Vista Woes: Freezing @ Shutdown and Stuttering

dude_56013

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Well, I decided to reformat and partition my back up hard drive so that I could get Vista up and running and all that on it and then also have a partition for all my files (I had way too many partitions on my current one, and have no need for XP any more...). So my end plan was to basically "swap" hard drives (well, the data, more or less) so that I would have a functioning O/S while I did the switch. If that doesn't make sense->

HDD 1 (internal)
HDD 2 (external)
both Seagate 750GB's

HDD 1 had XP, Vista, and 2 document partitions for my files
HDD 2 had backups on it (stuff already on HDD 1)

I ran out of room so I needed to redo them so I wanted it to be like this
HDD 1 would now be a backup, but in the meantime, I'd still be using it.
HDD 2 was reformatted to have 2 partitions (250GB for Vista, and the rest for documents--both primary parts.)

So I got HDD 2 up and running..or so I thought.
I booted into Vista and all seemed to be well, but it started to freeze at the shutdown screen (green back ground, would say "shutting down" and the circle icon would freeze and it would just sit there unless I reset from the tower)...it does this very often. I'd say 3 out of 4 shutdowns...and there is nothing on the O/S yet...it's bare and fresh...only thing I've done is install all updates and chipset/sound/vid drivers..just the basics. Also, I've had it come up with just a black screen upon reboot. It just sits there. It's after the BIOS/Splash screen but before the Vista loading bar. It also hiccups a lot--can't have lots of apps running or starting at the same time...freezes at iTunes install even...among other installs...like FireFox (yes I've made the switch :D) and Windows live messenger.

Now get this.

I got sick of it, so i just reformatted that partition, and reinstalled (cuz I had already moved documents over to the second partition). Guess what....

Same f-in thing is happening and I'm not sure what to do. Could it be that the HDD is failing? I don't think so since it was running W7 and my backups just fine before...though I have noticed a few hard clicks on shutdown..but only AFTER reformatting..it never did that before. Also, the HDD has hardly been used since purchased and I ran Seatools on it as soon as I bought it and it was flawless...unfortunately I can't run SeaTools in Vista since it's x64 so I'll have to boot into XP and see what it says...

Don't even say hardware issue because the other HDD I'm on with Vista (the one I've had all along) is working JUST FINE. No hiccups, no freezes, and certainly no boot/shutdown issues.

I'm thoroughly confused. :confused:

Thanks guys,
Zac
 
How are you connecting the external drive? usb, firewire, eSata? If usn or firewire expect an endless list of problems since those types are intended for storage not seeing Windows installed there.

The best move would have simply reformatting the internal HD #1 to see Vista installed there as the main OS with the option for a second partition and using the external as the main storage device.
 
How are you connecting the external drive? usb, firewire, eSata? If usn or firewire expect an endless list of problems since those types are intended for storage not seeing Windows installed there.

The best move would have simply reformatting the internal HD #1 to see Vista installed there as the main OS with the option for a second partition and using the external as the main storage device.

eSATA. But I've switched HDDs around anyways--I put the newly formatted one in the computer, and switched the old one into the external (so right now i'm typing from the external). Hmm. I don't know. I think I'll just wait for a bit until W7 comes out. The common denominator seems to be updates, and I'm not going to trial and error with those, so maybe if anything I'll just reinstall without doing any updates. It's SP1 anyways so there's nothing much there to update... It's just odd since it's the same Vista--literally just reinstalling it. So who knows. I'm not too worried about it, was just wondering if anyone had any ideas.
 
The eSata connection sees an extension cable from external enclosure to port on card or case and then direct to the board. You still see the onboard controllers in use that way.

I had to pull the one out of the usb enclosure here. But I had already replaced that with a larger drive for storage seeing that made available for other things.

You have the option there to spread across both in case one needs a reformat the other is still OSed. Or you can limit the triple boot there to one drive seeing the other as a storage/backup device. If you are not involved in testing and finding things off of torrent sites you would be better off waiting for the finished supported product to begin with in the long run since anything you download will still be temporary at best.
 
It doesn't have anything to do with how the HDD is connected. Maybe you didn't follow my explanation (I don't blame you.). I've had both HDDs in my computer and both in the external. The one that I just installed vista on was having the above problems both IN the computer AND in the external. The Vista/Xp dual boot that I've had for months works fine in the computer and in the external. That's where the confusion comes in. Who knows. I think maybe I'll just mess around with W7 on my new one for a while. Save me some hassle for right now. At least that way I'll be able to see if it's a vista or hdd issue....
 
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