able to install Consumer Preview (later on in the text cp). If u warrent able to use cp then this probably wont help u with any problem u might have with any version.

first of all u will need a free tool called dism gui and small registry file called take ownership. dism gui openes files with wim extension. take owner ship as the name says gives ur right over every files u choose (u will need this since all files u will be extracting r protected from overwriting) . wim files u r gonna extract  r boot.wim and instal.wim. as u may guess the name  says what file is for. boot contains as the name says only files for booting (the setup screen and the boot loader which is the bridge betvin bios and os). install contains complete os and it as well contains boot files. u will need to extract whole dvd both rtm and cp. then mount boot. wim from cp (take ownership of the files if necesary) extract complete Boot folder located in Windows folder (Windows\Boot) then extract Boot folder from System32 folder (Windows\System32\Boot) and the following files also from System32 folder : bcdboot , bcdedit , bcdprov , bcdsrv , bootcfg , BootMenuUX , BootRec , bootsect , bootstr , bootux , BOOTVID . IMPORTANT if u want to have new loading logo screen delete Resources folder from Windows\Boot folder. to clarifie that same folder is in both boot.wim and install.wim delete from both places. repeat the same process on the install.wim from cp with the exception of extracting one more file called boot located in Windows\System32. the deletion will be comited in the extracted folders not in the mounted folder. now mount rtm boot.wim and extarct Resources folder in Windows\Boot and copy it in both boot.wim and install.wim folders u extracted. then delete the folders u have extracted but before that take ownership of the folder. now copy folders u have extracted in exact same locations. repeate the process on install.wim. after u finish copying files go unmout choose save. then get a tool called win iso. choose unmodified iso of the rtm then choose from options extarct boot info (this r files necesary only for cd booting not boot loader). then add rtm folder to the win iso then from options choose boot info u have extracted then save it as iso file. burn , install and hopefully enjoy.




  • Edited by zaeb Friday, November 02, 2012 2:56 AM
October 30th, 2012 4:08am

If we have a boot-able USB stick with a windows 8 installation distribution, what files do we have to replace with the ones from

the CP version to have a meaningful test case scenario?

I don't have access to internal Microsoft memos to understand the boot process, the inter dependencies and how

the entire thing works.They may have made extensive and undocumented changes since the windows 7 release.

Drop on top of this the Intel chip-set drivers, basic graphics drivers and the process

will get very complicated.

I am willing to try it  if you can provide the files, destination folders,  and some short description of what needs to be done.


Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 30th, 2012 4:31am

I suppose you are right as long as they will fix it.

In the windows 7 release they didn't have these kind of problems.

I am surprised they haven't done any extensive backwards compatibility testing because

this is failing on a very large number of configurations.  They could easily discover the problems well

in advance of the official release date.

I am assuming that they made extensive changes to the installation and boot code after

the CP release and without sufficient testing Ballmer made the announcement.

It also seems that they spent a lot of resources in the development of their new tablets (ARM and intel)

and the OS testing was not really  at the same level as in their previous major product releases.


That right there hit the nail on the head. I think the last minute changes after the CP release is what caused a lot of bugger ups we are seeing now. If, however, they tested the boot code changes for the retail version as extensively as the CP version, they wouldn't have released till Q1/Q2 2013 and they weren't willing to put off sales till then.

I find it amazing how many people are having trouble in general but there doesn't seem to be a single review site that has installed Windows 8 and had serious issues. Several review sites wrote a review from start to finish of the Windows 8 process, both upgrading and clean installing on a variety of PC configurations, and out of the 14+ I've read, none of had any real hiccups. I find that a bit odd.

Just give it time- things will get sorted out. I'm still messing with Windows 8 installs on other PCs so I'll report back should I find anything. Windows 8 still running great on this PC, *fingers crossed* that it continues.

i wonder why i even bother with stupid ppl like u but i will just this once. u say they did major change in the bood code since cp right? so that should mean u were able to install and use cp without any problems right? well u dumb morone since u sed it ur self thus confirmed my "fix theory" . just use boot loader from cp on rtm and it works most likely for the most of ppl since u sed it not me. u sed its "boot code" . but u would know how to do that right? i mean im noob here as u sed i just posted few replies i probably dont know shit and em ranting. but u on the other hand r tach savy person.
I nowhere said ANY of the boot code changes were major. I didn't even hint at it. No, I could not install and use CP without any problems. I went through hell installing it, and guess what? It was a DRIVER ISSUE then as well. Your "fix theory" will PROBABLY work in SOME INSTANCES, but you sell it as a FIX ALL. I never called you a noob either, nor did I say that you didn't know what you were talking about. I SAID that you were expecting me to believe that you had a fix all without me knowing ANY of your credentials. I don't know you, what you do, what skills you have, but you wanted me to quit trying to find my own solution believing that you have a "fix" for me? Seems like you're mad I fixed my own problem and didn't need your help. I'm not tech savvy. It was the process of elimination. And guess what? It worked. You have problems my friend. You need a support group or a psychiatrist. Quit cluttering the thread- I wouldn't be cluttering it but I do feel a need to defend myself from blatant name-calling.
October 30th, 2012 5:50am

If we have a boot-able USB stick with a windows 8 installation distribution, what files do we have to replace with the ones from

the CP version to have a meaningful test case scenario?

I don't have access to internal Microsoft memos to understand the boot process, the inter dependencies and how

the entire thing works.They may have made extensive and undocumented changes since the windows 7 release.

Drop on top of this the Intel chip-set drivers, basic graphics drivers and the process

will get very complicated.

I am willing to try it  if you can provide the files, destination folders,  and some short description of what needs to be done.


IMPORTANT INFO READ THIS FIRST

EVERYTHING YOU DO YOU DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK

ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR FILES FIRST BUT THIS IS NOT NESSESARY IF YOU HAVE SEPARATE HDD/SSD

IN THE CASE OF MULTIPLE HDD/SSD IN THE SYSTEM DISSCONECT THE ONE THAT HES OS INSTALLED ON IT TO PREVENT ANY DAMAGE TO BOOT CONFIGURATION

IF YOU INSTALL IT ON THE SAME HDD/SSD WHICH CONTAINS YOUR MAIN OS IT WILL DEACTIVATE IT

IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS THEN DO NOT TRY IT. IT WILL SAVE YOU SOME HEADACHE

This is not problem free solution. It still hes some bugs. Circle is not showing in loading screen just Blue Windows Logo (tbh i dont  even know if circle is there in the first place cose i couldnt install it without this modification i just assume it is since its in the install process) . Hibernate doesnt work (when resuming from hibernation state just before os loads gpu fan runs at maximum speed and the restart is necesary to boot to os again. after the restart everything is fine. These r the only errors i have encountered but they might be isolated case and more errors might appear on different configurations. This should work for the people who were able to install Consumer Preview (later on in the text cp). If u warrent able to use cp then this probably wont help u with any problem u might have with any version.

