Finding setup logs, reporting and attaching logs to report, figuring out
what device or driver causes hangs or crash during setup:
1. google -> beta client
click the first link. It needs .NET but I think it will be installed if you
try to run it without it..
2. finding and identifying the correct logs
setupapi.app.log
setupapi.dev.log <<-- last 20 lines here may indicate hanging driver
These are the primary setup logs, there are others but these are the major.
Hint: Before searching logs try Folder Options and enable viewing of hidden
folders and files. Also try Run diskmgmt.msc -> assign drive letters for
partitions with no drive letters.
A:
There can be multiple logs with the same name, but they are different! First
look at the drive you tried to install Vista to, if it has Vista
Windows\INF\ directory and the mentioned logs files.
B: early setup failure
If you can't find Windows VISTA directory (if setup did not get so far) then
look all volumes/partitions in the drives that were on the machine during
the install for directories starting with $. There are 2-4 of them (possibly
in different partitions) depending on when the setup failed. Search for .log
under all the *:\$WINDOWS.. and again look at the date/minute timestamp to
see which of the logs was changed just before the failure occured.
Also ee that the date and Minute timestamp of the log files are around the
time when the setup failed, sometimes a setup/install failure causes the
computer to automatically reboot and the setup will run again but failing in
different way than the first time (making the bug report less useful). For
best bug report it's better to catch the failure when it first happens. Yes
it means starting the install all over again and keeping eye on it. But this
will guarantee that the last line in the log will be around the time of the
failure. If it is a driver crash then you can figure out the offending
driver yourself just by looking at the last twenty or so lines of
setupapi.dev.log.
