Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
1

I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 15R Turbo/Special Edition with following configuration:

  1. 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3210M processor,
  2. Windows 8 Single Language, English (64bit),
  3. 8GB 2 DIMM (4GB x2) DDR3 1600Mhz,
  4. 1.0TB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive,
  5. 15.6" FHD Anti-glare (1920x1080) For ICC,
  6. AMD Radeon™ HD 7730M DDR3 2GB - ICC,
  7. 12.7" SATA Tray Load DVD+/-RW,
  8. Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230,
  9. 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth v4.0 & 6-cell Lithium Ion (48WHr) Battery, and
  10. Blue colored USB ports which support USB ver 3.0 I guess

As I am not impressed with Windows 8 Single Language 64bit OS, I want to format & clean install Windows 7 Professional 64Bit on this laptop.

I tried doing that by changing the SATA operation to Intel Smart Response Technology and disabling the Secure Boot option. Though it boots from the DVD & shows the first (all black & grey screen) which says Windows loading files; the installation freezes at the second screen that says 'Starting Windows'.

What is the procedure to do a clean installation of Windows 7 Professional 64bit on this laptop?

share|improve this question
In your BIOS is there an OS Install mode or OS Install Finalized setting? Many machines with Secure Boot have this, and it needs to be set correctly in order to do the install. – jozzas Jan 25 at 5:26
@Shiva have you ever found a solution? I have the same laptop and also the freeze at Win7 start. – magicandre1981 Apr 6 at 18:05

migrated from stackoverflow.com Jan 25 at 5:23

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I had the same problem, but found I could install Win 7 Pro if I changed the BOOT mode to "Legacy; Secure boot: OFF".

Note: At the end of my install I had no network drivers loaded, so had to download these from Dell copy them across to the laptop and then perform an installation. Once installed I had network/Internet access and could complete all other software upgrades directly from the laptop.

share|improve this answer
This appears to be Dell's way of protecting you against yourself. – Russell Shingleton May 9 at 19:59
up vote 0 down vote

It is possible that you might be having problems with your hard drive drivers. Here is an explanation on how to install additional drivers during Windows installation:

  1. First Load BIOS to Default

  2. Confirm RAID is ON under Sata Controllers

  3. Proceed with OSRI

  4. Once in the partition table Page, if the drive is still not visible, Remove teh OS CD and insert the Drivers adn resources DVD sent from Dell.

  5. Click on Load Drivers- this will take about few seconds and detect the Intel Controller Driver. Select and Click Next.

  6. Now it should show the Drives available and you should be able to proceed with completion of OS installation.

I had a similar problem with my Dell laptop while making a clean installation myself.

share|improve this answer
Hi TP & JOZZAs, Thanks for replying. Firstly Jozzas, in my laptop's BIOS options I did not find 'OS Install mode' or 'OS Install Finalized' settings, kindly could you tell me where I can find them. – Shiva Jan 26 at 8:50
Secondly TP, my laptops BIOS is ver A07 and could not find Sata Controllers. In the advance section of the BIOS there is SATA Operation under which there are 3 options ATA,AHCI & Intel Smart Response Technology, out of the box it was set to AHCI. As per your suggestion how can I load BIOS to default? What do you mean by OSRI? And finally I did not get any DVDs / CDs with the laptop. What do you suggest further? – Shiva Jan 26 at 9:04
@Shiva OSRI - Operating System Reinstall. You can always look for disk drivers on Dell's website - dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/drivershome/… – ThePiachu Jan 26 at 10:42
Hi TP, As per your suggestion how can I load BIOS to default? And is it enough to download the software and write them to DVD or is there any procedure to be followed while burning the software to DVD, so that it can be recognized while OSRI? Regards,Shiva – Shiva Jan 28 at 8:23
@Shiva - on BIOS - uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006060103883 . As for software - it should be enough to load it onto a CD/DVD (extract it first in case it is rared). – ThePiachu Jan 28 at 9:42
up vote 0 down vote

I found the cause. You need to go to the UEFI with F2 and set the option Load Legacy Option ROM to true.

After a reboot you can boot from Windows 7 DVD and install Windows 7 without the freeze.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.