«

I still hold a grudge with nVidia over the stupid firewall issues when XP
x64 released, plus they had so many bad drivers in the early days of Vista
that I was quite happy to be on a non-nvidia platform. Who knows what my
next machine will be, but I suspect I'll have to make a decision soon. I
expect we'll be dealing with buying a new one by the end of the summer or
early fall. Right now my main workstation is still the Asus A8V I bought
before XP x64 released.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

"Carlos" <> wrote in message
news:F067D08F-D092-4E24-918D-...
> Charlie,
> So far my "easier" installs have been on "pure nVidia" (nForce chipset,
> nVidia graphics) than ATI based (chipset) mobos.
> Maybe it is just me, now I know the right and failsafe steps.
> Carlos
>
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:
>
>> Yup, all good ones. I'd include in your list having drivers for ALL
>> hardware
>> on that pen drive, just in case. I'm thinking of the ATI "eternal black
>> screen" on first boot that you had to load drivers in safe mode for.
>>
>> --
>> Charlie.
>> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>>
>> "Carlos" <> wrote in message
>> news:ECF357AB-1BF9-44E6-B4CA-...
>> > Another Vista install, another learning experience.
>> > This time it was a Gigabyte mobo, with 790FX (a.k.a. "spider")
>> > northbridge
>> > and SB600 southbridge, both ATI chipsets.
>> > I had not read this kb http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931369
>> > previously
>> > so
>> > I found myself with a neverending installation.
>> > A Vista green screen with mouse pointer and hourglass that would never
>> > go
>> > away while the hard disk was spinning and spinning.
>> > To make a long story short, THIS is what should always be done to have
>> > a
>> > "safe", bullet-proof and enjoyable Vista installation experience.
>> >
>> > 1.- Use a standard IDE DVD drive for booting Vista installation, even
>> > if
>> > you
>> > won't use it later. You can plug your shiny brand new DVD/RW sata drive
>> > once
>> > the installation has finished.
>> > 2.- Only plug the hard disk (or disks for RAID, if applicable) that
>> > will
>> > be
>> > the home of the operating system.
>> > 3.- Disable in BIOS all hard disk controllers except for IDE and the
>> > one
>> > that holds the drives
>> > 4.- Don't plug any external hardware except for the mouse and keyboard.
>> > I
>> > would recommend vanilla PS/2 mouse and keyboard, even if you won't use
>> > them
>> > later.
>> > 5.- Disable on-board audio, parallel port, etc. You can enable them
>> > later.
>> > 6.- PCI and PCIe, only put your graphic card. You can add the other
>> > gizzmos
>> > later.
>> > 7.- If applicable, have ready a floppy/pen drive with drivers for your
>> > hard
>> > disk controller (or RAID).
>> > 8.- Use a maximum RAM memory of 2 gigabytes for the installation. The
>> > rest
>> > of the sticks can be added when Vista is up'n runnin'.
>> > 9.- This should be step 0. Flash BIOS with the latest one obtained from
>> > the
>> > mobo's manufacturer web site. It surely fixes issues and enables the
>> > latest
>> > processors.
>> > 10.-Have coffee ready, sit down, relax and enjoy!
>> >
>> >
>> > Carlos
>>

Yes, I have two sets of adapters around - the double PS/2 to USB for old
style keyboard/mouse to get to my laptop, and a reverse USB to PS2 for mice.
(All my keyboards here are old Northgate 102 keyboards dating from the early
90's.)

