Windows is a mature operating system and usually installs without surprises, but sometimes the installation process hangs. The following are five ways to solve this problem that are relevant for .

1. Be Patient

The advice is banal, but useful: if the installation freezes, do not rush to worry. Recently, I've had to deal with the fact that on brand new computers, the installer stops when it reaches . In all cases, the installation resumed by itself - sometimes after 10 minutes, sometimes after 45.

So far, I have not been able to find official explanations from Microsoft about the reasons for such a freeze. But according to my observations, this most often happens when installing Windows on computers with Gigabyte motherboards and AMD processors.

The desktop splash screen isn't the only stumbling block for Windows Setup. Sometimes it freezes before displaying a screen prompting you to select HDD to install the operating system. True, in this case, the installation process resumes much faster.

2. Disable the floppy controller

Although floppy disks have long since fallen into disuse, some manufacturers still include floppy disk controllers in their motherboards. Sometimes Windows fails to install until you disable the floppy disk controller in the BIOS settings.

Recently, I had to deal with a long freeze of the Windows setup program on one of the computers. After disabling the floppy controller, the installation went much faster and without delay. Unfortunately, this is not a universal recipe, because sometimes Windows installation hangs even if there is no floppy disk controller on the motherboard.

3. Check the voltage of the memory modules

If Windows Setup freezes intermittently, it could be due to a RAM problem. There are many ways to diagnose problems of this kind, and I will list some of them below, but I would like to mention one method in particular, because it is often overlooked.

Most motherboards use 1.5 V memory modules. If the voltage is higher (even if not by much), the system freezes intermittently. However, this does not mean that such memory cannot be used: some motherboards allow you to adjust the voltage random access memory.

4. Try removing or replacing memory modules

As mentioned above, most often Windows installation freezes due to problems with RAM. In this case, try removing all but one of the memory modules and see if the hang stops. If this does not help, replace the remaining module with another one that has been tested to rule out the possibility of defective memory. If this does not solve the problem, check the documentation for the motherboard: the memory may be running at an unsupported frequency. Even if the module can be installed in a slot motherboard, not the fact that it will work.

At the same time, check the other requirements for RAM. Some motherboards only support certain brands of modules.

5. Try using an IDE or USB DVD drive

Finally, another reason for Windows installation to freeze can be a SATA DVD drive. This does not mean that such drives cannot be used, but the problem is that many motherboards have four to six SATA ports designed for creating RAID arrays. If you connect a DVD drive to one of these ports and try to create a RAID array from fewer hard drives than provided system board, Windows installation may hang. In this case, it is preferable to use an IDE or USB DVD drive.

Hello dear readers.

Sooner or later, all users of computers with operating systems from Microsoft are faced with a situation where they need to change the environment they use. In this case, the reasons can be very different. Earlier, I already talked about exactly how you need to place a new OS on your device. But what to do if the beginning of the installation of Windows 7 appears, freezes on the laptop and then nothing happens? As always, there can be many reasons. Further in the article I will try to analyze the most popular of them.

The above problem manifests itself in various ways:

The reasons( )

Despite the fact that the process stops at different points, the reasons are the same:

    Problems with hard drive, RAM, power supply.

    Insufficient contact with the motherboard.

    Shorted reader or USB port.

    Incorrect BIOS setting.

    An error occurred while writing the image.

    Damage to the data carrier.

Well, as you can see, there are many reasons for the problem. Conventionally, they are divided into external and internal. Based on this, the solution to the disease will be different.

Waiting for a response( )

We will consider everything possible solutions Problems. So, if suddenly on your Asus laptop or any other, the installation process of the operating system suddenly stopped, do not immediately worry. You may just need to wait 10 or 15 minutes. It is likely that after that everything will continue without any failures.

Why this is happening, official sources do not report.

True, it is worth noting that this is in most cases observed on devices that use motherboards. Gigabyte boards and processors from AMD. Apparently, during their interaction, small failures occur, leading to such consequences.

Distribution( )

What to do if the previous option did not help, and your HP laptop or another still freezes? It is worth trying to take a new portable memory with a Windows distribution. In addition, you can test an existing removable device on a computer that is different from yours. If everything repeats, the disease is directly related to memory. Otherwise, with a computer.

