If Windows 7 freezes at “Completing Installation” it probably means there is an issue with a hardware device driver. You might notice the screen flicker as it updates the graphics driver, then the mouse and keyboard might not respond, forcing a hard reboot that will back-out of the installation and undo any changes it made during setup. This problem could be caused by any number of things, but as a rule of thumb, you should make sure all USB devices are unplugged. You should even take the time to unplug anything that doesn’t need to be plugged in with the exception of the Ethernet cable for Internet access.
If the installation freezes a second time, you might need to go into the BIOS and make sure any legacy devices are disabled. You can also turn off on-board hardware devices, such as sound, modems and any graphics adapters you might not be using because of the addition of a graphics card. The theory is not to let a random device ruin the installation. Once you have a successful boot, you can then go back and plug all devices back in one at a time.
If you have problems, be sure to work slowly and try to determine the piece of hardware that caused the issue. If you have any problems installing a fresh copy of Windows 7, or if you are upgrading from a compatible issue of Vista, be sure to join our free computer repair forums if you need assistance.
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