Hi Andreas.
It's not the latest Bios, But anything later is for features that are not applicable to my PC Setup (samsung DDR400 RAM etc.).
It is set to boot from CD.DVD.
DG-P
The 8.5 Recovery CD is based on the Windows 2008 R1 OS. Often, a BIO upgrade will remedy this. Please try that. If that does not work, you can disconnect the controller and or drives altogether and see if that is the culprit. This may take some time, but my guess is that there is some hardware that it is getting stuck on when the Microsoft shell is attempting to load.
Hey Andreas.
Your original post was correct. I cannot get the system to boot from a Windows DVD either.
With BESR SRD and Windows Vista DVD, I get the same Hang.
First Screen "Windows is loading files....".
Second Screen: Black Screen with Load Bar with green scroller and just "Microsoft Corporation".... and the scroll bar just freezes.
I have changed DVD Drive.
I have disabled SATA on the MoBo.
Single HDD (IDE) on Primary IDE
DVD on Secondary IDE.
Upgraded Bios to Latest.
If you've got an older SRD or a Windows XP/W2K3 install CD, try that and see if the system hangs.
If the system still hangs go into the bios and play around with the CD/DVD settings if you see any settings.