It is worth noting that in last version may not function properly separate component device for reading. Therefore, to exclude options it is worth conducting a test using just another disk or flash drive.

BIOS( )

On many computers and laptops, regardless of the manufacturer, be it Samsung or any other, problems with starting the installation process can be associated with two important parameters, which are set in the BIOS area:

And for correct operation you must specify the appropriate parameters for each. To do this, we perform several movements:

Now it's time to go back to the installation process.

Computer check( )

If the above methods did not solve the problem, one of the next steps is to scan your computer or Lenovo laptop(any other manufacturer) for availability mechanical damage. Outside, everything looks as it was before - it is worth unwinding the system unit. With a laptop in this case, you need to try a little more.

After opening, we check for the presence of a burning smell, streaks, dark spots. At the same time, it is worth inspecting everything that is possible, including the power supply, hard drive, RAM connectors, and so on.

As a result, if a problem area is found, it just needs to be replaced.

Testing RAM and hard drive( )

If the inspection did not lead to anything, it is worth testing important system components. So, to check the RAM itself popular program today it is considered MemTest.

If you decide to reinstall or install the operating system, but the installation of Windows 7 freezes, then in this article, I think you can find a solution. And now a little more about what exactly will be discussed.

Previously, when I was repairing computers, often, if it was necessary to install Win 7 for a client, I had to deal with a situation where, after the blue installation screen appeared, the inscription “Installation started”, nothing happened for a long time - that is, according to sensations and external manifestations it turned out that the installation hung. However, this is not the case - usually (except in cases damaged hard disk and some more that can be identified by symptoms) it is enough to wait 10 or even all 20 minutes for the installation of Windows 7 to proceed to the next stage (although this knowledge comes with experience - once I just didn’t understand what was going on and why the installation hung). However, the situation can be corrected. See also: Installing Windows - all instructions and solutions to problems.

A damaged disk with a distribution kit, less often a flash drive (it's easy to change, but the result usually does not change).
Damaged computer hard drive (rare, but it happens).
Something with computer hardware, memory, etc. - possible, but usually then there is another strange behavior that allows you to diagnose the cause of the problem.
BIOS settings - this reason is the most common and this item is the first thing to check. At the same time, if you put optimized default settings, or just default settings, this usually does not help, since the main item, changing which can fix the problem, is completely non-obvious.
Which BIOS settings you should pay attention if it takes a long time to install Windows or the installation start hangs
There are two main BIOS settings that can affect the speed of the first stages of installing Windows 7 - these are:

  • Serial ATA (SATA) Mode - recommended to be set to AHCI- this will not only allow you to increase the speed of installing Windows 7, but also imperceptibly, but will speed up the operation of the operating system in the future. (Not applicable for hard drives connected via the IDE interface, if you still have them and are used as a system one).
  • Disable Floppy Drive in BIOS- most often, disabling this item completely removes the freeze at the beginning of the installation of Windows 7. I know that you do not have such a drive, but take a look at the BIOS: if you encounter the problem described in the article and you have a stationary PC, then most likely , you have this drive enabled in the BIOS.

And now pictures from different BIOS versions, which show how to change these settings. I hope you know how to enter the BIOS - after all, the boot from a USB flash drive or disk was somehow installed.

Disabling the floppy drive on different BIOSes

Enabling AHCI mode for SATA in different BIOS versions


Most likely, one of the items listed should help. If this did not happen, then pay attention to those points that were mentioned at the beginning of the article, namely, the serviceability of the flash drive or disk, as well as the DVD drive and the serviceability hard drive computer. You can also try using another Windows distribution 7 or, alternatively, install Windows XP and then, from there, start installing Windows 7, although this option, of course, is far from optimal.

At work very often you have to do Windows installation. And sometimes you run into trouble very long installation, when you have to wait 10-20 minutes for the disk management menu to appear, or the inscription “ start of installation” after which the process hangs altogether.

Windows 7 hangs the inscription Starting installation ...

For any computer master, time is money, having completed one application in 1.5 hours, you can go further and complete the next one, and when such an unforeseen situation happens that you have to wait a long time already at the initial stage, your mood drops and you spend half a day fussing with one unfortunate computer.

