More Windows 7 issues

[RickZarber]

I just put together a new PC (from scratch, for the first time) and I've found I'm having to pretty much troubleshoot every step of the way.

I have a few issues now though which I have no idea where to begin fixing.

1) I have a CRT monitor hooked up to be my primary screen, but it will not display Windows 7. It displays the BIOS just fine, and even the "loading windows" screen, but after that it joes goes into its power saver mode. The only way I can see my desktop is via HDMI cable to my HD projector. I've tried messing with the display settings in every variation I can think of, but no matter what, I can't get a picture on my CRT. Oddly enough, it will display when running Safe Mode.

2) There are at least half a dozen programs that won't run. These include 32bit IE, firefox, and iTunes. I can double-click them and they'll "load" but nothing ever appears on my screen. I can see the processes running in the task manager, but the program windows themselves never appear.

3) I have two 1TB harddrives in a RAID0 configuration. They show up fine in the BIOS, but Windows does not recognize them at all.

Any help you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated.

[bluestarultor]

For your video, it sounds very much like a driver issue. Safe Mode doesn't load up all the specialized drivers, so you'll want to update or change something in your Device Manager for that.

Is this 32-bit or 64-bit 7? If it's 64-bit, you'll need to put stuff in your "Program Files (x86)" folder to get them to run, or at least that's how it works in Vista 64.

Is your RAID on a controller card or software, or is it via an internal motherboard function. If it's software, you probably need to either follow the x86 advice or get different software. If it's on a controller card, you'll likely need updated drivers. If it's just on the mobo, check your settings, or something, because I have no idea.

[RickZarber]

As far as I can tell, I've got all the latest video drivers. I'll check again tomorrow though.

I'm running 64bit. I found that I can run these programs by selecting "run as administrator", but that's the only way they'll come up, and I have to do it every time. Dunno if there's a workaround for that...

The hard drives should have motherboard RAID control.

[bluestarultor]

Not sure if it still applies, but in Vista, you can go into the properties and actually tell things to run as admin by default. I'd still make sure they're in the x86 folder if there is one. Explorer should not need admin privileges.

[Azisien]

Could you list your PC specifications? Like, all of them? Perhaps not all hardware may be Windows 7 ready. That is, if you're using some older stuff with newer stuff.

I run 64-bit Windows 7 and everything runs perfectly, or near perfectly, even before I installed specialized drivers. So it seems weird you would have these kinds of troubles, particularly with elementary programs. Can you boot up on any other monitors, is it just this CRT giving the trouble?

[RickZarber]

• Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz Quad-Core Processor
  
• 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3
  
• 2x GeForce GTX 260 896MB Video Cards in an SLI configuration
  
• ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim 24-bit 192KHz Audio Card (with HDMI out)
  
• 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive for program data & OS (which is Windows 7 64bit Pro)
  
• 2x 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives in a RAID setup for data storage and video editing
  
• And this motherboard supporting it all.

It is pretty much all newer stuff.

HOWEVER. I did manage to find the correct drive for the monitor, so that's no longer an issue. EDIT: Never mind, now it won't work unless the CRT is unplugged. The moment I plug it in both screens go blank.

Setting things to "run as admin" helps maybe 50% of the time. The other half, I have to click "run as" even though it is supposedly set to do that. Also every time I open any of these (all 32 bit, btw) programs, Windows asks me if I want to. I tried turning those notifications off, but then the programs never loaded. And yes, blues, they're in the x86 section.

As for the RAID0... It shows up on the device manager, but nowhere else in Windows that I can find. Says it's "Not Initialized", but I have no idea what to do further.

[synkr0nized]

Since the monitor shows the BIOS and loading and works in Safe Mode [unless that's changed?], might I suggest that you look into your display resolution within Windows? You could be set to something beyond what the CRT is capable of handling.

Are the drives simply awaiting initialization?

[RickZarber]

Thanks synk! That solves the hard drive issue for me!

Originally Posted by synkr0nized

Since the monitor shows the BIOS and loading and works in Safe Mode [unless that's changed?], might I suggest that you look into your display resolution within Windows? You could be set to something beyond what the CRT is capable of handling.

I would have thought that too except for the fact that I did get it working for a little while. I had my monitor as my primary screen at under its max resolution, with the 1080p projector as the secondary. The trouble started when I tried to change the settings to use only the monitor. Both screens immediately went blank and the only way I could get a picture again was to unplug the CRT. I can't change the settings on it now because again both screens go black whenever I plug it in. Still works fine in safe mode, though....

EDIT: One of my friends lent me a monitor. Oddly enough the setup works just fine with an LCD and a CRT. Works with the LCD and the projector. Just doesn't work with the projector and the CRT... for whatever reason. Aaanyway, I'd say problem resolved. Thanks for your help, guys!