TR Forums

hi
im trying to fix friend's laptop (hp pavilion dv4) 4gb ram. installation always freezes at expanding windows files, it also happened during deleting hd partitions and while trying to format a newly setp up one. i tried removing ram, 1 at a time to see if this is ram issue but i am getting the same errors there. does this mean HD failed?

That sounds exactly like a hard drive failure.

Hi,

My suggestion would be going to ahci/ide , have you tried ssd in sataII port then transfer to III once installed (can't see it being the problem personally but worth a try)

Also check your media. Are you using a known-working USB stick or disc?

How long did you wait? I have seen multiple instances where Windows installation stalls at that point for a very long time (~20 minutes IIRC), then proceeds normally as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. This was on multiple different systems and installation media, so (in my case at least) it was not due to a specific hardware issue or bad installation media.

I've seen this happen mainly in two situations. One is a failing hard drive; one is a bad memory module.

I'd boot off your Windows install media, use the repair mode and go to the command console. Run a CHKDSK /B on the hard drive (this may take awhile) to ensure the drive is good. If the drive checks out, then I'd boot off a thumbdrive with Memtest86+ and run it through several passes to make sure the RAM is okay.