installation hangs

I can't install Windows Vista. Setup hangs right after validating the CD code.
I have a Dell Dimension 8300 (3GHz, 1GB RAM) with the Promise RAID card attached to two mirrored SATA drives. XP SP2 is installed on these drives. Since I don't want to mess up my XP installation, I'm trying to install to an external Maxtor USB drive (about 300 GB, with about 200 free).
If I go to the place where you can load drivers for RAID cards, I can see that Setup recognizes the Maxtor drive. If I load the XP driver for the Promise card, it can see the mirrored SATA drive as well.
However, after I correctly type in the CD code and tell it to continue, it hangs. This happens whether I load the Promise drivers or not. (If I type the CD code incorrectly, it tells me it's wrong.)

Vista cannot boot from a USB drive.
-- Jane, not plain ;) 64bit enabled ;) Batteries not included. Braincell on vacation ;) "Scott English" <Scott English@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

I can't install Windows Vista. Setup hangs right after validating the CD code.
I have a Dell Dimension 8300 (3GHz, 1GB RAM) with the Promise RAID card attached to two mirrored SATA drives. XP SP2 is installed on these drives. Since I don't want to mess up my XP installation, I'm trying to install to an external Maxtor USB drive (about 300 GB, with about 200 free).
If I go to the place where you can load drivers for RAID cards, I can see that Setup recognizes the Maxtor drive. If I load the XP driver for the Promise card, it can see the mirrored SATA drive as well.
However, after I correctly type in the CD code and tell it to continue, it hangs. This happens whether I load the Promise drivers or not. (If I type the CD code incorrectly, it tells me it's wrong.)