vista install problem

[Maynard]

i goto install vista....after entering the key code it takes u to a compatibility check.......it then gives me this message........

You must make the following changes before installing Windows

Close Windows installation and contact the device manufacturer for updated driver software for these devices:

o Disk drives: MSFT Memory Unit USB Device

The compatibility report will be saved to the current Windows desktop.

.........i dont have ANY usb devices connected to my PC other then the printer cable.......and i have gone through some steps to see if i could fix the problem......
1....unplugging all devices except the mouse and keyboard
2....unplugging the front multi card reader (usb port, microdrive, etc...) from my motherboard......

neither of these options worked......thanks for reading....

[Panama Red]

I would think that is referring to the card reader but I'm not positive. What type of hard drive are you using? If it's SATA, maybe that's the glitch cuz it needs SATA drivers installed first. MSFT is the Wall Street abbreviation for Microsoft Corp so that's no help.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by Panama Red I would think that is referring to the card reader but I'm not positive. What type of hard drive are you using? If it's SATA, maybe that's the glitch cuz it needs SATA drivers installed first. MSFT is the Wall Street abbreviation for Microsoft Corp so that's no help.

i have 2 hard drives....1 that came with the PC....and 1 i installed......im not positive on how to find out if they are SATA......

1 is WDC AC420400D....20GB
2 is WDC WD1600BB-22GUCO....160GB

thats the info from the device manager....not sure if that is helpful info.....do i find out if they are SATA from the bios menu? and if so, any idea where i could locate drivers?

[glc]

Those are standard IDE, and you do not need drivers.

Are you trying to UPGRADE? You really should wipe and start from scratch. If the 20gb drive is the OS drive, that's gonna be a bit tight for Vista - maybe you better give us full system specs.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by glc Those are standard IDE, and you do not need drivers. Are you trying to UPGRADE? You really should wipe and start from scratch. If the 20gb drive is the OS drive, that's gonna be a bit tight for Vista - maybe you better give us full system specs.

the 20 GB is an older drive with nothing but music on it...the master drive is the 160.....

but here are the specs

emachines (dont say it)
T 6528
AMD athlon 64 3500
2.21 ghz 1.37 gb ram

i dont have a problem with doing a start from scratch with vista, id been trying to upgrade......
if i start from scratch, will i lose everything on my C drive? what about my 20 gb drive? i can always transfer important data to the 20 then unhook it before doing the full install....
do u think this will work?

[Panama Red]

Disconnect the 20Gb until after the OS is installed. Jumper the 160 to CS (Cable Select) and connect it to the end of the 80 wire cable. Disconnect any card readers from the mobo/usb header and have no peripheral devices connected until the install is complete.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by Panama Red Disconnect the 20Gb until after the OS is installed. Jumper the 160 to CS (Cable Select) and connect it to the end of the 80 wire cable. Disconnect any card readers from the mobo/usb header and have no peripheral devices connected until the install is complete.

the 20 is unhooked....the 160 is at cable select.....


card readers from mobo/usb header....my pc skills are not that good could u explain that with some more detail?

and just to double check, i should be doing a full install NOT an upgrade??

thank you so much for helping me......

[glc]

Disconnect the cables from the card readers that go to the motherboard.

Yes, I would save what you need to the 20 and disconnect it - and then wipe the 160 and get a clean start.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by glc Disconnect the cables from the card readers that go to the motherboard. Yes, I would save what you need to the 20 and disconnect it - and then wipe the 160 and get a clean start.

man, u guys are so great....im all set and about to give it a try....wish me luck

[Panama Red]

OK, Good Luck!

[tigstah]

see maynard i told ya, these guys are miracle workers.
sorry man, its bigdd from maddenmania.
everyone there was telling him something about his 360.

[Maynard]

thanks bigdd....

panama and glc, i cant tell u how happy i am.....you guys knew exactly what to do and it worked........i have been dealing with bad support people and sitting on hold for 2 hrs at a time trying to get this thing to work....it was a pain .......but, im all installed with no problems....now i can spend the next few weeks figuring out this OS......the media center is what im excited to use......

only bad thing is that i have to try and figure out if i can reinstall the programs i wanted to keep......i wasnt really thinking and i just copied the program files like adobe, my power2go dvd software and realtek right from my 160 drive to the 20 drive.......now the trick is trying to install it back on the 160 drive.....there isnt anything else that i lost that i cant just download again......but these 3 programs i dont want to lose.......

i hate to ask anymore help, but if u have any suggestions on recovering these 3 things, please let me know........

thanks again for your help

[glc]

They have to be installed from media (CD) or download anyway - you can't just copy them back. Hopefully there are Vista-compatible versions out there.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by glc They have to be installed from media (CD) or download anyway - you can't just copy them back. Hopefully there are Vista-compatible versions out there.

yeah i wasnt thinking, i was so eager to do the install......but lucky for me i found the install file for adobe and was able to reinstall that......the realtek sound manager had an install file, but i already knew that it wasnt gonna be compatible.....again, i lucked out because realtek had released a compatible version just on the 16th......

funny sidenote about realtek and my 5.1 speaker system.....my pc always played all 6 speakers through a 2 channel setup....no matter what i did to fix this, it never worked right......last night, after vista made me find a compatible version, the speakers finally worked right.....the 6 speakers now play as a 5.1 surround system instead of playing through a 2 channel setup......i set it up the same way as before.....but for some reason it now works......

im off to find a donation link....thanks guys!

