One of the first requirements is to check the crc32 checksum for the downloads before the dvd is burnt. Unfortunately no link is provided to any crc32 programs so I found one on consoleapps.com. It takes a while to generate as the dvd image is pretty large.
After the crc check it took 3 attempts to burn dvd of the installation media. The 3rd attempt worked fine and I popped it in the machine that I intended to install the software on. Unfortunately the same error occurred that I got when attempting to install Vista – the pc hangs after the capslock, numlock and scroll lock lights flash briefly. I tried swapping out the hard disk and dvd drive and it didnt make any difference. Putting the dvd in my main pc, the installation routine got further – to the point where it started to ask me if I wanted to install the software and to proceed any further would wipe my disk, so I know the dvd disk is good too.
I didn’t receive any help from Microsoft on the Vista beta so I’m not holding out much hope for WHS on this machine either 🙁
I didn’t go out and buy the larger hard disk as it doesn’t look like it would help much and it is snowing – again.
Update It looks like the problem is something to do with the WinPE environment as I have another tool that uses WinPE and it also hangs in exactly the same spot.