first of all u will need a free tool called dism gui and small registry file called take ownership. dism gui openes files with wim extension. take owner ship as the name says gives ur right over every files u choose (u will need this since all files u will be extracting r protected from overwriting) . wim files u r gonna extract  r boot.wim and instal.wim. as u may guess the name  says what file is for. boot contains as the name says only files for booting (the setup screen and the boot loader which is the bridge betvin bios and os). install contains complete os and it as well contains boot files. u will need to extract whole dvd both rtm and cp. then mount boot. wim from cp (take ownership of the files if necesary) extract complete Boot folder located in Windows folder (Windows\Boot) then extract Boot folder from System32 folder (Windows\System32\Boot) and the following files also from System32 folder : bcdboot , bcdedit , bcdprov , bcdsrv , bootcfg , BootMenuUX , BootRec , bootsect , bootstr , bootux , BOOTVID . IMPORTANT if u want to have new loading logo screen delete Resources folder from Windows\Boot folder. to clarifie that same folder is in both boot.wim and install.wim delete from both places. repeat the same process on the install.wim from cp with the exception of extracting one more file called boot located in Windows\System32. the deletion will be comited in the extracted folders not in the mounted folder. now mount rtm boot.wim and extarct Resources folder in Windows\Boot and copy it in both boot.wim and install.wim folders u extracted. then delete the folders u have extracted but before that take ownership of the folder. now copy folders u have extracted in exact same locations. repeate the process on install.wim. after u finish copying files go unmout choose save. then get a tool called win iso. choose unmodified iso of the rtm then choose from options extarct boot info (this r files necesary only for cd booting not boot loader). then add rtm folder to the win iso then from options choose boot info u have extracted then save it as iso file. burn , install and hopefully enjoy.




  • Edited by zaeb Friday, November 02, 2012 2:56 AM
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October 30th, 2012 7:08am

I own a hp pavilion dv8 (Intel I7 Quadcore with 8 GB RAM). Same here.

First attempt failed and it restored to windows 7.

After reseting bios to default settings (disable virtualization settings) the upgrade process  (win7 64 bit) worked. However the upgrade process took literary hours...

October 30th, 2012 7:22pm

I had the same issue for days. I finally got the system to install. I went to the Bios and change the setting on Sata Controller Mode to IDE instead of the default AHCI. Now Windows 8 is fully functional.

Experiencing same problem as anybody here. Ben running up against the wall for a few days now, driving the mss extra crazy. Am a noob though. Following the above success of dominitigre I tried the closest setting in my bios to this, which was Onboard Sata-1 adapter. I changed this from enabled to disabled. This actually took my HDD out, and what happened?.... The setup from DVD ran immediately. Off course later on in the installation process, there was the slight issue of a hdd missing.. So I am still stuck

Sounds indeed like something's wrong in  the boot files.

Soldiering on...

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October 31st, 2012 12:13am

I had the same issue for days. I finally got the system to install. I went to the Bios and change the setting on Sata Controller Mode to IDE instead of the default AHCI. Now Windows 8 is fully functional.

Experiencing same problem as anybody here. Ben running up against the wall for a few days now, driving the mss extra crazy. Am a noob though. Following the above success of dominitigre I tried the closest setting in my bios to this, which was Onboard Sata-1 adapter. I changed this from enabled to disabled. This actually took my HDD out, and what happened?.... The setup from DVD ran immediately. Off course later on in the installation process, there was the slight issue of a hdd missing.. So I am still stuck

Sounds indeed like something's wrong in  the boot files.

Soldiering on...

Have you updated your BIOS? Most motherboards had BIOS's that were incompatible with Windows 8 prior to it's launch and have since released firmware updates that make them Windows 8 compatible. 
October 31st, 2012 6:27am

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.
  • Edited by n.strom Wednesday, October 31, 2012 11:06 AM added info re: bios version
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October 31st, 2012 11:03am

I already tried to change every settings-combination in the BIOS for hours and even the IDE-Mode doesn't solve the freezing on my system.

Asus answered me, that they won't do anything since they only support a few new mainboards to work with Windows 8. Now you got a PC that can run the latest games in any setting perfectly smooth, but refuses to even install Windows 8... That's somehow frustrating...

October 31st, 2012 11:30am

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.
  • Edited by n.strom Wednesday, October 31, 2012 11:06 AM added info re: bios version
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October 31st, 2012 2:03pm

Has anyone had success using the "clean boot" method?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

  • Edited by RUQRU Thursday, November 01, 2012 8:37 AM
November 1st, 2012 8:36am

Exactly the same problem as n.strom above. Another system but same problem.
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November 1st, 2012 8:44am

Has anyone had success using the "clean boot" method?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

  • Edited by RUQRU Thursday, November 01, 2012 8:37 AM
November 1st, 2012 11:36am

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.

EXACTLY the same problem as you and others on this thread. ALso VERY similar system to yours.

Tried disabling USB Legacy, AHCI -> IDE, all that nothing. This is what worked for me.


1. Upgrade as per usual, run the upgrade in Windows and proceed.
2. Once it's installing in the blue screen, wait until it's 100% done and says "Your PC will restart a couple of times" (or something like that)
3. As the installer is about to reboot your system: take out the DVD/USB (whatever you used to install), and hold down the power button until your PC shuts off completely.
4. Turn it back on, and the setup magically continues...


  • Proposed as answer by samrx Thursday, November 01, 2012 4:04 PM
  • Edited by samrx Thursday, November 01, 2012 4:04 PM
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November 1st, 2012 4:03pm

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.

EXACTLY the same problem as you and others on this thread. ALso VERY similar system to yours.

Tried disabling USB Legacy, AHCI -> IDE, all that nothing. This is what worked for me.


1. Upgrade as per usual, run the upgrade in Windows and proceed.
2. Once it's installing in the blue screen, wait until it's 100% done and says "Your PC will restart a couple of times" (or something like that)
3. As the installer is about to reboot your system: take out the DVD/USB (whatever you used to install), and hold down the power button until your PC shuts off completely.
4. Turn it back on, and the setup magically continues...


  • Proposed as answer by samrx Thursday, November 01, 2012 4:04 PM
  • Edited by samrx Thursday, November 01, 2012 4:04 PM
November 1st, 2012 7:03pm

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.

EXACTLY the same problem as you and others on this thread. ALso VERY similar system to yours.

Tried disabling USB Legacy, AHCI -> IDE, all that nothing. This is what worked for me.


1. Upgrade as per usual, run the upgrade in Windows and proceed.
2. Once it's installing in the blue screen, wait until it's 100% done and says "Your PC will restart a couple of times" (or something like that)
3. As the installer is about to reboot your system: take out the DVD/USB (whatever you used to install), and hold down the power button until your PC shuts off completely.
4. Turn it back on, and the setup magically continues...