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

"Carlos" <> wrote in message
news:A1BACC6E-681F-48CC-9495-...
> Colin,
> MSFT Wireless Desktop 6000 (wireless usb keyboard + mouse combo) won't
> work
> when plugged to a Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 motherboard even after Vista is
> installed.
> That very same combo works flawlessly in many other PC's.
> The only workaround was to use the provided USB to PS/2 adaptor and plug
> it
> to the PS/2 ports.
> And yes, all the corresponding USB options in BIOS are activated.
> Carlos
>
> "Colin Barnhorst" wrote:
>
>> I agree with #1 and #4. I think it is a little early to abandon legacy
>> hardware like an IDE optical drive. I just had a build done and insisted
>> on
>> that and a floppy. Unfortunately, PS/2 mouse connectors are going away.
>> My
>> latest build supports a PS/2 keyboard (thank goodness) but not a mouse.
>> Having legacy stuff has saved my bacon once or twice during an
>> installation.
>>
>> "Carlos" <> wrote in message
>> news:ECF357AB-1BF9-44E6-B4CA-...
>> > Another Vista install, another learning experience.
>> > This time it was a Gigabyte mobo, with 790FX (a.k.a. "spider")
>> > northbridge
>> > and SB600 southbridge, both ATI chipsets.
>> > I had not read this kb http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931369
>> > previously
>> > so
>> > I found myself with a neverending installation.
>> > A Vista green screen with mouse pointer and hourglass that would never
>> > go
>> > away while the hard disk was spinning and spinning.
>> > To make a long story short, THIS is what should always be done to have
>> > a
>> > "safe", bullet-proof and enjoyable Vista installation experience.
>> >
>> > 1.- Use a standard IDE DVD drive for booting Vista installation, even
>> > if
>> > you
>> > won't use it later. You can plug your shiny brand new DVD/RW sata drive
>> > once
>> > the installation has finished.
>> > 2.- Only plug the hard disk (or disks for RAID, if applicable) that
>> > will
>> > be
>> > the home of the operating system.
>> > 3.- Disable in BIOS all hard disk controllers except for IDE and the
>> > one
>> > that holds the drives
>> > 4.- Don't plug any external hardware except for the mouse and keyboard.
>> > I
>> > would recommend vanilla PS/2 mouse and keyboard, even if you won't use
>> > them
>> > later.
>> > 5.- Disable on-board audio, parallel port, etc. You can enable them
>> > later.
>> > 6.- PCI and PCIe, only put your graphic card. You can add the other
>> > gizzmos
>> > later.
>> > 7.- If applicable, have ready a floppy/pen drive with drivers for your
>> > hard
>> > disk controller (or RAID).
>> > 8.- Use a maximum RAM memory of 2 gigabytes for the installation. The
>> > rest
>> > of the sticks can be added when Vista is up'n runnin'.
>> > 9.- This should be step 0. Flash BIOS with the latest one obtained from
>> > the
>> > mobo's manufacturer web site. It surely fixes issues and enables the
>> > latest
>> > processors.
>> > 10.-Have coffee ready, sit down, relax and enjoy!
>> >
>> >
>> > Carlos
>>

On 04/07/2008 in message <> Bobby
Johnson wrote:

>I'm sure there's a solution, but I have found it yet.

There is:

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=444831

it's a bit fiddly but fortunately you can switch modes between re-boots
until you get it right! You may need to edit the Vendor data in the reg
file - I did and it worked fine.

--
Jeff Gaines Damerham Hampshire UK
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who do binary and those
who don't.

On 04/07/2008 in message
<C6AE50A2-EB62-4C63-B8AC-> Colin Barnhorst wrote:

>I agree with #1 and #4. I think it is a little early to abandon legacy
>hardware like an IDE optical drive. I just had a build done and insisted
>on that and a floppy. Unfortunately, PS/2 mouse connectors are going
>away. My latest build supports a PS/2 keyboard (thank goodness) but not a
>mouse. Having legacy stuff has saved my bacon once or twice during an
>installation.

PS/2 is essential for IBM type M keyboards!

--
Jeff Gaines Damerham Hampshire UK
Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

Carlos

"Bobby Johnson" wrote:

> I encountered one of those Catch-22 situations trying to
> switch to AHCI after installation. AHCI requires drivers
> for the system to boot up, but you can't install the drivers
> until after you boot the system. In the "Legacy" mode I
> couldn't install the AHCI drivers because Windows informed
> me there was not any hardware requiring the drivers.
>
> I'm sure there's a solution, but I have found it yet.
>
>
> Carlos wrote:
> > Bobby,
> > You can install Vista in IDE mode and then go back to AHCI when it is
> > installed.
> > AHCI will give you paging errors (event id 51) with your DVDR/W unit.
> > I went back to IDE mode and had no errors.
> > There are many complaints about AHCI all around the web.
> > Caros
> >
> > "Bobby Johnson" wrote:
> >
> >> Carlos,
> >>
> >> I have a Biostar TA770 A2+ with the AMD/ATI chipset and I
> >> had the same problem initially. I discovered that going
> >> into the BIOS and setting the SATA to the "Legacy IDE"
> >> allowed the SATA optical drive to be recognized after that
> >> during installation. My choices were: Legacy, AHCI, and
> >> Native.
> >>
> >> I just ran across a reference for a board with nVidia
> >> chipset to set it to AHCI and use the drivers as you would
> >> with F6 in XP.
> >>
> >>
> >> Carlos wrote:
> >>> Another Vista install, another learning experience.
> >>> This time it was a Gigabyte mobo, with 790FX (a.k.a. "spider") northbridge
> >>> and SB600 southbridge, both ATI chipsets.
> >>> I had not read this kb http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931369 previously so
> >>> I found myself with a neverending installation.
> >>> A Vista green screen with mouse pointer and hourglass that would never go
> >>> away while the hard disk was spinning and spinning.
> >>> To make a long story short, THIS is what should always be done to have a
> >>> "safe", bullet-proof and enjoyable Vista installation experience.
> >>>
> >>> 1.- Use a standard IDE DVD drive for booting Vista installation, even if you
> >>> won't use it later. You can plug your shiny brand new DVD/RW sata drive once
> >>> the installation has finished.
> >>> 2.- Only plug the hard disk (or disks for RAID, if applicable) that will be
> >>> the home of the operating system.
> >>> 3.- Disable in BIOS all hard disk controllers except for IDE and the one
> >>> that holds the drives
> >>> 4.- Don't plug any external hardware except for the mouse and keyboard. I
> >>> would recommend vanilla PS/2 mouse and keyboard, even if you won't use them
> >>> later.
> >>> 5.- Disable on-board audio, parallel port, etc. You can enable them later.
> >>> 6.- PCI and PCIe, only put your graphic card. You can add the other gizzmos
> >>> later.
> >>> 7.- If applicable, have ready a floppy/pen drive with drivers for your hard
> >>> disk controller (or RAID).
> >>> 8.- Use a maximum RAM memory of 2 gigabytes for the installation. The rest
> >>> of the sticks can be added when Vista is up'n runnin'.
> >>> 9.- This should be step 0. Flash BIOS with the latest one obtained from the
> >>> mobo's manufacturer web site. It surely fixes issues and enables the latest
> >>> processors.
> >>> 10.-Have coffee ready, sit down, relax and enjoy!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Carlos
>

