Windows 8 CP: A GSOD that Stopped Me

Posted by tomsez

I just wrote a preview of the latest sequel of the most popular Operating System this afternoon: Windows 8. It’s not the final version. Hardly not even a Release Candidate. Instead, it’s what MS called as Consumer Preview (CP) version of the OS. Hence, that was a preview of a preview: LOL!

Curiosity killed the cat. In my case, it just wasted my time. I thought it would be a usable one, leaded me to think that I could use it for my regular productivity in the office, while at the same time studied the new features. The truth is: before I got back home I changed my mind and decided to format the HDD tomorrow.

I shouldn’t have installed it in the first place (and yes I realise it’s only a preview version, for God sake!). My problems :

Tried to install a USB modem. It was ok, but when I tried to connect, all of sudden all USB ports went dead. It’s simply unexplainable. I rebooted, uninstalled the software, did it once again, and it worked, but somehow the connection was so darn slow.
Thought about using it regularly, so I had to install office. It used to be ok with the ISO extracted to a folder, then I run the executable. This time, neither 2007 nor 2010 worked that way. Something popped up asking me to enter the right path of a file. The path was alright, but the installation couldn’t see it. I have even made the check that it was really there. Only later that I found a 2007 in a CD and the installation was successful. This is weird.
We all know that there are executables inside Office that don’t make up for stand-alone function. They are part of the main ones (Word, Excel, Access, etc). As I finished installing the 2007 and checked the ‘All Apps’ screen, I was surprised that there were so many icon. Looks like any executable and iconable items were put into display, making the desktop so cluttered. I believed it was way off the idea of being Metro.
The screen resolution was limited to 1024 x 768. Fine. I knew it must be the default VGA driver. So I went to Windows Update for the real one. Yes, it detected a proper driver for my Nvidia. However, when the download done, all other stuffs were installed correctly, but the driver! I clicked the retry button some times with no luck. Then I rebooted. This was actually the point of no return. It showed a green-like screen saying :

“Your Computer ran into a problem and needs to restart.
If you’d like to know more , you can search online later for this code:
PROCESS1_INITIALIZATION FAILED
It’s collecting error info and will restart in: 0 seconds”

The number was counting down. In reality: it didn’t start at all. I have just finished my lunch when I checked it out again and it was pretty much the same. I remember the option ‘Last Good Known Configuration’: an option when you press F8 before the Windows bacthing up.That also didn’t make any difference (Hey, looks like the Safe Mode and the gang is omitted). I rebooted several times and it kept showing the same message. That’s it 😦

Green Screen of Death (GSOD) ? It’s my story with this new 32 bit immature OS. I googled for the same case: I am not the only one. I am thinking of trying the 64 bit version, but that’s if I could afford the luxury of spare time.

(On the second thought: I believed it was green, but people took it as blue. Well, I haven’t had my lunch back then, … :))