Highlander89
New member
Hello guys,
as some of you know, I'm resurrecting my old rig (project log found here). Trouble is, I can't for the life of me install windows XP or Vista on it. I can however install Ubuntu 14.04 on it with no effort whatsoever (everything is installed from a USB drive, the ISO convertion software I use is Rufus 2.1).
Specs:
Mobo Asus A8N32 SLI-Deluxe NForce 4
CPU AMD Opteron 165
RAM 4 x 512mb Kingston DDR
PSU Aspire 520W
SSD Kingston 120GB SSDNow
USB Sandisk Cruzer Micro 4GB
I've got an old IDE drive with XP SP2 that has worked for probably 3 years, and that still works fine.
When trying to install XP SP3 on the SSD, the setup works fine, copies all files nicely. Then when it restarts it gets stuck at a black screen with a prompt blinking up in the right corner.
I read that this particular Mobo has a lot of problems with SP3 (I've tried to update in the past but with no luck) so I tried Vista.
When trying to install Vista SP2 32-bit it loads everything nicely but then gets stuck when it has finished loading. At first the hourglass appears, but when it goes away, nothing else happens.
I read that Vista has problems with memory, so I have tried both with 1 and 4 sticks of RAM and I enabled "Hardware Memory Hole" in BIOS, but no change. Still stuck at the same place. I've tried to format the USB in both FAT32 and NTFS.
When Vista didn't work, I tried the latest Ubuntu LTS 14.04, which took me 10 minutes and tadaa, it works. Although after a couple of minutes in the OS the computer freezes.
I've tried to update the BIOS for a couple of days now, but it's really tricky. Asus update will simply not work at all. When running DOS mode from the MOBO support CD) and trying to update it from USB I get this message:
I tried to reformat the USB drive in the command prompt, making it into a bootable drive. But later the DOS mode from the CD can't even find the bloody thing. I've read into this and the next step to do would be to use Asus EZ-flash and a floppy drive. Problem is I don't have one. And stores don't sell them anymore, and I don't wanna pay 40€ for a USB floppy lol.
They also say that it isn't worth it to flash the BIOS unless you're experiencing problems. The rig has been extremely stable for the last 8 years, so it's an old but stable BIOS version. First time using an SSD though.
I'm really out of ideas here. Suggestions welcome.
Thanks.
as some of you know, I'm resurrecting my old rig (project log found here). Trouble is, I can't for the life of me install windows XP or Vista on it. I can however install Ubuntu 14.04 on it with no effort whatsoever (everything is installed from a USB drive, the ISO convertion software I use is Rufus 2.1).
Specs:
Mobo Asus A8N32 SLI-Deluxe NForce 4
CPU AMD Opteron 165
RAM 4 x 512mb Kingston DDR
PSU Aspire 520W
SSD Kingston 120GB SSDNow
USB Sandisk Cruzer Micro 4GB
I've got an old IDE drive with XP SP2 that has worked for probably 3 years, and that still works fine.
When trying to install XP SP3 on the SSD, the setup works fine, copies all files nicely. Then when it restarts it gets stuck at a black screen with a prompt blinking up in the right corner.
I read that this particular Mobo has a lot of problems with SP3 (I've tried to update in the past but with no luck) so I tried Vista.
When trying to install Vista SP2 32-bit it loads everything nicely but then gets stuck when it has finished loading. At first the hourglass appears, but when it goes away, nothing else happens.

I read that Vista has problems with memory, so I have tried both with 1 and 4 sticks of RAM and I enabled "Hardware Memory Hole" in BIOS, but no change. Still stuck at the same place. I've tried to format the USB in both FAT32 and NTFS.
When Vista didn't work, I tried the latest Ubuntu LTS 14.04, which took me 10 minutes and tadaa, it works. Although after a couple of minutes in the OS the computer freezes.
I've tried to update the BIOS for a couple of days now, but it's really tricky. Asus update will simply not work at all. When running DOS mode from the MOBO support CD) and trying to update it from USB I get this message:

I tried to reformat the USB drive in the command prompt, making it into a bootable drive. But later the DOS mode from the CD can't even find the bloody thing. I've read into this and the next step to do would be to use Asus EZ-flash and a floppy drive. Problem is I don't have one. And stores don't sell them anymore, and I don't wanna pay 40€ for a USB floppy lol.
They also say that it isn't worth it to flash the BIOS unless you're experiencing problems. The rig has been extremely stable for the last 8 years, so it's an old but stable BIOS version. First time using an SSD though.
I'm really out of ideas here. Suggestions welcome.
Thanks.