Windows 8 Pro install problem - blank driver prompt

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gzt

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#114062 6-Feb-2013 20:09

I'm installing Windows 8 Pro for the first time. Clean install. After the initial install boot I selected install now and selected the usual language / region / input options. All ok. Then it says additional drivers are required and displays a blank 'select driver to install' screen.

There is no indication which device or devices it wants a driver for. I will start taking a few guesses and will have to spend time diving into the logs sooner or later.

In the meantime do you have any ideas on how to determine what it might want? or any 8 experience that might be relevant?

macuser

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#756713 6-Feb-2013 21:04

RAID etc?

CYaBro

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#756716 6-Feb-2013 21:08

Yea it will be the hard drive controller drivers.
Are you using raid?
Win8 should have most ahci drivers already.

Or are you installing from a USB stick that is plugged into a usb3.0 port?

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

boby55

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#756717 6-Feb-2013 21:08

I would say your SATA mode is set to the wrong mode in the Bios. Try changing it to IDE if AHCI is not working :)

gzt

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#756730 6-Feb-2013 21:31

Thanks for the comments. Keep them coming! I will check out some things related to that in a day or two. Machine is IDE as far as I am aware.

I am installing from a USB stick plugged into a USB 2.0 port and using a boot manager to force it to USB 1.1. It will only boot in USB 1.1 for some reason. I will see if bios allows me to force USB 1.1 direct instead. (Edit: bios does not provide)

gzt

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#756735 6-Feb-2013 21:36

Basic spec:

Machine: Asus A4500D
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce 3 Go 150
HDD: IBM 60 GB UDMA100 4200 RPM
Video: ATi Radeon Mobility 9200, 32 MB
Audio: Realtek ALC650
Network: Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000
System: ACPI support
Processor: Sempron 3000+

In case you are wondering - the machine did pass the Windows Upgrade Assistant check without any issues prior to 32 bit O/S purchase.

khull

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#756745 6-Feb-2013 22:08

I had the same error - turned out I was installing from a USB3.0 port. How bizarre

macuser

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#756747 6-Feb-2013 22:10

khull: I had the same error - turned out I was installing from a USB3.0 port. How bizarre

You probably didn't have native USB3.0, but rather a non intel USB 3.0 chipset. We had huge problems installing on one machine because we forgot to unplug a memory card reader that was attached to a non intel USB3 port - amateur mistake that cost us a couple hours...

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gzt

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#756751 6-Feb-2013 22:17

Was that a similar message dialog during the install? My machine has a built in card reader.

Next attempt I will reach in and unplug that if possible. If that is the problem I will be really happy.

The precise message is: "A media driver your computer needs is missing. This could be a DVD, USB, or Hard disk driver". Then the dialog window. There is no back button so if you ok that message you will not see it again until the next install attempt. In my case the driver selection window is blank.

It would have been nice to see a PCI-ID but maybe I will find that logged somewhere - pointers gratefully accepted!

macuser

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#756753 6-Feb-2013 22:23

Yeah man def unplug that, and also of course make sure your BIOS is in AHCI mode instead of IDE before you install, although it's fairly easy to fix if you forget that (you restart in safe mode, change to AHCI in bios and then continue with safe mode boot, it will fix it automatically)

A google of your problem shows that you may be using a corrupt disk, did you burn the DVD yourself or is it the Official WIN 8 Upgrade DVD?

gzt

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#756768 7-Feb-2013 05:53

I created a bootable USB after downloading the install using the Windows Upgrade Assistant. I will re-examine the USB flash configuration after the other items on the list.

gzt

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#759004 10-Feb-2013 15:15

I did not find out which device was causing the issue. Boot time in USB 1.1 was too long for a process of elimination ; ).

Instead I disabled every device possible in the bios and removed the internal wifi. That got me past the problem stage. After a few other challenging issues unrelated to drivers I completed the install. The installer feels a bit unfinished.

When starting the system for the first time I was surprised to see "Windows 8 Pro Build 9200" in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. I'm used to seeing that on preview builds but seems weird on an RTM.

It booted straight to the desktop which was a surprise as well. Maybe because this machine is only 1024x768 internal and or because I have not installed video drivers yet. I can start Metro manually from the bottom left hand hotpoint but it looks like the desktop might be the default for some reason.

Now to reinstall the wifi, enable all devices, reboot the system, and feel the pain!