Not working with an ASUS A8N SLI PREMIUM + AMD 64 3800+ !

No combinations of settings in the BIOS is working !

Another suggestion?

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November 1st, 2012 8:46pm

Same issue here.

Using a Dell M6500, 32 GB of RAM, Core I7 Xtreme.

As far as I am concerned, Windows 8 is to Windows 7 as Windows Me was to Windows 95 = junk.

I am quickly heading to the return desk!

November 1st, 2012 10:03pm

It finally worked for me.

motherboard   asus p5k

processor        quad  6600

system            windows 8 pro with media center (x86) ( clean installation)

I had to unplug the HDMI cable that connected the output of the

graphics card (ATI RADEON HD 5700) to a big external TV and

remove an external USB TV tuner.

All the drivers have been resolved except the TV tuner.

It is running pretty good when you get used to the changes.

It does not take that long. Everything is concentrated in the right side of the screen

and you learn to move the mouse and pick up staff quickly.

I am running it on a old disk and it seems fast and very responsive.

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November 2nd, 2012 1:20am

I forgot to mention that my bios is pretty old. I am running XP and windows 7 and

I didn't have to change any BIOS settings.

November 2nd, 2012 1:22am

It finally worked for me.

motherboard   asus p5k

processor        quad  6600

system            windows 8 pro with media center (x86) ( clean installation)

I had to unplug the HDMI cable that connected the output of the

graphics card (ATI RADEON HD 5700) to a big external TV and

remove an external USB TV tuner.

All the drivers have been resolved except the TV tuner.

It is running pretty good when you get used to the changes.

It does not take that long. Everything is concentrated in the right side of the screen

and you learn to move the mouse and pick up staff quickly.

I am running it on a old disk and it seems fast and very responsive.

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.
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November 2nd, 2012 1:58am

The 32bit versions might also have some problems, but they are installable compared to the 64bit versions.
November 2nd, 2012 10:47am

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.
@ zaeb: How about your idea of replacing boot file from CP to Final version?
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November 2nd, 2012 11:05am

I found a workaround. I've been messing around with the install on a bunch of systems and it does seem to be an issue with boot.wim and something to do with 64 bit cpus but only pertains to rebooting a system.  That being said there is a way to get the installations problems however it does generate a small annoyance later on.  During installation, any time your computer goes to reboot itself, stop it during post by holding down the power button to force shutdown.  Then power on the system and let it continue normally.  Do this at any time the installation wants to reboot.  Again, never let it reboot, force it to shut down right when the machine starts to post and then turn it back on.  Do this and windows 8 will install fine.  I've done this from the Dev Preview, through RTM and on to full retail version on all versions of windows 8.

This does cause one issue during the normal operation of windows 8.  Your computer cannot reboot properly and has to be shutdown and turned on again rather than rebooted whenever the need arises.  Minor annoyance and something I would hope can just be patched out in the future or a workaround found but for those of you who really want 8 up and running this is how you do it.

Hi Doritokllr

I tried your method out, but I found it very hard to find the exact right moment to do the cold shutdown. I also ask myself, if it is better to wait until Microsoft fixes this problem instad of doing a workaround and working with a not propper functioning operating system (You talk about the impossibility to just do a simple restart without getting any problems).

Until Microsoft fixes its installation problems i wont continue trying out any workaround simply because Im not sure if I just get an unstable system.

My only question now ist, if anybody found out, that Microsoft knows about our problem and is working on it. Any answers?

November 2nd, 2012 12:21pm

I also seem to be having the same issue - upgrading my Win7 Home Premium install to Win8 Pro, on the first reboot it hangs on the black screen w/ blue windows logo and circling dots. Powering down and booting up again gives a boot menu w/ options Windows 8, Windows Setup, and Windows 7: of these, picking Windows 8 will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo, a bunch of HDD activity, and a reboot to the boot menu again. Picking Windows 7 will revert to previous install. Picking Windows Setup will go to the black screen w/ blue windows logo and hang.

System specs:

ASRock X79 Extreme4-M Intel X79 Chipset motherboard

Intel i7-3820 processor 3.60 GHz Quad-Core

16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance)

 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)

Seagate Barracuda SATA III 2TB (ST2000DM001) HDD


Initially I was using BIOS version 1.80 for my motherboard; upgraded to the latest version 2.10 and the same thing is still happening.

EXACTLY the same problem as you and others on this thread. ALso VERY similar system to yours.

Tried disabling USB Legacy, AHCI -> IDE, all that nothing. This is what worked for me.


1. Upgrade as per usual, run the upgrade in Windows and proceed.
2. Once it's installing in the blue screen, wait until it's 100% done and says "Your PC will restart a couple of times" (or something like that)
3. As the installer is about to reboot your system: take out the DVD/USB (whatever you used to install), and hold down the power button until your PC shuts off completely.
4. Turn it back on, and the setup magically continues...


Hi Sam RX,

I have tried something comparable before, without success. To understand your fix better, few questions:

- Did you run the setup from DVD/USB or HDD? And if so, which setup file, in the root folder or in Sources/?

- At which point do you "manually" shut it down exactly? Had it gone through its regular shutdown routine? Or did you kill it when still operating?

If this or MS updates don't work, I am considering a more rigorous approach. Based on my earlier experiment with HDD disconnected during install from DVD, I am considering to hot plug the sata HDD after start-up of setup... However, does sound risky..

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November 2nd, 2012 1:42pm

It's not necessary to do that. Even if the installation would work, the installed system would not boot (the same restart bug here). I tried it myself with a preinstalled Windows 8 Version :/
November 2nd, 2012 4:46pm

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.

@ zaeb: How about your idea of replacing boot file from CP to Final version?
it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.
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November 2nd, 2012 7:56pm

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.

@ zaeb: How about your idea of replacing boot file from CP to Final version?

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

To be clear: on some computers (like Asus A8N-SLI PREMIUM + AMD 3800+) W8 x64 won't boot (locked on blue logo). Neither CP nor Final version.

W8 x32 (CP or Final) works.

Can I use your method to replace the x64 boot files (CP or Final) with those of x32 version (CP or Final) ?

Thanks


  • Edited by Merlinpimpim Saturday, November 03, 2012 10:35 PM More details
November 3rd, 2012 10:33pm

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.

@ zaeb: How about your idea of replacing boot file from CP to Final version?

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

To be clear: on some computers (like Asus A8N-SLI PREMIUM + AMD 3800+) W8 x64 won't boot (locked on blue logo). Neither CP nor Final version.

W8 x32 (CP or Final) works.