Reasons why Windows 7 takes a long time to install

As it turned out, there can be 2 reasons:

First- switch the operating mode of the hard disk controller in the BIOS from Native IDE to SATA - after all, Windows 7 is a modern operating system that supports disks in AHCI mode by default (and it will work faster)

Second- Disable Floppy drive initialization (3.5 drive). No one has put 3.5 drives in system units for 10 years already, they have long been supplanted by DVD-RW drives and USB flash drives.


unplug floppy drive

After I do these operations, the installation of Windows 7 is much faster. If these tips helped you, do not forget to thank the author and share the article in your social network. Thank you!

taking a long time to install windows 7

  1. The screw is old, there are a lot of errors, the speed of the screw is low.
  2. Either the computer is old, or you need to format / assign / partition disks.
  3. Check your hard drive and/or RAM.
  4. This drive or disk is corrupted.
  5. 2 hours!
  6. Just 30-40 minutes. Ideally. If the computer is slow, then up to an hour can increase, sometimes a little more. You're doing fine, it'll be over soon.)
    With this configuration, count for an hour, until the full launch.
  7. weak computer, scratched disc
  8. It is possible that the capacitors on the motherboard are swollen! Remove the side cover system block and see if there are any swollen. At me when they were swollen, the choice of language was shown in 5-7 minutes! BUT license agreement minutes in 7-10! After soldering, it began to show instantly! It can also be the cause of faulty RAM (1 or more sticks may be faulty). Yes, and the computer seems to be far from weak, but it takes so long to install. . My computer is 8 years old, its characteristics are: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 2.2 GHZ, 512 MB memory, so Windows 7 maximum was installed on it in 8-10 minutes! The maximum is 12! And she was ready to go!
  9. Iron is weak.
  10. Don't worry, it happens on some motherboards.
    Try to put 8-ku, just to understand what the problem is
  11. all of the above are complete nonsense, and here the hardware is old, in short, the theme is always like this, everything was loaded normally, everything was loaded quickly, one fine day for some reason it began to load for a long time!
  12. system is incompatible or

    1. Mandatory:
    Make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements.
    Find the official distribution.
    Write it down in one of the ways: 1, 2, 3, 4 on a USB flash drive or on a high-quality DVD-R disc(Don't use DVD-RW!) at minimum speed.
    Recreate (delete and recreate) the HDD partition from the installer. Format the partition from the installer and make sure the system sees the volume correctly.
    Why http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2272294/ Advanced format
    Remove overclocking, if available.
    Test memory and replace faulty modules.
    Windows 7 does not support USB 3.0 out of the box. Therefore, when installing from a USB flash drive, connect e to USB port 1.x/2.0. If there are only USB 3.0, you will have to stock up on drivers - they will help you find them here.
    If the problem is related to the image (its absence) - check and disable all additional devices such as LCD TV, etc.
    If, after fulfilling all the prerequisites, the installation does not complete successfully, go to the additional items.

    2. Optional:
    If it does not install from DVD, try from a USB flash drive by disabling the DVD-ROM. If it doesn't install from a flash drive, try from a DVD.
    Disable everything else in the BIOS: LAN, Audio, IEE1394, FDD, etc.
    Disconnect unnecessary wires and devices from the computer, leave only the necessary: ​​mouse, keyboard, monitor, power. The rest - disable or remove. Unplug any non-essential devices (card readers, expansion cards, etc.) inside the case.
    If there are several in the system, leave:
    1 HDD
    1 GB of known good memory. If there are several slats, leave only one in turn.
    video card
    if needed - DVD-ROM
    If the keyboard and / or mouse are connected via USB, find one with a PS / 2 connector and try with them.
    Connect the monitor to the VGA output of the video card. If there are 2 identical connectors on the video card, try connecting to the second one.
    If there are two video cards - one built into the motherboard, the second additional (PCI-E, PCI, AGP) - pull out the additional one and reconnect the monitor to the built-in one.
    Do a reset BIOS settings.
    Update the BIOS from the motherboard manufacturer's website. Help to find here.
    Press F8 before starting the installation (immediately after Press any key to boot from CD or DVD) and after each of 2 reboots and select 640×480 mode.
    If you already have Windows XP or Vista installed on your computer, download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor before installing Windows 7. It checks that your PC has possible problems with equipment, devices and installed programs and also provides pre-upgrade recommendations.