Custom PC - "kernel_security_check_failure"

[gtrGeek]

Hi everyone, so I built this custom PC (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YhC9jX), but I'm having a problem.

When I try to install a fresh/clean version of Windows 10 Pro (from a USB bootable drive), it starts with the Windows logo, but then gives me the "kernel_security_check_failure" every time. I've been searching through the internet (and this site) but almost everything seems to point to drivers being the issue. I'm pretty sure that's not my situation, as there is no OS installed yet. ;-)

I've seen a few instances where it might be a hardware problem, but according to PC Part Picker, all of the pieces are compatible.

Notes about the bootable USB: I downloaded the Win10 installer from their site, and I used Unetbootin on my MacBook Pro to create the USB.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation?

 

[popatim]

Try this:
In the bios set the SSD as the boot drive and then save and exit.
Watch the bottom of the screen for a message similar to: "Select Boot device" and press the corresponding F-key
From the list of drives that pops up, select the UEFI: option that matches your flash drive (there should be two flash drive entries, you want the one that says uefi in front of it)

Let us know if that gets you past the error. Unebootin is supposed to be uefi compatible so this should work.

 

[gtrGeek]

Try this:
In the bios set the SSD as the boot drive and then save and exit.
Watch the bottom of the screen for a message similar to: "Select Boot device" and press the corresponding F-key
From the list of drives that pops up, select the UEFI: option that matches your flash drive (there should be two flash drive entries, you want the one that says uefi in front of it)

Let us know if that gets you past the error. Unebootin is supposed to be uefi compatible so this should work.

Thanks for the response popatim! So trying to boot from the UEFI portion on the USB drive doesn't get me past the error. But there are a few things to note that might help.

Here is the version of the BIOS that I'm running: v2.16.1240 from American Megatrends, Inc. on an ASUS mobo

I didn't change too much in the BIOS initially, but I did a default reset anyway. I noticed that the resolution output got better (i.e. higher/cleaner). And when trying to boot from the UEFI, the screen now went to the ASUS logo (minus the "Press [this] key to enter BIOS settings" text) instead of the Windows logo.

Also, I've tried various ways of booting.

I've set the SSD as the default boot device, and used the boot device selection to pick the UEFI on the USB.
I've set the UEFI on the USB as the default boot device, still the same.
There's a boot override option in the BIOS that I tried using, no dice.
There was another option to "Launch EFI shell from USB drives". This initially gave me a popup saying "Secure boot is enabled to prevent untrusted operating systems from loading during the system start-up." But once I did the default reset, that went away.

I'm not sure what else to try. Are there other programs that I could use to make the bootable drive? Should I try running a memtest?

 

[Colif]

I think your motherboard is a H97 Plus (going from bios version) so here is your manual: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/H97-PLUS/E8977_H97-PLUS.pdf

on page 2-42, under USB support, you want full initialisation and then pc will boot from USB. Its the same problem I would have if I didn't have a DVD drive.

 

[gtrGeek]

I think your motherboard is a H97 Plus (going from bios version) so here is your manual: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/H97-PLUS/E8977_H97-PLUS.pdf

on page 2-42, under USB support, you want full initialisation and then pc will boot from USB. Its the same problem I would have if I didn't have a DVD drive.

Thanks for the answer Colif; however, that wasn't able to get me past the error. It still does the same process of seemingly trying to boot from the USB drive, but it just errors with the same failure.

Are there hardware configs or options that I could try? Maybe some jumper or power settings that I could fiddle with?

 

[gtrGeek]

Thanks again popatim and Colif for providing possible solutions/answers. After taking it to a tech friend, it turns out that it has something to do with the RAM. I have two 4gb sticks, and I had initially put them into slots 1 & 3 (the mobo supports dual channel RAM). We tried using them individually in slot 1, then individually in slot 3, then in combo in slots 1 & 2, then we even tried different RAM in slots 1 & 3, and every time the system booted from the USB stick with the Windows 10 installer on it.

For some reason, it's just the pairing of the RAM that I bought in slots 1 & 3 (or even 2 & 4) that gives the kernel failure error. In other words, the two sticks together don't play well when trying to use the same channel on the Mobo.

Needless to say, I'm going to contact Corsair and have them replace the two sticks with some different ones. Thanks again! Hope this helps other if they run into the same problem.

Btw, how do I close this thread?! :-D

 

[Rogue Leader]

Instead of closing the thread, I will click your own answer as the best solution so if someone searches it, they will find that post.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you have a third party CPU cooler installed, it's always a possibility that you may have unequal mounting pressure on one side or the other of the CPU cooler, causing the other side of the CPU to slightly lift out of the socket, breaking the connection to one or more pins which can affect channel operation one one channel or the other in some cases. Situations where only a single channel is affected are often a result of improper CPU cooler mounting.

Of course, if the problem is with disparate sticks in the SAME channel, then this would not apply.