[glc]

http://www.pcmech.com/xcart/product....7&cat=0&page=1

[Maynard]

i was gonna start a new thread, i i figured just stay in here with this.......

i did the vista pc rating.....here is a pic.......

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...isc/6vista.jpg

as u see the graphics are 2.1 and the gaming is at 2.3...... i am not getting the full effects of windows aero because my graphics card isnt so good......
i wanted to upgrade the graphics card but do not know where to begin.......is this as easy to upgrade as putting in a new ram chip or sound card (i have done this before) or is the graphics card a little more of a pain??

do u have any recommendations? i dont mind spending the money if its worth it....but i ould like to stay around 100 bucks if possible......i have no clue what these cards cost.......

here are my system specs.....i added the 1 gb of ram and now have vista....plus the 2nd HD (20 gb) everything else is whats listed here

CPU: AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ processor with AMD 64 Technology
(2.2GHz, 2000MHz system bus, 512KB L2 cache)

Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home (SP2)

Chipset: NVIDIA® GeForce® 6100

Memory: 512MB DDR (1 × 512MB), 400MHz (PC3200)
Expandable to 4GB

Hard Drive: 160GB (7200rpm, 2MB cache)

Optical Drive: 16x multiformat dual-layer DVD±RW
(Up to 8.5GB with dual-layer media)
Write max: 16x DVD±R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 4x DVD+R DL, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW
Read max: 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-ROM

Media Reader: 9-in-1 media card reader (Memory Stick®, Memory Stick Pro®, MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital™, CompactFlash®, MicroDrive, SmartMedia, xD, USB 2.0)

Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 6100 GPU
Up to 128MB of shared video memory
PCI Express (PCIe x16) slot available

Sound: 6-channel (5.1) high-definition audio

Network: 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Modem: 56K ITU V.92-ready fax/modem (RJ-11 port)

Peripherals: Premium multimedia keyboard, 2-button wheel mouse, amplified stereo speakers

Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 (1 in digital media manager, 4 in back), VGA external connector, parallel port, 2 PS/2 ports (keyboard and mouse), 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back)

[glc]

All you need is a PCI-E video card - but the eMachines power supply may not be able to handle one strong enough to make much difference.

Admin note - I changed your inline image to a link - we prefer that inline images be kept very small.

[Im New]

as glc said you most likely will have to get a new power supply for a new graphics card....

but here is a great lil card and not much money

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062

[Maynard]

that card looks easy to install....just remove the old and install the new, correct??

Im New, can u tell me what rating u get from vista on your graphics, since u are using that card.......

as far as the power supply goes, any idea what i would need? i dont see any specs for the power supply on my pc, any way to find out if its good enough to handle a new graphics card?
that link shows a bundle for about $300.....i didnt want to spend another $200 on a power supply......but i also dont know what supply i would need....

thank you

[glc]

Before you buy a power supply, open the case and read the label on yours - need the brand and model, and the voltage/amperage specs on the rails. It might be strong enough for a 7600GT. If you replace it, you should be able to keep it under $50 - if a XClio 450BL will fit in the rack it will do the job.

There IS no card to remove - you have onboard video. The card goes in the long PCI-Ex16 slot on the motherboard. You will need to uninstall the drivers for the onboard video prior to installing the card.

[Maynard]

all i can find on the device is that its a hipro......model number hp-p3527f3 300 watt max.....its very hard to see the label without removing the device......i searched the device and its probably a pos because i cant find specs on the thing other then its 300 watt......and the dimensions are 6" x 5 1/2" x 3 1/2".

[glc]

Nope, not good enough. That's only a 20 pin unit, it can't handle a PCI-E video card safely.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by glc Nope, not good enough. That's only a 20 pin unit, it can't handle a PCI-E video card safely.

thanks....do u have any different recommendations for a video card? and if u do, would the power supply u recommended be good enough?

do u think the i should just go with the link im new posted? it a reasonable price combined with the supply.....

i dont play games on my pc.....and right now the graphics with vista look very nice......im not sure if its even worth it to buy a new card and supply.....i dont even know if it will make much difference...when i did the vista rating it said i need to be above 3.0 to get the full aero experience.....but im not sure if im even missing out on much of the experience at my current 2.1 rating

i value your opinion and would like to know what u think b4 i buy...thanks