Have you ever noticed that sometimes Windows 7 installs on a computer for a very long time? Moreover, often the computer practically freezes at the stage of the appearance of the blue window, and the installation with the process of copying files is delayed to such an extent that many users do not have the patience to wait for the process to start. What would you recommend to users who encounter such a problem? Based on the views of the overwhelming majority of specialists, we will try to figure out what is the reason for this behavior of the system, and consider what actions can be taken to eliminate the problems that may be attributed to the most common cases.
Why Windows 7 installs for a long time: possible reasons
As for the possible causes of such problems, among them are usually called the following:
- malfunctions of the media from which the installation is made;
- incorrectly recorded distributions;
- incorrect settings and obsolescence of firmware of primary input / output systems;
- errors or damage to the hard drive;
- problems with RAM;
- problems with other equipment.
Windows 7 installs for a long time from a flash drive or optical drive: media problems
So, we will begin the consideration of methods for eliminating such problems with the simplest. Naturally, it happens that Windows 7 is installed on a computer for a long time only because the media on which the installation distribution is written has software or physical damage.
For example, if there are scratches on the optical disk, installing the system at one “fine” moment will freeze, which may be evidenced by constant attempts to spin up the disk, but you cannot switch from one track to another. After such fruitless attempts, one can often observe a complete lull, in which the reaction of the carrier is absent altogether. What can be done in this situation? Just write the distribution to a new "blank" and repeat the installation.
In the case of flash drives, the situation looks almost the same, only the media itself is initially recommended to be checked for operability, and if malfunctions in the functioning of the controllers are detected, install factory firmware or perform low-level formatting. For this, the LLFT program is best suited, which is the most radical solution when everything else does not work.
Incorrectly recorded distribution
Another reason that Windows 7 has been installing for a very long time, as you probably already understand, may be because the distribution kit was not written correctly, or you are using some unofficial build.
To eliminate such troubles, it is best to download a known working distribution (for example, from the official or partner site of Microsoft), and it is recommended to write it to a USB flash drive using automated applications like Rufus. Such programs independently offer to perform certain operations, based on which distribution or media is used in each case.
Primary BIOS Settings
The main reason that Windows 7 is installed for a long time, almost all experts and users who have encountered such situations, call the incorrectly configured settings of the primary BIOS I / O systems or UEFI.
The very first and most important thing that you should immediately pay attention to is to set the AHCI mode instead of the IDE in the settings of the SATA controller. However, this approach may not work if you have several hard drives connected to your computer. In this case, try using RAID mode for all disks (combining disks into one RAID array).
Another very paradoxical troubleshooting solution, oddly enough, is to disable the floppy drives.
It is not known why this happens, but for some unclear reasons, several can be detected in the BIOS, although they are not actually installed.
Hard drive issues
But you can often find situations where Windows 7 is installed for a long time even if the above problems are not observed. What is the reason? Apparently, copying files cannot start due to a hard drive failure. In a way, this is reminiscent of an optical disc situation. It may well be that the hard drive just started to crumble. In this case, you can advise you to immediately check the disk using specialized programs for creating bootable media on the basis of this, or perform similar actions using the command line and the CHKDSK disk verification tool available in the distribution kit (in this case, at startup system recovery is selected).
RAM malfunctions
Finally, sometimes the problem that Windows 7 installs for a long time can be a malfunction in RAM.
Diagnostics of memory can, of course, be done using the command line, but as the most efficient tool, it is best to use utilities of the Memtest86 / 86 + class, which can also be written to removable media, loaded from it, setting the device first in boot priority in the BIOS, and then perform full testing. If problems are found, bad strips will have to be replaced.
Should I flash the BIOS?
Infrequently, of course, the problems of obsolescence of the firmware of primary systems can also be found. But in most cases, the fact that Windows 7 is installed for a long time, this situation is only indirect. However, if you have the necessary knowledge and skills, you can download the updated firmware on the official resource of the BIOS manufacturer or the developer of its software shell, and then perform the installation directly through the primary system, after writing the firmware to the USB flash drive (keep in mind that it is saved to the hard drive not only will not be established, but also not determined).
What could be more?
Above were given only the most basic problems and methods for their correction. However, on the Internet you can also find user posts where the system has been installing for a very long time, but none of the above situations have a place to be. What is the reason?
Quite often, to correct possible failures, it is recommended to check the graphics adapter.
If there are two of them (integrated and discrete) during the installation of the system, it is better to switch to the base (the one that is built into the motherboard).
Sometimes network adapter malfunctions are detected when the process of downloading and installing updates hangs tight. In this case, you should check the Internet connection, in fact, as the network card itself.
Some users in their experiments get almost ridiculous, recommending that you first install the XP version, and then put the "seven" out from under it. The solution looks obviously irrational, although there is some sense in it (especially when it is not possible to revive the installation process by any methods).
Epilogue
Summarizing and focusing on the recommendations of experts, we can confidently say that in most cases, changing the operating mode of the SATA controller and completely disabling the use of drives for floppy disks in primary systems helps. If such actions do not give any tangible effect, you will have to try all the other methods. It is possible that after applying some of the solutions presented, the installation will go without any problems.