Question Having heaps of trouble getting into windows on my computer - possible the most confusing experience I have ever heard of

[libster21]

Hey,

There is a lot to unpack here so I am sorry if the storyline is rough but I tried my best to explain it to the best of my recollection as this has been going on for two days now.

So the other day I decided to replace my gpu and psu, from a 2060 to a 6950xt. I used DDL before this however mistakenly did not create a windows backup. All went well, lights turn on, fans turn on, everything hardware wise seems fine. However, when I boot the computer I am stuck in a BIOS loop, where my ssd (m.2 nvme) is recognissed however not in the load order priority. This is not a new SSD and has been my boot drive for years in this system.
Anyway, so to fix this I reseat the ssd, the gpu, make sure everything is plugged in properly and working. This does nothing, however when I change from UEFI to CSM in the BIOS, the ssd is indeed in the load order. This is great, however now when I leave the BIOS I am still in a loop and windows does not start up. I get frustrated and decide to reinstall windows completely, I only had games and stuff on the ssd, nothing important. So, when I enter the windows installation media, all works fine except none of the trouble shooting issues do anything, so I go for the clean install.
Now I attempt to do the clean install on my ssd, which shows that it is still full of all the files I had as it is half taken up, but I can't because it is a GPT drive and I am in CSM mode. So I go back and forth doing random little restarts here and there trying to think of a solution. I then decide to update my BIOS, this didn't work so I continue to attempt to install windows fresh again and the SSD finally shows up in the boot order after an attempt at installing windows on it formatting the drive.
Now the reason I know the SSD was in the boot order is because when my PC restarted and comes up with the error that the installation went wrong. I can still access the BIOS before this error comes up, however asides from this, I am now stuck in a loop where this error code shows up and I am forced to restart the PC again, continuously. I then change the load priority to have the USB flash drive that I am installing windows from as the main priority as before it was the SSD, and begin to install windows again.
Windows is now successfully installing again however the old key is no longer valid so I cannot activate windows, and it is not automatically activated as I formatted the drive with everything on it. Will have to buy a new code.
I'm still not sure what the exact cause of the issue was, or the direct solution. Anyone have an input as to what they think fixed it in the end, or how I could have, in hind sight, got the SSD to boot and not lose all my data? I know I probably could have created a windows backup, however asides from that is there anything I could have done after I was in the BIOS loop? I did lots of research, which provided limited help and even called my motherboard brand (MSI) however the call was failed as soon as they were getting my MB's serial number, and then I called back and they were on another call and then closed up shop so I could not continue with them until the next day.

Thanks anyone for reading this and responding,
Lib

 

[helpstar]

So you installed a MBR with CSM. The GPU can boot with UEFI GOP, just CSM. The motherboard might not be able to boot in UEFI with the current BIOS version of the motherboard.

The BIOS version of the motherboard might not be compatible, so updating it would get it to boot with GPT/UEFI.

Windows was not the problem, but hardware compatibility.

Update the BIOS

 

[Misgar]

Do you have a valid license to use Windows, or merely a key of dubious validity purchased from a dodgy web site for $11? If it's the latter, you've fallen foul of a scam selling Volume License Keys to unsuspecting punters. Microsoft may have stopped your key from working because you are breaking the terms and conditions of their license agreement for that particular key.

In normal use, the key unlocks Windows and your computer's hardware is registered on the Microsoft web site when you connect to the internet. Subsequent re-installs of Windows on that machine should automatically unlock the operating system, because your machine is already registered.

Scam artists acquire Volume License and Educational keys and sell thousands of identical keys to unsuspecting users, looking to dodge buying a more expensive true license. N.B. A key is not a license.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-your-windows-license-legal-should-you-even-care/

If you bought a pre-built machine from a dealer, e.g. a Dell or HP laptop or desktop, or a gaming PC from a reputable company, then the version of Windows that came with the machine will be properly licensed.

If you bought a suspiciously cheap "hooky" key from a shady dealer, or unlocked Windows with a utility downloaded from a torrent site, that might explain why Windows is not accepting your existing key.

 

[libster21]

Do you have a valid license to use Windows, or merely a key of dubious validity purchased from a dodgy web site for $11? If it's the latter, you've fallen foul of a scam selling Volume License Keys to unsuspecting punters. Microsoft may have stopped your key from working because you are breaking the terms and conditions of their license agreement for that particular key.

In normal use, the key unlocks Windows and your computer's hardware is registered on the Microsoft web site when you connect to the internet. Subsequent re-installs of Windows on that machine should automatically unlock the operating system, because your machine is already registered.

Scam artists acquire Volume License and Educational keys and sell thousands of identical keys to unsuspecting users, looking to dodge buying a more expensive true license. N.B. A key is not a license.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-your-windows-license-legal-should-you-even-care/

If you bought a pre-built machine from a dealer, e.g. a Dell or HP laptop or desktop, or a gaming PC from a reputable company, then the version of Windows that came with the machine will be properly licensed.

If you bought a suspiciously cheap "hooky" key from a shady dealer, or unlocked Windows with a utility downloaded from a torrent site, that might explain why Windows is not accepting your existing key.

I definitely bought a dodgy key I've known that since I 'fell victim' to buying one of those. I assumed something like this would be the case however after fully installing my new windows it seems that the windows key works fine and windows is activated. Not sure if I'm lucky or what

 

[libster21]

So you installed a MBR with CSM. The GPU can boot with UEFI GOP, just CSM. The motherboard might not be able to boot in UEFI with the current BIOS version of the motherboard.

The BIOS version of the motherboard might not be compatible, so updating it would get it to boot with GPT/UEFI.

Windows was not the problem, but hardware compatibility.

Update the BIOS

I'm honestly not sure why updating the BIOS wasn't one of the first things I did, guess I just didn't think much would change since I am an amateur I guess. Would've been good to know before I deleted all my precious games and google chrome profiles that I have to log back into! Thanks for the response