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
news:7765B922-8C9E-4F0F-B889-...
>I still hold a grudge with nVidia over the stupid firewall issues when XP
>x64 released, plus they had so many bad drivers in the early days of Vista
>that I was quite happy to be on a non-nvidia platform. Who knows what my
>next machine will be, but I suspect I'll have to make a decision soon. I
>expect we'll be dealing with buying a new one by the end of the summer or
>early fall. Right now my main workstation is still the Asus A8V I bought
>before XP x64 released.
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>

Think you can hold off long enough to get a read on the Nehalem workstation
chips after they debut? I'm not thinking of the octicores so much (they are
much further off) but some of the other functionalities of the new
microarchitecture.

We'll see. I"m going to have to buy a laptop soon regardless - this Ferrari
is over two years old now, and getting a bit EOL. And I'd really like to
build a really solid workstation - the sort that could cover for my server
in a pinch. It will have at LEAST 8 GB of RAM, and I'd really like 16. And
it's going to have SAS drives, if I can afford them. (I can justify them for
the servers, but it's harder for a workstation.) I'm strongly leaning
towards dual opterons at this point, primarily because I don't want anything
more to do with FBDIMMs. They're huge power hogs and they produce a LOT of
heat.

--
Charlie Russel
http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

"Colin Barnhorst" <> wrote in message
news:CDFDC1C7-5689-4F9F-AB73-...
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
> news:7765B922-8C9E-4F0F-B889-...
>>I still hold a grudge with nVidia over the stupid firewall issues when XP
>>x64 released, plus they had so many bad drivers in the early days of Vista
>>that I was quite happy to be on a non-nvidia platform. Who knows what my
>>next machine will be, but I suspect I'll have to make a decision soon. I
>>expect we'll be dealing with buying a new one by the end of the summer or
>>early fall. Right now my main workstation is still the Asus A8V I bought
>>before XP x64 released.
>>
>> --
>> Charlie.
>> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>>
>
> Think you can hold off long enough to get a read on the Nehalem
> workstation chips after they debut? I'm not thinking of the octicores so
> much (they are much further off) but some of the other functionalities of
> the new microarchitecture.

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
news:38028AEF-4AF6-4164-9A8F-...
> We'll see. I"m going to have to buy a laptop soon regardless - this
> Ferrari is over two years old now, and getting a bit EOL.

Remember, Charlie, I always was your favorite....

<grin> I don't know, Jane was making me a pretty good offer...

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

"Colin Barnhorst" <> wrote in message
news:303EDE47-FBDE-438E-B0FF-...
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
> news:38028AEF-4AF6-4164-9A8F-...
>> We'll see. I"m going to have to buy a laptop soon regardless - this
>> Ferrari is over two years old now, and getting a bit EOL.
>
> Remember, Charlie, I always was your favorite....
>
>

"Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
news:FAFFB7F3-5F1F-4ADC-94A8-...
> <grin> I don't know, Jane was making me a pretty good offer...
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>
> "Colin Barnhorst" <> wrote in message
> news:303EDE47-FBDE-438E-B0FF-...
>> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <> wrote in message
>> news:38028AEF-4AF6-4164-9A8F-...
>>> We'll see. I"m going to have to buy a laptop soon regardless - this
>>> Ferrari is over two years old now, and getting a bit EOL.
>>
>> Remember, Charlie, I always was your favorite....
>>
>>
>

I knew posting the bio pic was going to be a big mistake.