Can I use your method to replace the x64 boot files (CP or Final) with those of x32 version (CP or Final) ?

Thanks


  • Edited by Merlinpimpim Saturday, November 03, 2012 10:35 PM More details
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November 4th, 2012 1:33am

it might be cose its x32. some ppl have reported while x64 doesnt work x32 works without problem.

@ zaeb: How about your idea of replacing boot file from CP to Final version?

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

To be clear: on some computers (like Asus A8N-SLI PREMIUM + AMD 3800+) W8 x64 won't boot (locked on blue logo). Neither CP nor Final version.

W8 x32 (CP or Final) works.

Can I use your method to replace the x64 boot files (CP or Final) with those of x32 version (CP or Final) ?

Thanks


u want to add x32 boot files in to x64 system? if so i dont think that will work but u can always try.
November 4th, 2012 5:09am

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

Do you complete testing on x64 version and have a fast internet connection?
Can you upload the x64 ISO file or seed via torrent?

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November 4th, 2012 5:53am

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

Do you complete testing on x64 version and have a fast internet connection?
Can you upload the x64 ISO file or seed via torrent?

yea testing is done. just found out one problem. there is still graphical corruption during installation but os installes and works without any problems. still havent fixed that boot at least it works. i can upload torrent boot my upload speed is just 60kb.
November 4th, 2012 6:05am

Just wanted to say that this worked for me, so thanks very much. For reference, I have a Dell / Alienware Aurora R3 and until I tried this method I couldn't get it to work. 
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November 4th, 2012 2:21pm

Just wanted to say that this worked for me, so thanks very much. For reference, I have a Dell / Alienware Aurora R3 and until I tried this method I couldn't get it to work. 
which metod is that mate?
November 4th, 2012 3:21pm

I was able to get my system to install the x64 version by disabling legacy USB3.0. I used a DVD in a USB reader.
ASRock A75 Extreme 6 Motherboard.

AMD A6-3650
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November 5th, 2012 1:52am

I don't know if any one still has this problem, But i tried everything, updating bios ect. and found that turning off all non-windows start up programs worked for me. 

November 8th, 2012 11:33pm

Hi Timmietim,

To answer your first question: Yes, still lots of people having this issue.

I am not sure whether you have the same issue. This forum is about the install hanging in the splah screen, which is a boot issue, most likely to do with references in the boot files. So windows (desktop install) or Setup (clean install) won't even get to the point of start-up.

Nevertheless, I am curious to what you issue you experienced and you exactly did. Turn-off start-up programs, in the registry or anywhere else?

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November 9th, 2012 12:13pm

Finally running Windows 8 Pro. Disconnected everything and ran a CLEAN install from the desktop. Installed completed in 10 minutes. Only downside is I have to reinstall everything! So far NO issues.
November 9th, 2012 5:07pm

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

Do you complete testing on x64 version and have a fast internet connection?
Can you upload the x64 ISO file or seed via torrent?

yea testing is done. just found out one problem. there is still graphical corruption during installation but os installes and works without any problems. still havent fixed that boot at least it works. i can upload torrent boot my upload speed is just 60kb.

Hi Zaeb,

If you could upload your boot files, I would love to try, as I am still stuck with the boot issue..

Your help is appreciated!

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November 15th, 2012 6:58pm

it should work like with x64 replacemant. just repeat the process and that should fix it.

Do you complete testing on x64 version and have a fast internet connection?
Can you upload the x64 ISO file or seed via torrent?

yea testing is done. just found out one problem. there is still graphical corruption during installation but os installes and works without any problems. still havent fixed that boot at least it works. i can upload torrent boot my upload speed is just 60kb.

Hi Zaeb,

If you could upload your boot files, I would love to try, as I am still stuck with the boot issue..

Your help is appreciated!

+1
November 16th, 2012 2:45am

I have the dell OptiPlex 990 cor i 3 with 4gb ram  and the same problem.


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November 16th, 2012 12:01pm

Well, I tried all the BIOS tweaks, MSConfig changes, standing on my head, upgrade assistant, etc...  I am not doing boot config changes...sorry.  Why do M$ job for them?

Calling to get my money back.  Here is the number if you are so inclined...

1-877-696-7786

November 18th, 2012 6:55pm

Same issue here with x64 install of enterprise RTM.  Older Asus A8N SLI MB with 64bit single core AMD.  Install screens graphicaly looks fine until the 1st reboot.  Then the screen hangs on black background with the blue Windows logo.  After I power down and reboot, the grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square.  It counts through the getting devices ready but that screen is also very distorted with 2 spinners and multiple lines that flash verticaly.  It almost looks like a bad video driver.  The screen then goes into power save and the HDD is clicking away but I never get a desktop or display back.  Reboots seam to show that all the initial startup and setup are done but the display just goes back to power save.  Even the safe mode low resolution option didn't fix it.  I'll go check the log.

I've tried some safe mode options but nothing is fixing it.   

This is exactly 100% what I experience too! 

unfortunatly i'm having same experience
mb asus m2n68 , if i try to install win 8 64 bit i obtain same results, ( grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square)
with 32 bit version no problems;
That's happen if i try to install by zero but also if i try to update from win 7 64 bit edition; i have also same identical problem after reboot (black screen without any signal)

I've also tried to modify some bios settings, but nothing has changed, i've tryed to put from AHCI to SATA but nothing, i've also disabled legacy usb 
 
i removed my nvidia video card (gt630) and tryied with another one (nvidia) but same results :-(



  • Edited by fafa77 Thursday, November 29, 2012 7:07 PM
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November 29th, 2012 8:58am

Same issue here with x64 install of enterprise RTM.  Older Asus A8N SLI MB with 64bit single core AMD.  Install screens graphicaly looks fine until the 1st reboot.  Then the screen hangs on black background with the blue Windows logo.  After I power down and reboot, the grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square.  It counts through the getting devices ready but that screen is also very distorted with 2 spinners and multiple lines that flash verticaly.  It almost looks like a bad video driver.  The screen then goes into power save and the HDD is clicking away but I never get a desktop or display back.  Reboots seam to show that all the initial startup and setup are done but the display just goes back to power save.  Even the safe mode low resolution option didn't fix it.  I'll go check the log.

I've tried some safe mode options but nothing is fixing it.   

