Win7 Install Hangs On Splash Screen?

I bought a new Compaq laptop a few months ago that shipped with Windows 8. Long story short, I like the laptop but I HATE the new Windows 8. So, the simple solution was to use my Windows 7 install disc to wipe the partition and use it to downgrade to 7.

However, I boot from the disc using the "...Press Key To Boot From CD-ROM" command but after it says "Loading Windows Configuration Files" it gets the splash screen for Windows and just hangs.

Sight unseen, I know you can't tell me to much about the laptop but is there anything I change that commonly causes this? The disc itself works on other PC's just fine, but with a laptop I don't have any options of changing out hardware.

 

Did you check if your laptop was compatible for a downgrade, it may not have Win 7 drivers installed.

 

Hi, thanks for the info.

But if I am booting from the disc, would the drivers be an issue since I'm not loading the original OS? Is it possible to some how flash or install the drivers I need to make it work?

 

Hi my friend , at the bottom of the laptop there is a sticker with product/model number

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00033108&dlc=en&product=1842189

you can inform about that :wave

 

Sure, thanks for the help. Here is the info:

Product: CNU2360C6W
Model: Compaq CQ58 - bf9WM

Based on this info, how would I determine what's stopping me from loading the Windows 7 installation disc?

Thnx

 

The only operating system showing is 8
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?product=5306393&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us

There is a statement to the lower right I don't see my operating system. When you hover the mouse over it, the popup reads

If HP/Compaq will not supply drivers for the hardware, then trying to get Windows 7 to install and run properly is probably futile.

 

Hmm, then this begs the question, how do I get rid of this OS and figure out how to get Win7 running on it? It also has a ton of bloat software and other apps that are constantly gathering data and sending it back to the manufactures, which I $#@$ hate!

 

Wow looks like the oems are really not playing fair with 8. Someone recently explained to me what it is like to try to remove "crates" from a machine with UEFI partitioning (whatever that is)...it was a long and difficult process. This drivers thing is worse than that...OUCH! :-o

 

normally laptops do not allows the downgrade of Operating System.
By doing so it may reduce the perfomance of your laptops.

 

Greetings, techtitan...

Frankly, I agree with you. There should be no reason that your machine should not run (and run well) with Windows 7. The hardware in that model is nothing special - the same hardware is used in models that came pre-loaded with Windows 7, so it's just a question of finding device drivers that will load and run.

Finding and utilizing the correct drivers, however, can sometimes prove problematic in that a sort of Catch-22 situation arises: you can't get the Win 7 drivers to load while Win 8 is on the machine, but the machine won't work without Win 8.

One thing you might try is downloading and burning a Linux distro and booting the computer to a live environment - if a common Linux OS can run the machine with no problems then its a good bet that Win 7 can run it.

Put it this way: if this were my computer (but not my only computer) and I wanted to put Windows 7 on it and have it run productively, I do believe I could find a way. I'd have Win 7 hardware device drivers from the OEMs on hand and a Linux Mint disk ready to run, I'd format the drive and install Win 7, and I'd figure out ways to get the job done.

But that's me.

 

You can download this

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CPU-Z_d425.html

go to mainboard tab to inform about the model :wave

 

Well, I figured I'd give the Linux option a try. I downloaded an ISO of Fedora, burned it and booted from the disc. Using the "Try" option (I did not do the "Install to HDD" yet) I was able to load the OS and use it.

So, does this mean it's safe to say this laptop would support a Win7 install? If so, then next question is how do you go about installing these types of drivers so it will support 7? I've did fresh installs of Windows onto blank HDD's a million times, but never anything with drivers like this.

 

No. As I posted in #6, if the manufacturer does not support Win 7 with drivers for the hardware, things will not work.
Apparently Linux has the proper hardware drivers for your hardware if everything is working. Most important items are audio, video and internet connection. If any one of those three fails, I do not consider an installation of that distro. There are lots of distros that work OOB (out of the box) to waste time trying to tweak something that does not work immediately.

 

I believe so. Just because "the manufacturer does not support Win 7 with drivers for the hardware" doesn't mean that the machine won't work with a Win 7 installation. As you've seen with the Linux load device drivers do exist and they do work.

Again - I cannot advise you to do it because of liability issues, but if this was my machine I'd nuke it and try to load Win 7. Might take some digging to find the correct drivers, but it's obvious that they are available. And, Linux is always there as a safety valve.

 

I see. However, this is a new approach for me. Normally, I can complete wipe the HDD by using the install disc to delete the partition about to do a fresh install.

My two questions are 1) how would I determine the correct drivers I need and where to acquire them and 2) how would I install said drivers before I get the Win7 install disc to boot and use it to wipe the HDD?

 

Maybe the drivers (showing for XP/7/8) for that laptop are at:

http://www.driverstag.com/index.php?s=+Compaq+CQ58-bf9WM+Drivers+for+Windows+7

 

Follow my #11 post :wave

 

Let's distill most of this thread down into 2 points:

1. Windows 7 drivers are not provided by the manufacturer.

2. Windows 7 drivers have been provided for similar models and all the hardware appears to be windows 7 compatible.

So the main question is: Has HP managed to use the UEFI to block repartitioning or reinstalls on the laptop? Is there an option you can see in the UEFI BIOS to do with this?

 

Some guidance for "attempting" to restore 7 to a computer...

see Post 10...

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-8/1086128-can-you-downgrade-windows-7-a.html

This seems to cover the subject well. From the sounds of things, you will really have to know your stuff to get through this process and restore 7.

The individual who authored post 10 is working on a guide for uninstalling Windows 8. Hope he comes out with it soon. Darn good thread...

By the way, if I got this right, I read somewhere (lost the link sorry) that once you install 8, you cannot use your 7 (XP/Vista) disk on another computer. :-o

 

Just as a curiosity, would this also block a Windows XP disc? Could I use my XP disc to wipe and reformat and then upgrade to 7 from within Windows?

 

Thanks for the info! I did indeed take your advice and download it! Here is the info I obtained from the "Mainboard" tab:

So what does this ascertain about my laptop that would help me acquire/install the drivers that will allow 7 to work?

 

Well, I'm forced to dig up this ancient thread of mine, as months have passed and I've heard of no further solutions.

I've got a little free time on my hands and I would love to get this laptop up to working order (using it has been an utter nightmare the last year or so). Windows 8 is truly not he best option for this hardware.

So can anyone guide me any further in obtaining what drivers are needed to wipe 8 and get 7 installed besides just my install disc? My last post seemed to just kind of died off.

Thanks!