Windows 7/10 setup issues System not responding Installation errors encountered
Windows 7/10 setup issues System not responding Installation errors encountered
Hello everyone, today a friend asked me to set up Windows on his old machine, which he purchased with an SSD for better performance. I thought it would be a straightforward upgrade—I’ve installed many systems before, but I kept running into issues. Let’s start fresh. I have a bootable USB ready just in case. Initially, I tried installing Windows 10 as requested; everything went well until the installation logo displayed “preparing your devices.” Then I hit a snag—hardware wasn’t supported, so the process failed. I switched back to Windows 7, which felt odd. When trying to install now, I couldn’t reach the main screen. I changed secure boot settings, tried legacy boot, and even made a GPT-based USB, but nothing worked. Eventually, I made another bootable drive, suspecting an ISO corruption. The next attempt kept showing the bootmgr error, and I unplugged all drives except the SSD, yet the screen stayed black. I restarted everything repeatedly, still getting stuck in setup preparation. After many attempts and searches for solutions, I gave up. That’s why I reached out to you all. Most of my efforts ended with the bootmgr error—maybe I missed something, or time is affecting me. Any advice would be invaluable. Best regards, Gaszper
Windows 7 may encounter issues with UEFI. Ensure your boot device contains an MBR and configure UEFI to Legacy mode to mimic older BIOS settings. This setup is necessary for running Windows 7. You might also try Windows 10, which should function properly. If you run into problems during the "preparing your devices" step, a log file will typically appear. Access it by booting from a USB drive with Windows 10 installation, selecting repair, and opening the command prompt to inspect the file. If the process halts, the error code indicates different potential causes. Currently, it’s too late to change much. Additionally, Microsoft’s Windows 10 Media Creation utility is an effective way to prepare and install Windows 10 on a USB drive. I’m unsure if you used another method, but the tool guarantees you receive the latest Windows 10 version.
Did the problem get resolved? If not, this might assist you https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-fix-boot...rs-2623118 I've encountered similar issues while setting up Windows 10 on another machine (and even worse when trying to revert to Windows 7 with a damaged partition). The hardware seems likely to be compatible if you managed to run Windows 7 before. Also, verify that your device meets the minimum requirements—ideally more than just the basics, about 150% or more—to avoid significant performance issues. You might also test whether the SSD boots on another working device.