This is exactly 100% what I experience too! 

unfortunatly i'm having same experience
mb asus m2n68 , if i try to install win 8 64 bit i obtain same results, ( grapics are all distorted and the spinner looks square)
with 32 bit version no problems;
That's happen if i try to install by zero but also if i try to update from win 7 64 bit edition; i have also same identical problem after reboot (black screen without any signal)

I've also tried to modify some bios settings, but nothing has changed, i've tryed to put from AHCI to SATA but nothing, i've also disabled legacy usb 
 
i removed my nvidia video card (gt630) and tryied with another one (nvidia) but same results :-(



  • Edited by fafa77 Thursday, November 29, 2012 7:07 PM
November 29th, 2012 11:58am

Did you succeed in getting your money back? I just purchased the 15$ Win 8 pro and attempted an upgrade install from the desktop as well as an USB flash drive "clean " install. Both end the same, pixelated and the monitor goes into saver mode. My system: Win 7 home premium AMD Athlon II X3 3.1ghz Geforce GTX 460 4gb DDR3 This is truly pissing me off!
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December 18th, 2012 7:45am

I've got the same problem as the OP!

The Windows 8 Installation hangs on the splashscreen and there's nothing i can do about it. I tried everything mentioned here, disabled several things in the BIOS, but with no success.

So now I'm stuck with a Windows 8 OEM 64Bit Installation DVD. Some people here say it works with the 32Bit edition, but where do I get a Windows 8 OEM 32Bit ISO? I searched the web to no avail. I even tried the Windows8-Setup.exe program from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=262204 which should let you create an installation DVD. Unfortunately it doesn't support the OEM key I bought...

It wouldn't be that bad, if I had the chance to get my hands on a 32Bit OEM ISO to try it. Any ideas?


*edit*

Relevant system specs:

Asus A8N-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 4000+
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT




  • Edited by RbnM Friday, December 28, 2012 6:36 PM
December 28th, 2012 6:32pm

I've got the same problem as the OP!

The Windows 8 Installation hangs on the splashscreen and there's nothing i can do about it. I tried everything mentioned here, disabled several things in the BIOS, but with no success.

So now I'm stuck with a Windows 8 OEM 64Bit Installation DVD. Some people here say it works with the 32Bit edition, but where do I get a Windows 8 OEM 32Bit ISO? I searched the web to no avail. I even tried the Windows8-Setup.exe program from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=262204 which should let you create an installation DVD. Unfortunately it doesn't support the OEM key I bought...

It wouldn't be that bad, if I had the chance to get my hands on a 32Bit OEM ISO to try it. Any ideas?


*edit*

Relevant system specs:

Asus A8N-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 4000+
NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT




  • Edited by RbnM Friday, December 28, 2012 6:36 PM
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December 28th, 2012 9:32pm

When I ordered the backup DVD from Microsoft for $14.99 plus s/h, they sent two discs: 32 bit and 64 bit.

January 1st, 2013 8:42pm

NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT

Others are finding that Nvidia may be unexpectedly switching to the other monitor whether it is connected or not.   Do you have another monitor you could attach?   Alternatively, if your keyboard is working try pressing Win-P, CursorUp and Enter.   The idea would be that that would involve a video refresh, e.g. check of refresh rate, resolution etc. as well as a switch of screen if necessary.

 
Good luck

 
Robert Aldwinckle
---

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January 1st, 2013 9:43pm

I'm having the same problem, except when I removed one of my 2 sticks of RAM, the installer went on a-ok. After installation was done, and I put the second RAM back in, the Windows 8 installer hangs in the same exact way that the installer did. I can only get Windows 8 to run if I only use 1 stick of RAM.

Did anyone on this thread every try running Windows 8 with only 1 stick of RAM? Did it alleviate your problem?

If so, I've started a thread for my issue here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w8itprohardware/thread/68674f45-5405-43d2-93f5-d6f1a4f361b6

Would be nice to see if anyone else has the same experience I have, because right now I think the guy answering my thread thinks it's user error.

January 7th, 2013 11:03pm

Yahoo!

Found a solution! Just exchange the hardware.. CPU, mobo and memory.. Done...

Thanks MS....

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January 8th, 2013 12:02am

For me, updating the BIOS did work.

However, I had to FREAKING INSTALL WINDOWS 7 TO UPDATE THE BIOS.

(sorry for the caps)

I made a bootable 7 recover USB stick, booted into that, opened a recovery DOS window, and ran the Asus DOS based updating routine, and got an NTVDM issue and crash.

I tried installing win 7, then doing the same thing from a dos window there; same NTVDM crash

So I downloaded the Asus GUI BIOS updating tool, which did work.

Win8 did then install.

However, THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED - the initial splash screen, when it reboots, needs to pause for a few problems and in small letters indicate a little bit about WHY it rebooted.  Otherwise, as so often is now with MS products, you are just powerless and completely frustrated.

== John ==

January 14th, 2013 10:12pm

I had the same experience trying to install Window 8 Pro 64bit (Build 9200) on an old XP SP3 32bit system, but I somehow got it working; the full story.

I had two XP Sp3 32 bit systems I wanted to upgrade to Window 8 Pro 64 bit (with the $40 upgrade deal available now). System#1 is: I7 920/Asus P6T deluxe/EVGA 560Ti/3GB/1 TB SATA 300 drive/1.44 Floppy/ 12X Bluray burner (pulled the old TV tuner card for upgrade-incompatible). I ran the Windows 8 upgrade advisor - very few issues (TV Tuner card as mentioned and other software) - bought the upgrade. Downloaded the upgrade from my Win7Pro 64bit system to obtain the 64bit ISO (2.69GB) - burned to DVD. Installed from DVD; no problems, finished in under 20 minutes - working great (really fast boot!).

System#2 is: Opteron 180/Asus A8N-E/EVGA 275GTX/2GB/1 TB SATA 300 drive/ 1.44 Floppy/ 16X DVD RW burner; the Windows 8 upgrade advisor - more incompatible software than system#1, but no incompatible hardware. I had read a number of blogs concerning the issues others were having with the upgrade failing, so before I purchased, I thought I would run the 64bit install DVD I had (known to work on the other system) to see if it worked. I should note this system was not-in-use and thus I was not worried if the install failed (I'd just be annoyed!). Ran the install from the DVD; initial splash screen - no spinning dots - waited 15 minutes (by which time no activity on DVD or hard drive) - failure. Rebooted - entered bios (1010) - tried many combinations of settings up to disabling nearly everything (NVRAID, Legacy USB, Floppy, Audio97- all disabled / moved SATA into every slot (1-4) / tried SATA 150 and SATA 300 (SATA2, slots 3-4) - no change - failure X4 attempts. Now original XP3 installation is corrupted (GRRRR!) - I should have imaged the drive BEFORE - oh well. Read more about others experience with this seemingly NForce board-related issue. Plan B - I will try install with an IDE (PATA) hard drive (80GB) - failure. Read more - some mention Window 8 installer not "liking" XP partitions / disks (???); Plan C - Re-partition / format / check 80 GB IDE drive with WDTools - attempted Win8Pro install - failure. Dejected; last attempt before considering Win8Pro 32bit - Plan D - Re-partition / format / check 1 TB SATA 300 drive with SeaTools (Barracuda 32GB buffer-7200rpm) - run Win8PRO 64bit install from DVD (build 9200) - success! Install took nearly an hour, with 3 reboots to the finish. Specifics (install configuration): 1 TB SATA drive in Slot 4 (SATA2), upgraded memory to 4GB Corsair PC3200 (4 slots filled), Two DVD drives on Primary IDE channel (master and slave), secondary IDE channel - no devices, bios (1010) - NVRAID, Audio97,1394 port,LAN -disabled; USB 2.0, USB Legacy, Floppy - enabled, IDE-Auto), TrendNet USB wireless adapter on USB slot 2 (motherboard), EVGA 275GTX in PCIe slot 1, no other cards. System seems to be performing well (fast boot times, no hangs), but as noted, no sound (I actually forgot to re-enable the Audio97 device in bios; it was 2am). I will see if I can get the Audio97 enabled today; my backup is to add a Turtle Beach Montego DDL PCI card (with the Windows7 64bit driver and run in compatiblity mode). Hope this saga might help some others out - good luck.

