Is Vista Ok on a 4yr old P4 3ghz Barebone sysyem?

[chrisdriving]

Hi

I have a Novatech barebone system thats approx 4 yrs old,its a P4 at 3ghz and has 1gb RAM..

have been running XP but its a non legit copy and i cannot get updates..

I have purchased Vista Home Premium OEM and attempted to install it and i am getting problems..

It initially started installing then i walked away from PC for a bit,when i came back it was back on the language select screen again,i continued on again and it says that there is no suitable drive on which to install it..

I kicked a few things around the room and then tried to install XP again but it also will not install..

I insert the CD and power up but a message

BOOTMGR not present and thats it

The options i am considering are..

Get a new up to date system from Novatech
get a new HD and try again with Vista
Get a new OEM version of XP Home and stick with that


Any info would be great

[GN]

Before I am able to advise you on the situation, I would like to know the following please.

1, What type of hard disk is it?
eg... SATA, PATA (IDE), SCSI, SAS.

2, How big is this disk?

3, Is this disk in a RAID?

4, In the BIOS is the "Disk" set to any RAID setting? Some BIOS's have an IDE/SATA, RAID setting which might effect the installation of Vista.

5, When you installed Vista did you have any USB Flash media in the machine? If so take it out and try again.

Once I have this I might be able to assist you.

[teknokid]

GNS back!!

[Ben]

Try the Vista Upgrade advisor (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx) :)

[chrisdriving]

Update

My system is ECS 648fx-a based and is a P4 at 3ghz with 1gb Ram

I have an ATI X1600 graphics card but the main PSU is only 350w so a friend said i need a better one in fact the PC did become unstable for a long time and crash with that card,if i put my older N vidia 5200 in it then it was fine

I went back to a basic setup,default settings on bios,5200 card,1 hard drive Hitachi 80gb and Sony DVD rewriter

I attempted the Vista install again and it worked perfectly so its now up and running on my sysyem

However the Ethernet and sound drivers that came with the Barebone wont install under Vista,i tried downloading what i though were the correct ones from the ECS website and burned them onto a disc on my laptop and put the disc in the PC but it still says they are not compatible with Vista


looking at the motherboard manual it says AC 97 audio codec as the sound device and rtl8201bl as the ethernet adapter


So can anybody advise me if i can obtain drivers for the above devices please

Also i need to order a new PSU from Novatech for my PC and i was thinking around 500W to use the X1600 card safetly,my PSU is equipped with 1 20 pin plug onto the motherboard and a square 4 pin one also,so i assume that the Novatech 20 pin PSU`s will be compatible

If my Ethernet and audio device will not work can i purchase a PCI soundcard and ethernet card and install as normal as i assume they will all now be Vista ready


Any info would be a great help,i dont know much about PC`s and wont touch anything i dont understand but i enjoy fiddling and fixing problems


Thanks

[chrisdriving]

Update

My system is ECS 648fx-a based and is a P4 at 3ghz with 1gb Ram

I have an ATI X1600 graphics card but the main PSU is only 350w so a friend said i need a better one in fact the PC did become unstable for a long time and crash with that card,if i put my older N vidia 5200 in it then it was fine

I went back to a basic setup,default settings on bios,5200 card,1 hard drive Hitachi 80gb and Sony DVD rewriter

I attempted the Vista install again and it worked perfectly so its now up and running on my sysyem

However the Ethernet and sound drivers that came with the Barebone wont install under Vista,i tried downloading what i though were the correct ones from the ECS website and burned them onto a disc on my laptop and put the disc in the PC but it still says they are not compatible with Vista


looking at the motherboard manual it says AC 97 audio codec as the sound device and rtl8201bl as the ethernet adapter


So can anybody advise me if i can obtain drivers for the above devices please

Also i need to order a new PSU from Novatech for my PC and i was thinking around 500W to use the X1600 card safetly,my PSU is equipped with 1 20 pin plug onto the motherboard and a square 4 pin one also,so i assume that the Novatech 20 pin PSU`s will be compatible

If my Ethernet and audio device will not work can i purchase a PCI soundcard and ethernet card and install as normal as i assume they will all now be Vista ready


Any info would be a great help,i dont know much about PC`s and wont touch anything i dont understand but i enjoy fiddling and fixing problems


Thanks

[DoctorJellybean]

I would have waited until the release of Service Pack 1 before getting Vista.

However, if you can't find any drivers for your Ethernet and Sound card, then yes you can get Vista compatible devices and install as normal. Just make sure that it has drivers for Vista before purchasing.

[Taxation]

i know in xp you can find them within the system32 folder by going through the hardware manager screen

[chrisdriving]

Update

Got the sound working OK,just cant get the onboard ethernet socket to activate

Just brought a LAN card which is Vista compatible with drivers so i will try that later

Thanks for the input chaps :D

[chrisdriving]

Sorted :D

[GN]

Sorry, im back now lol. I fogot about this post. he he he.

SP1 for vista should be out very soon, as i know its in RC mode at the moment.

Some of the LAN chips on ECS motherboards are VIA. Try going to VIA's website and download the correct LAN driver there. Failing this, phone them up and give them an ear bending. Im sure they would love to help you out. O and remember, just becouse they work for a motherboard company, does not mean they know computers :wink:

[Coops]

The short answer is quite simply.

Officially that mainboard does not support Windows Vista. Therefore drivers are not avaliable that have been tested/approved and issues could be experienced in using vista that will not be addressed or resolved. This is not something Novatech have any control over and falls in to the hands of SIS as the Chipset manufacturer and ECS as the Board Manufacturer.

That being said should you be able to get Vista installed and working the only hardware that might be an issue is the LAN. That board uses SIS900 LAN and there is no Vista support for this LAN Chip.
Everything else should be able to get drivers for from various sources.