Windows 10: Both USB and DVD installer hang at initial splash

Ok Nick - you already ARE an install specialist!

I'm glad Win8.1 went well, that eliminates just about everything.

USB thumbdrive install media is a special case when the system is UEFI (as opposed to BIOS).
Here's a good tutorial explaining the media creation options - take a look at OPTION ONE Rufus: (step6=UEFI, step7=BIOS)
USB Flash Drive - Create to Install Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

I have been recommending creating DVD install media because too many people run into issues with a thumbdrive
- so create a DVD and things might go smoother.

Secondly - boot the DVD to do the install.

If you want to save Win8.1 - install Win10 to a VHD.

This is the tutorial I used:
Virtual Hard Drive VHD File - Create and Start with at Boot - Windows 7 Help Forums

Boot form the Win10 DVD
Shift+F10 at the first install screen
create and attach the VHD
return to the install process.
choose custom and install to the unallocated / unformatted VHD
Windows does all the heavy lifting.

Note: I created a separate partition for my VHD installs to live on, but you can create the VHD on any partition that has sufficient room (40 GBs is what I use, 30 GBs is fine if you don't load it up with programs and data).

I think too many people try to install Win10 from inside a running Windows. You mentioned that you were going to try that - please don't (probably too late *Wink)

Boot the DVD install media, just as you would with any other Windows install (you buy the disc and install from the disc - upgrades might be different I forget).

I think you're almost there, you've hit all the sand traps & water hazards *Tongue

Bill
.

 

Hey Bill..... specialist at TRYING to install would be more appropriate.... *chuckle

So.... firstly Mr Da Costa (who is obviously the online link between MS and the people for W10) suggested to me that the thumb drive needed to be FAT 32.

But even tho I can obviously pre-format the drive to FAT32 the Windows USB/DVD installer tool won't create using this ISO in FAT32.... at the very last fence when I click begin it pops up a message saying NOT ENOUGH SPACE (even tho it's just been formatted) and to continue it needs to erase and format............ but then it produces an NTFS USB installer !!! Rufus automatically makes the formatting selection to NTFS as soon as I add the ISO and if I try to over-ride that after adding the ISO and select FAT32 it won't create the installer and tells me that 'you can't use FAT32 with this type of ISO'.... !!!!....*Mad

Burning to DVD was one of the first things I tried as an alternative.... same story.... opens the windows logo screen immediately but the spinning dots never appear. It has to be hitting the wall at the very first check that it's doing and computer says 'NO' you may not proceed.

I'm currently downloading the 32 bit version to see if that might work.... as you suggested.

8.1 x64 installed exactly as one would expect and I was under the impression that if you can run 8.1 then you can run 10.... anyway lets see what the 32 bit does

 

How did I know that wasn't gonna work.... *Rolleyes same same just sits at the logo screen and the spinning dots never appear cos it's stuck and there's an initial instruction which the installer fails at... there's locked door it can't open.

EDIT:.... this seems odd.... I searched for and found the latest BIOS update for this machine from Samsung. It installs from within a running machine, for which there's lots of debate about the 'unsafe practice' of doing so within older thread posts over on 7.

However.... to double check the version number I began the install process from inside a system explorer window. When I select to install it pops up a message that says the one I have currently installed is newer than the one I'm trying to install.... yet they have the same version number....? but I couldn't possibly have a more recent BIOS update than the latest one available.... it can't exist.... or perhaps Samsung rolled the update back because the one I have is buggy....???

Flashing the BIOS from live DOS window via USB is most logical.... but I've never done that previously so I now wonder if my earlier BIOS update a couple of years back has created a minor error of some kind that is locking out the Win 10 installation process.....???

If I can track down the actual BIOS file I figure I may as well try to discover how to Flash it from a DOS window I can boot into via USB... and then decide if it's worth trying.

This is getting weird....................... *Confused

 

Well, almost a year later, but for anyone facing the same, for me it took about 10-20 minutes and it did continue!
In the meantime I had come to this forum because I also thought it was stuck at the first logo.

It's just done its first restart, and is back at its favorite logo again. I wonder how long it will need this time.

Mine is an old system, admittedly. And it's only USB 2...

 

As this is the first relevant topic google served me i'll reply in this thread with my experience. please share with others because i don't feel like replying to every topic about this

I have an old PC with a A75 Pro4-M motherboard in it and on this computer neither the free upgrade or media creation DVD installation or anything would get past the dreaded blue Windows 10 logo / splash screen.

This is what solved my problem, this website: ASRock > A75 Pro4-M says "Please update to the latest BIOS with Instant Flash or Internet Flash in the UEFI setup if you are using Windows 10."

The version i had was 1.80, so i upgraded to 1.90 using a FAT32 formatted USB stick with the file from their website (unzipped it first) by running the instant-flash utility from the UEFI BIOS and thank god it updated successfully. (if this process fails your motherboard is bricked)

So i tried booting from the windows DVD again and now it went straight to the installation menu's.

I hope this helps someone else.

 

I'm just posting here to confirm what notawizard has said. I had the same problem, where the bootable usb and the dvd iso weren't working. The windows 10 splash page would start up and no spinning circles would appear. Keyboard was unresponsive (num lock / caps locks didn't change lights) so it'd basically hung. Left it for 30mins to see if it was thinking, no change.

So after finding this thread and notawizard's post I downloaded the latest driver for my motherboard, an ASRock A75 Extreme 6 - fairly old - and gave it a go. I had version 1.9, the latest is now 2.2. After updating the bios the Windows 10 boot usb is working fine and the install is going fine as well.