  • Proposed as answer by awin266 Wednesday, January 16, 2013 12:45 AM
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January 15th, 2013 5:01pm

I had the same experience trying to install Window 8 Pro 64bit (Build 9200) on an old XP SP3 32bit system, but I somehow got it working; the full story.

I had two XP Sp3 32 bit systems I wanted to upgrade to Window 8 Pro 64 bit (with the $40 upgrade deal available now). System#1 is: I7 920/Asus P6T deluxe/EVGA 560Ti/3GB/1 TB SATA 300 drive/1.44 Floppy/ 12X Bluray burner (pulled the old TV tuner card for upgrade-incompatible). I ran the Windows 8 upgrade advisor - very few issues (TV Tuner card as mentioned and other software) - bought the upgrade. Downloaded the upgrade from my Win7Pro 64bit system to obtain the 64bit ISO (2.69GB) - burned to DVD. Installed from DVD; no problems, finished in under 20 minutes - working great (really fast boot!).

System#2 is: Opteron 180/Asus A8N-E/EVGA 275GTX/2GB/1 TB SATA 300 drive/ 1.44 Floppy/ 16X DVD RW burner; the Windows 8 upgrade advisor - more incompatible software than system#1, but no incompatible hardware. I had read a number of blogs concerning the issues others were having with the upgrade failing, so before I purchased, I thought I would run the 64bit install DVD I had (known to work on the other system) to see if it worked. I should note this system was not-in-use and thus I was not worried if the install failed (I'd just be annoyed!). Ran the install from the DVD; initial splash screen - no spinning dots - waited 15 minutes (by which time no activity on DVD or hard drive) - failure. Rebooted - entered bios (1010) - tried many combinations of settings up to disabling nearly everything (NVRAID, Legacy USB, Floppy, Audio97- all disabled / moved SATA into every slot (1-4) / tried SATA 150 and SATA 300 (SATA2, slots 3-4) - no change - failure X4 attempts. Now original XP3 installation is corrupted (GRRRR!) - I should have imaged the drive BEFORE - oh well. Read more about others experience with this seemingly NForce board-related issue. Plan B - I will try install with an IDE (PATA) hard drive (80GB) - failure. Read more - some mention Window 8 installer not "liking" XP partitions / disks (???); Plan C - Re-partition / format / check 80 GB IDE drive with WDTools - attempted Win8Pro install - failure. Dejected; last attempt before considering Win8Pro 32bit - Plan D - Re-partition / format / check 1 TB SATA 300 drive with SeaTools (Barracuda 32GB buffer-7200rpm) - run Win8PRO 64bit install from DVD (build 9200) - success! Install took nearly an hour, with 3 reboots to the finish. Specifics (install configuration): 1 TB SATA drive in Slot 4 (SATA2), upgraded memory to 4GB Corsair PC3200 (4 slots filled), Two DVD drives on Primary IDE channel (master and slave), secondary IDE channel - no devices, bios (1010) - NVRAID, Audio97,1394 port,LAN -disabled; USB 2.0, USB Legacy, Floppy - enabled, IDE-Auto), TrendNet USB wireless adapter on USB slot 2 (motherboard), EVGA 275GTX in PCIe slot 1, no other cards. System seems to be performing well (fast boot times, no hangs), but as noted, no sound (I actually forgot to re-enable the Audio97 device in bios; it was 2am). I will see if I can get the Audio97 enabled today; my backup is to add a Turtle Beach Montego DDL PCI card (with the Windows7 64bit driver and run in compatiblity mode). Hope this saga might help some others out - good luck.

  • Proposed as answer by awin266 Wednesday, January 16, 2013 12:45 AM
January 15th, 2013 8:01pm

Let me really direct here:

Microsoft, you NEED TO ADD A PAUSE into this reboot screen so that people can read what it says.  Less than 1 second of time to view the screen is not enough.

It would be even better to add something like "Please check with your motherboard BIOS settings" or something if you detect it's a fresh install

But a little pause at least would not be so frustrating.

This really, really needs to be done ASAP.

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January 16th, 2013 3:52am

I too am unable to install Windows 8. However I also cannot install the x86 version. It gets to the splash screen and the dots just spin in a circle indefinitely. I have the same processor, an Athlon 64 x2 3800+. The motherboard is an HP board, I think made by ASUS.  The computer originally came with XP MCE, but I had windows 7 x64 running with no problems.

I have tried doing a clean install from DVD and upgrade install from within windows 7 and I get the same problem. Once it reboots it hangs on the spinning dots.

January 25th, 2013 10:21pm

It gets to the splash screen and the dots just spin in a circle indefinitely.

I have tried doing a clean install from DVD and upgrade install from within windows 7 and I get the same problem. Once it reboots it hangs on the spinning dots.


So you need either to try a different combination of things to get a different result or look at the diagnostics produced by the failures.   Having some diagnostics produced by a success for comparison purposes would probably be useful too.
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January 25th, 2013 11:24pm

So you need either to try a different combination of things to get a different result or look at the diagnostics produced by the failures.   Having some diagnostics produced by a success for comparison purposes would probably be useful too.

Yea, no kidding.  That's trouble shooting 101.

Except in my case, there were no diagnostic logs.  That's kind of the point - they've simplified it down to the point that there is no feedback, which is pointless.  THERE NEEDS TO BE FEEDBACK, even if you assume most people are stupid.

== John ==

January 26th, 2013 12:20am

Except in my case, there were no diagnostic logs.

Are you sure?  How did you check?   E.g. the Panther directory seems to be a common source but I would check the whole drive for timestamps to see what had been written.   Then use the records inside too to correlate all the different writes at different times.  Etc.

 
Good luck

 
Robert
---

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January 26th, 2013 2:37am

Except in my case, there were no diagnostic logs.

