Cannot install Windows 7 on an Intel Pentium 4 HT Prescott PC

One of my relatives still runs XP on his machine (which is capable of running Windows 7, the CPU is newer than the one on my Dell). I told him that I will try to upgrade (clean install) his machine to Windows 7. Although gool ol' 7 is going to die in ~2 years, he is going to still have 1-1,5 years worth of upgrades and security fixes.

However, something unexpected happened. When I tried to boot from USB, I got a BCD error (Just for reference, I used Rufus to create the bootable USB). I tried using a CD, but the BIOS does not want to cooperate. When I try to change the boot settings in order to make the CD drive the 1st option, it changes the 2nd option to Removable device, rather than the hard drive. Also, when I try to boot from an existing installation on another hard drive, I get a blue screen.

Parameters: 0x0000007B (0x80D86B58, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x000000000)

Comparison between my specs and his specs (CPU to be exact):

Intel Pentium 4 Northwood @ 2,40 GHz (pins on processor) // Intel Pentium 4 HT (Hyper-thread) Prescott @ 2 GHz (pins on socket, socket is LGA775)

My older Dell can handle Windows 7 Starter just fine. I installed it 2-3 times without any issues.

Does anyone have any ideas as to why this happens? I'm open to any suggestions.

Bajiru

Posted 2018-07-23T08:35:28.400

Reputation: 101

Answers

Windows does not like being booted from removable devices!

Did you select the 'Standard Windows installation' in Rufus? With this method it should install Windows 7 on the PC's hard drive. In any case, the problem will have nothing to do with the hardware of your relative's PC, but with the way you try to install it.

marijnr

Posted 2018-07-23T08:35:28.400

Reputation: 171

No, I use Rufus 3.0 and there is no "Standard Windows Installation" option, however, I have success with my Dell. Since I updated my BIOS to ver A07, every time I try to boot from USB it works flawlessly. I have tried multiple OSes, from Windows 7 to Arch Linux, and they all worked. Perhaps there is a BIOS update for his PC that I have not taken into account. – Bajiru – 2018-07-24T14:11:00.110

It's strange that you don't have an option to choose the type of Windows installation. When I use Rufus, I can choose between "Standard Windows installation" and "Windows to go" (where it gets installed on the USB drive). It is possible to remote the hard drive on both PC's and switch them over? I'm suspecting some compatibility issues with the hard drive, since Windows error 0x7b means it cannot access the boot device – marijnr – 2018-07-25T07:23:27.637

I really don't know what is going on. Also, the PC is not accessible now. Thanks for helping, by the way! – Bajiru – 2018-07-26T08:51:38.017