Windows Vista Vista goes to black screen after install

I booted from the Vista DVD and it went through the install and rebooted to a black screen. There is no cursor or anything at all, but I can hit Ctrl Alt Del to reboot. I thought it might be a driver error, so I removed my Wi-Fi card, put in a different video card (after the drivers wouldn't install for my primary card), and anything else I could think of, but to no avail.
I have not hooked up a different monitor.
I am installing to a new partition.
The Vista adviser says I am good to go.
Computer Specs:
320 GB HD SATA
250 GB HD SATA
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe MoBo
7600 GT Video card
Viewsonic VX924 Monitor
Sony DVD-ROM drive
Panasonic DVD-RW drive
AMD Athlon 64 3700+
Dual Corsair CMX-1024-3200C2 400MHz
Realtek AC97 OnBoard Audio

 

I disabled that, Silicon Image, and Legacy USB in the BIOS. Still didn't work.

 

It is not actually completing "boot ", although you cannot actually see what is happening. If it was at the Windows logon screen or the desktop (although you cannot see it), Ctrl Alt Del will not cause an automatic restart.

I would have two suspects, graphics drivers or the file system.

When does the screen "black out ", do you see much of Windows loading?

If it a graphics problem, you should be able to boot into Safe Mode.

You have two HDDs, try disconnecting the non-OS drive. I (and some people here) have found it is better to install Windows with only one HDD connected. Connect the second HDD after Windows is installed. I would expect that one or both were originally "set up" using a different system. [Edit: this may be more significant for IDE, but I would not rule out the same problem for SATA.]

Matt

 

The install of Vista doesn't complete. The DVD boots up, and it goes through the "Unpacking" part and when it reboots to complete the install is when I get the black screen.
All I see is the boot screen. I select Vista and it goes to black screen.
I cannot boot into safe mode because I haven't completed the install.
Edit: I unhooked the other HDD. It didn't work.
Edit: Tried to install XP, but the same thing happened. It did the Blue screen unpack, but then just went to black screen.

 

Have you run Win XP prior to this? (Have you run the system successfully before?)

If you have been changing things inside the case, a connector may have been dislodged. Reseat all the connectors you can find in the case (drive connectors, at both ends, and the graphics card...RAM modules...and you can clean the connectors of the graphics adapter and RAM modules with a soft pencil eraser).

Matt

 

I am running XP from the computer right now. But if I unplug the HDD with XP on it, XP setup won't start, and Vista setup won't finish.

 

It still doesn't want to work. Is it possible that there is no MBR?

 

The drive may have incorrect partitioning information.

Easiest way may be to boot the working Windows HDD, have the problem HDD set as the second drive. Go to Disk Management (right-click on My Computer and select Manage -> Storage -> Disk Management) Go to Action Menu and delete the partitions/drives on the problem HDD. Be careful you know which drive is which.

If you are not certain that you will not delete the wrong drive, get the HDD manufacturer's utitilities from their website, remove your working HDD and use the utilities to "remake" the partitions on the problem drive (you could use the Vista DVD to remake the partition/s, but the manufacturer's utilities may pinpoint problems that may occur before the Vista installation system loads).

[A 320GB HDD sounds like a Seagate drive. Go to www.seagate.com and get their Diskwizard utilities.]

Repartition, but did I mention... "be careful ".

Matt

 

One of my PCs has the same motherboard as that, and I was getting the same problem with some of the early Vista betas. A BIOS upgrade cured the problem completely for me.

 

@ Matt: That is going to delete all the data, right?
@ Sparks: Do you remember what BIOS number you upgraded to?

 

Yes. That's why I made the point about being careful not to delete a working partition.

Will the Win XP system (the old HDD) work without the new HDD connected? If not, you should back up your data to CD or DVD, just in case. It is always best to have a "hard copy" of your data and not rely on HDDs, unless the data is on two separate HDDs. If you are deleting partitions (or formatting drives), you need to be very careful which partition you are working on. Removing or disconnecting a working HDD is the best way to avoid any mishaps.

SO, you may want to...
Disconnect the old HDD.
Boot to the Vista DVD or the (Seagate) HDD utilities.
Remove any partitions and remake them. Format the partitions.
Install Vista.
Reconnect the old HDD as a second drive. Copy across all the data you want/need to backup (you can use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, see Help and Support). As I said though, if you have the data on optical disks, there is no possiblity of losing it, no matter what the outcome is.

In case Nick is not around, a BIOS upgrade is specific to an individual model of motherboard. One thing that you need to do is make certain you are flashing the correct BIOS upgrade for your model. If not, the motherboard may no longer work. A BIOS upgrade is not hard, BUT you need to be ummm...CAREFUL that it is for your model of motherboard and there is no interruption to the flashing process...read the instructions carefully.
My added suggestions...
Do not use a Windows based upgrade method. Use the DOS boot floppy/CD method.
Do not use a Beta version, the latest full version should be fine.

Finally, I would be quite certain that Vista does not to have SATA controller drivers installed during the setup process, but if you continue to have problems, consider that they may be necessary. You probably won't find information about Vista at Asus, but try the manufacturer of the SATA Controllers website for any Vista instructions.
*I just found out that the SATA Controller may be the Silicon Image you disabled

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h850.htm

Matt

 

Actually, the drives are Western Digital, and is there any other way to redo the drives without formating? The drives are quite large, and it would take a long time to back up.

 

Hi Radar, you have me a little confused. You have data on your new HDD already? Is your old drive full?

Please tell us the partitioning information. Both HDDS have one partition? What is the amount of used and free space on each partition (highlight/click-on each drive in My Computer and you will see the information at the bottom left of the screen)?

You may be able to make some space on your old HDD by getting rid of files in Temp folders and Temporary Internet files (do a search for "temp "). Do you have a game on the old HDD that could be uninstalled and then reinstalled after installing Vista (new games are several gigabytes of space).

If you are filling your new HDD with downloads, the answer might be no, if there is a problem with with the partitioning information, the answer might be to repartition the drive, not just reformat!!

You have not given us any details about your system. It may require that drivers are loaded to run the SATA Controllers in order to install Windows. Is the system an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) that uses a special installation disk? For installing Vista you may need to buy the installation disk from them.

Matt