Are you sure?  How did you check?   E.g. the Panther directory seems to be a common source but I would check the whole drive for timestamps to see what had been written.   Then use the records inside too to correlate all the different writes at different times.  Etc.

 
Good luck

 
Robert
---

Still missing the point - the installer cannot just reboot immediately without some sort of pause.

In any event, how could any timestamps be written to the drive when I hadn't even loaded the drivers for the RAID set? There was no drive.  So the installer just said "oh crap I'd better reboot" without the slightest consideration for the fact it was now going in an infinite loop.

And yes, I did check, as when I did finally give up and install Win7 on the machine, the drive was unformatted.

So no logs, no pause, no error message, just endless reboots as many others have mentioned. (not all, however, a lot of 'it reboots' are getting lumped into this rather long thread).

January 26th, 2013 2:56am

So no logs, no pause, no error message, just endless reboots as many others have mentioned.


What about WinPE?  Doesn't it have a role in this?   Then what the pause would be needed for is a more reliable Shift-F10 (assuming that was being allowed).   Then the logs would be found in its virtual drive.   ; )

I think more than the "installer" being the problem is that the BCD is being misused with no really convenient way of changing it and insufficient documentation about how it all works (or perhaps more usefully how it was assumed to work <eg>).

 
Robert
---

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January 26th, 2013 9:38pm

You're heading in the right direction Robert - the installer isn't triggering the reboot at all. What's happening is the new OS we've laid down is crashing as we try and boot it for the first time and that's what's causing the reboot - so we can't pause the reboot. In most cases this is because one of the 3rd party drivers we preserved from the old OS is crashing and taking the OS out with it...

The logs you're looking for are in $windows.~bt\sources\panther on the root of the system drive after a failed upgrade. If you're really lucky there might be a DMP file in the Rollback folder that you can open in a debugger and see which driver caused the crash. But most often there isn't one, as the driver crashes too early in the boot sequence :(



January 26th, 2013 10:04pm

You're heading in the right direction Robert - the installer isn't triggering the reboot at all. What's happening is the new OS we've laid down is crashing as we try and boot it for the first time and that's what's causing the reboot - so we can't pause the reboot. In most cases this is because one of the 3rd party drivers we preserved from the old OS is crashing and taking the OS out with it...

The logs you're looking for are in $windows.~bt\sources\panther on the root of the system drive after a failed upgrade. If you're really lucky there might be a DMP file in the Rollback folder that you can open in a debugger and see which driver caused the crash. But most often there isn't one, as the driver crashes too early in the boot sequence :(



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January 27th, 2013 1:04am

Hello,

Got the same HW and the same problem (Asus A8N SLI deluxe, 7600 GT, AMD AThlon 64 X2 4200+)

I finally solved it and managed to install windows 8 64 bits with the following trick:

I disabled all the optional peripherals and switched off all features  in the BIOS of my Mobo (left only primary IDE channel to have access to DVD). Then I re-enabled them one by one, starting from the USB controller (to have a keyboard :) and the Sata controller (to be able to access the HDD).

Finally it seemed to be related to the Hypertransport settings, looks like the windows installer freezes when the hypertransport is set to 'Auto' and to work only when this option is forced to '1x'. Did not check about my RAM settings that I downgraded a little bit for a while in case this was the problem...

Not sure if this will help anybody around there, almost 6 months later, but who knows ?

best regards

m

  • Proposed as answer by snello Monday, March 04, 2013 4:20 PM
February 15th, 2013 7:53pm

Hello,

Got the same HW and the same problem (Asus A8N SLI deluxe, 7600 GT, AMD AThlon 64 X2 4200+)

I finally solved it and managed to install windows 8 64 bits with the following trick:

I disabled all the optional peripherals and switched off all features  in the BIOS of my Mobo (left only primary IDE channel to have access to DVD). Then I re-enabled them one by one, starting from the USB controller (to have a keyboard :) and the Sata controller (to be able to access the HDD).

Finally it seemed to be related to the Hypertransport settings, looks like the windows installer freezes when the hypertransport is set to 'Auto' and to work only when this option is forced to '1x'. Did not check about my RAM settings that I downgraded a little bit for a while in case this was the problem...

Not sure if this will help anybody around there, almost 6 months later, but who knows ?

best regards

m

  • Proposed as answer by snello Monday, March 04, 2013 4:20 PM
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February 15th, 2013 10:53pm

Yep that solution worked for me too - thanks Matheux
March 4th, 2013 7:20pm

Hello,

 

After several attempts to install Windows 8 64bit on my ASUS A8N-SLI hardware, I found what the problem was.

 

In my case the issue was with the graphics card which had a monitor connected through HDMI. It seemed somehow that Windows 8 wanted some other graphics card that did not have HDMI.

Since this motherboard supports 2 graphics cards I added an older card which did not have HDMI and connected one monitor to this card. Now the installation went just fine and windows 8 runs fine, now using 2 graphics cards. One connected through DVI and one through HDMI.

 

The story:

On the initial installations the installation did always stop or just hang after the first reboot. I tried several googles and bings but never got an answer.

So I first tried to clean and check that all hardware was connected properly. This did not work as a solution.

 

Then I tried unplugging all hardware mounted on this motherboard one by one except the graphics card. And when it did not work either I tried unplugging the graphics card and inserting an older one. Now the installation worked.

 

Then I went the opposite way and tried to plug all the hardware in one by one and everything worked fine. Then I switched to the HDMI enabled graphics card and the installation stopped again. And then I tried by using both graphics cards and now it worked.

 

On this system there is also a Windows XP Pro 32 bit installation, a Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit installation and a Windows 7 Pro 64bit installation and all worked/work just fine using the same hardware that failed on the Windows 8 installation.

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

Regards,

Jake


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March 8th, 2013 1:19pm

In my case with an installation of Windows 8 with a bootable usb-drive on a hp dc7800 the problem was with an old bios version.

After flashing the bios to v1.32 (latest) it worked just fine.

I also tried first different usb-flash drives and disconnecting all optional devices, and also different harddisks.

(BTW if you download the spXXXX.exe and extract with 7z locate the dir. DOSFLASH (look for the .bin file) and save the content to the root of an USB drive, then just start into the bios and select System-ROM Flashing for the file menu. There is no need for a bootable usb-drive)

April 7th, 2013 6:01pm

I'm trying to install Windows 8 Pro x64 on an Asus A8N-SLI too.

  • Updated to latest Bios to begin with.
  • I can get to the second reboot of the installation before it hangs by starting the setup under safe mode.
  • Boot off DVD.. When the blue logo appears, remove disc to force it to throw an error... choose 'F8' for advanced startup options(put disc back in).. choose 'Safe Mode'. I can choose regional settings, partition, enter product key etc. :p
  • I previously had windows 8 Pro x64 with the same CPU (x2-3800) running on a Gigabyte K8NF9 Ultra (inc nv raid0) with no problems.EDIT:

  • Just performed a refresh under safe mode but no luck.

