Hey everyone!
Some background info:
I built my computer ~2 years ago and it worked fine for about half a year, until it crashed. Since then I've been unable to reinstall Windows and I kinda forgot about it... which sucks! So please help me get it up and running again
Motherboard: GigaByte Z68
Processor: Intel Core i3
HDD: Seagate Barucada 1TB (st31000524as)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
My problem:
When I boot from the windows cd (original), sometimes I get stuck at a black screen after "Windows is starting" or the black "loading files" screen. Sometimes it just takes a while but I eventually get to the install menu.
When I am about to chose my hdd, it says it can't install on it. I deleted all partitions, created a new one and formated it (took about 1 hour), still not able to install.
I tried booting from my GigaByte cd, and it went through some kind of install (not sure what it did, it was weird because it's actually made for backups). After I chose "reboot" I was able to install on my hdd again. But after I got to 100% i got stuck at the black screen again! I waited for a couple hours before I had to turn it off, so I'm back where I started. :/
I always google stuff, and people said the black screen problems could be related to other drives/usb stuff connected to my pc. I only have 1 hdd and 1 usb for mouse/keyboard... I tried disconnecting it but it didnt work and also it doesnt make sense since I need to reconnect it to click on stuff anyway...
People also said I should try booting with F8 and choose "low res", didn't work either. Other people said "connect a secondary screen", I have a hdmi screen and a rgb screen, I tried all combinations of them and nothing seemed to work...
I also have some confusion with the XHD/RAID/IDE/AHCI settings. I am only using one HDD, so I figured AHCI makes more sense for me - sine i have a SATA hdd and windows 7 64 bit.
However, when I load "Optimized System Defaults" from BIOS, it sets SATA mode to IDE...? When I reboot I get a warning screen that says the system is running in IDE mode and I should switch to AHCI for optimal performance.
How do I know if my system supports AHCI or not, what should I use?
Whenever I select IDE, and I enter Windows installation, it can't even find my hdd!
Only when I select AHCI it finds the hdd, but it won't let me install on it.
I've been strugling for DAYS, so i REALLY appreciate help. Also, I've tried making "boot cds/usb", and I have no experience with linux so it's really frustrating. Please don't suggest going linux unless it's really necessary. I only have a Knoppix live CD, but I find the whole linux system so confusing I wasn't really able to do anything, despite several "guides" and youtube videos. I have a computer that's barely been used and a original windows CD, shouldn't I have all I need to repair my system?
Sorry about the long post, I'll be eternally grateful if someone has any clues!
Some background info:
I built my computer ~2 years ago and it worked fine for about half a year, until it crashed. Since then I've been unable to reinstall Windows and I kinda forgot about it... which sucks! So please help me get it up and running again
Motherboard: GigaByte Z68
Processor: Intel Core i3
HDD: Seagate Barucada 1TB (st31000524as)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
My problem:
When I boot from the windows cd (original), sometimes I get stuck at a black screen after "Windows is starting" or the black "loading files" screen. Sometimes it just takes a while but I eventually get to the install menu.
When I am about to chose my hdd, it says it can't install on it. I deleted all partitions, created a new one and formated it (took about 1 hour), still not able to install.
I tried booting from my GigaByte cd, and it went through some kind of install (not sure what it did, it was weird because it's actually made for backups). After I chose "reboot" I was able to install on my hdd again. But after I got to 100% i got stuck at the black screen again! I waited for a couple hours before I had to turn it off, so I'm back where I started. :/
I always google stuff, and people said the black screen problems could be related to other drives/usb stuff connected to my pc. I only have 1 hdd and 1 usb for mouse/keyboard... I tried disconnecting it but it didnt work and also it doesnt make sense since I need to reconnect it to click on stuff anyway...
People also said I should try booting with F8 and choose "low res", didn't work either. Other people said "connect a secondary screen", I have a hdmi screen and a rgb screen, I tried all combinations of them and nothing seemed to work...
I also have some confusion with the XHD/RAID/IDE/AHCI settings. I am only using one HDD, so I figured AHCI makes more sense for me - sine i have a SATA hdd and windows 7 64 bit.
However, when I load "Optimized System Defaults" from BIOS, it sets SATA mode to IDE...? When I reboot I get a warning screen that says the system is running in IDE mode and I should switch to AHCI for optimal performance.
How do I know if my system supports AHCI or not, what should I use?
Whenever I select IDE, and I enter Windows installation, it can't even find my hdd!
Only when I select AHCI it finds the hdd, but it won't let me install on it.
I've been strugling for DAYS, so i REALLY appreciate help.
Also, I've tried making "boot cds/usb", and I have no experience with linux so it's really frustrating. Please don't suggest going linux unless it's really necessary. I only have a Knoppix live CD, but I find the whole linux system so confusing I wasn't really able to do anything, despite several "guides" and youtube videos. I have a computer that's barely been used and a original windows CD, shouldn't I have all I need to repair my system?Sorry about the long post, I'll be eternally grateful if someone has any clues!