 **Setting Hypertransport Multiplier within bios from 'Auto' to '1x' resolved the issue.**


  • Proposed as answer by spurr1 Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:21 AM
  • Edited by spurr1 Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:24 AM FIXED
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April 9th, 2013 4:46am

I'm trying to install Windows 8 Pro x64 on an Asus A8N-SLI too.

  • Updated to latest Bios to begin with.
  • I can get to the second reboot of the installation before it hangs by starting the setup under safe mode.
  • Boot off DVD.. When the blue logo appears, remove disc to force it to throw an error... choose 'F8' for advanced startup options(put disc back in).. choose 'Safe Mode'. I can choose regional settings, partition, enter product key etc. :p
  • I previously had windows 8 Pro x64 with the same CPU (x2-3800) running on a Gigabyte K8NF9 Ultra (inc nv raid0) with no problems.EDIT:

  • Just performed a refresh under safe mode but no luck.

 **Setting Hypertransport Multiplier within bios from 'Auto' to '1x' resolved the issue.**


  • Proposed as answer by spurr1 Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:21 AM
  • Edited by spurr1 Tuesday, April 09, 2013 5:24 AM FIXED
April 9th, 2013 7:46am

Thank you the only answer in this thread that actually works
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April 10th, 2013 2:26am

Too bad I read through the entire list of posts here before reading yours... at least I got the solution.  Thank you!!!
May 21st, 2013 11:04pm

Again - for me, updating the BIOS fixed the problem.

In my case it was a fresh install.

This was actually odd as it was a brand new motherboard (I was going to freshen everything with the MB utilities once it started booting - never imagined a 1 month old motherboard would have drivers so old it wouldn't boot).

Michael said: "What's happening is the new OS we've laid down is crashing as we try and boot it for the first time and that's what's causing the reboot - so we can't pause the reboot"

Hmm ... for an upgrade, you could.  You just set a flag AFTER reboot, possibly in the boot sector if the file system drivers aren't loaded yet.  DURING boot, if the flag is UNSET (or default), then you pause and check the  $windows.~bt\sources\panther file ... display an error screen ... something like that.

In MY case (which was a clean install), the drive was unformatted and I was booting off of a CD-ROM, so there were no logs to check. That's why the reboot with no error message is particularly catastrophic.  Win8 still could have changed the boot sector maybe, it's debatable.

My real problem is that you shouldn't ever just "POP" like a soap bubble. SOME error should be displayed.  Just a five second pause and an error message is all I'm asking for. That is certainly possible, you've already started the display up.

Microsoft, and, to their defense, almost every other software company lately seems to be hell bent on assuming users are complete idiots. Granted, most of us are; we're human, after all.  But some kind of friendly error message absolutely MUST be displayed in these circumstances.  It could be as simple as "I'm sorry, WIn8 has run into a catastrophic hardware problem while <error point>, and must reboot now.  Press any key to reboot immediately or wait x seconds."

During boot up, at particular check points, you assign the error string <error point>.

Threads complicate things, but your catch block could check local thread storage for the appropriate message.

I know Microsoft gets a hard time about blue screens of death - well, that is FAR more preferable than just rebooting over and over.  The fix isn't to get rid of blue screens.

You could even get inventive and display a screen that says "congratulations! You've found a bug in windows.  Here is a secret code; 0xBAADF00D, if you upload the code, Microsoft will pay you $.01.

Lack of communication kills marriages; it kills enjoyment of a new O/S just as much :)  I'm back to Win7.

== John ==

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May 21st, 2013 11:32pm

I'm having problems mentioned in this thread, though several different symptoms have appeared in this forum so I will explain my exact problem clearly.

In Windows 7 Ultimate X64 I put in the upgrade DVD for Windows 8 Pro X64 (And USB Tried) and everything installs perfectly. When the system reboots I am presented with the windows logo and the dots that circle round and round. Then I cannot proceed from that point, nothing at all happens, no HDD activity or anything. Eventually I have to give up and go back to Windows 7.

I have tried all the BIOS options suggested, though my BIOS has almost none of those options. Tried doing from DVD and USB. I certainly am not going to try x86 with the amount of RAM I have.

I have even stripped the machine nearly bare, just 1x Graphics card and 4GB RAM and removing any hardware to try and get it to install but to no avail. I update the installation every time I have tried, it patches to nearly 500kb or so.

The fact there is no MS response is awful, I paid good money for this product and I think I will have to return it. My PC specs are below

TYAN S2915 Motherboard - Latest BIOS v3

32GB PC-2 ECC REG RAM

1x SATA 60GB Flash Drive (Primary) 1x SATA 2TB (Storage) 1x IDE 160GB (Backup of Primary)

4x NVIDIA QUADRO K Series

Sony Blu-Ray Reader/Writer


  • Edited by Hedges88 Sunday, June 23, 2013 5:21 PM additional
June 23rd, 2013 5:21pm

I'm having problems mentioned in this thread, though several different symptoms have appeared in this forum so I will explain my exact problem clearly.

In Windows 7 Ultimate X64 I put in the upgrade DVD for Windows 8 Pro X64 (And USB Tried) and everything installs perfectly. When the system reboots I am presented with the windows logo and the dots that circle round and round. Then I cannot proceed from that point, nothing at all happens, no HDD activity or anything. Eventually I have to give up and go back to Windows 7.

I have tried all the BIOS options suggested, though my BIOS has almost none of those options. Tried doing from DVD and USB. I certainly am not going to try x86 with the amount of RAM I have.

I have even stripped the machine nearly bare, just 1x Graphics card and 4GB RAM and removing any hardware to try and get it to install but to no avail. I update the installation every time I have tried, it patches to nearly 500kb or so.

The fact there is no MS response is awful, I paid good money for this product and I think I will have to return it. My PC specs are below

TYAN S2915 Motherboard - Latest BIOS v3

32GB PC-2 ECC REG RAM

1x SATA 60GB Flash Drive (Primary) 1x SATA 2TB (Storage) 1x IDE 160GB (Backup of Primary)

4x NVIDIA QUADRO K Series

Sony Blu-Ray Reader/Writer


  • Edited by Hedges88 Sunday, June 23, 2013 5:21 PM additional
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June 23rd, 2013 8:21pm

I disconnected my extra hdds and usb 3 and it worked for me.
January 16th, 2014 4:59pm

I had this issue on a Dell OptiPlex 980, BIOS A16.  No BIOS option for Hypertransport Multiplier though.  I had a USB 3.0 PCI card, so I removed it, and voila, I got past the hypnotic circling dots and the install completed. 
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April 30th, 2015 11:09am

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